Talking Tea

This week on Talking Tea we chat via Skype with Chris Olsen of Teatulia, an organic tea producer based in Bangladesh founded on principles of social responsibilty and sustainability.

You may be familiar with the unique flavor profiles of Teatulia's teas and blends, and Chris and I discuss the influence of the Bangladeshi terroir on the complex flavors and aromas of some of Teatulia's award-winning teas. But what most impressed us at Talking Tea was the positive impact Teatulia has made on the environment and society surrounding its tea garden. Chris talks about Teatulia's transformation of a formerly desert terrain into a lush tea-growing region, and how Teatulia has not only created jobs but also fostered literacy programs. schools, and economic opportunity through better working conditions and its unique cattle lending and farm sharing programs.

You can find Teatulia's teas and information about Teatulia's programs at www.teatulia.com. If you're interested in purchasing tea through Teatulia's website, be sure to listen for the discount code for Talking Tea listeners toward the end of the episode. You can also find Teatulia on Facebook at facebook.com/teatulia, on Instagram at instagram.com/teatuliateas, and on Twitter @teatulia.

For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.

To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].

Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our blog page, or email us.

Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.

This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

Photo of Teatulia's tea garden courtesy of Teatulia.

Balhyocha is a tea unique to Korea - it's not produced anywhere else - and its rich and varied flavor profiles are also unique, not quite like any other teas we've tasted here at Talking Tea. But for many tea drinkers, even afficianados of balhyocha, it's also rather mysterious. What exactly is balhyocha? How is it processed? What gives it its unique, lovely complexity?

To explore these questions we're chatting with Eric Glass, who, with Arthur Park, runs the annual TeaBuy Korea at Morning Crane Tea. Eric talks with us a bit about his own tea journey and how we came to discover Korean tea and in particular balhyocha, and then we delve into what balhyocha is and what it isn't. We discuss what defines balhyocha and what makes it difficult to categorize, we talk about the subcategory of balhyocha known as hwangcha or "yellow" tea (not to be confused with Chinese yellow tea), we discuss flavor profiles of balhyocha and we look at comparisons with oolongs and black tea or hongcha. We look at the origins of Korean tea cultivars and the impact of seed-grown versus clonal bushes, terroirs and processing techniques unique to balhyocha on the flavor profiles and body-feel of the teas.

In addition to the TeaBuy Korea, Eric ran Morning Crane's tea tour to Korea in 2023, and we discuss some of the challenges Eric saw tea producers encountering and the uncertain future they're facing. Eric also shares his perspectives on why Korean teas in general and balhyocha in particular aren't widely known outside of Korea, and he makes some recommendations for what kind of cups to use to best enjoy balhyocha.

Morning Crane's website is at morningcranetea.org.

The Korean Tea Drinkers Facebook page is here.

In addition to his work with Morning Crane, Eric Glass has his own tea company, The Fragrant Cup. Though The Fragrant Cup's website is currently being redesigned, for info about Fragrant Cup's offerings you can contact Eric directly at [email protected].

Follow Talking Tea on Instagram at talkingteapodcasts.

Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen.

more about Talking Tea

The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.

This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

Episode image of the Dosim Dawan tea gardens, discussed in the episode, by Eric Glass. Adapted from original.

Header image “Raw Puerh mid 1980 Menghai” by Cosmin Dordea, used under a Creative Commons CC By-SA 2.0 license. Adapted from original.

This week on Talking Tea we return to Tea Drunk in New York City to chat with Shunan Teng, founder and owner of Tea Drunk, about tips and tricks for identifying quality teas. As an example of what to look for in choosing tea, Shunan selects a Gua Pian, a historically famous green tea from China.

Shunan uses our exploration of Gua Pian to break some myths about tea quality, and tells us what to look for in appearance, aroma and taste. We chat about how different methods of plucking, shaping and firing tea affect the taste, what to look for in the appearance of the dry and infused leaf, and what the dry leaves' aroma can tell us about the quality of the tea. (The Gua Pian leaves Shunan shared with us in our chat are pictured above.) Shunan also chats with us about what makes Gua Pian unique among green teas, and the qualities which, in Shunan's view, define a truly artisanal tea.

In our next episode, we continue our chat with Shunan by looking at a classic white tea from China to further explore the elements of a quality tea.

More info on Tea Drunk, including its online store, shop hours and events, can be found at its website, http://tea-drunk.com/. The website also has links to Shunan's fantastic videos of her sourcing trips in China. The direct link to the videos is http://tea-drunk.com/pages/tea-trip-videos.

For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.

To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].

Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us.

Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.

This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

This week on Talking Tea we look at the growing popularity of tea and tea culture among youth and teens. Chatting with us (via Skype) is Connor Adlam of Tching.com, the well-known blog and online forum for tea information.

Connor, the intern social media editor at Tching and also a member of this demographic, shares his perspectives both from a personal standpoint and from his work at Tching. We chat about what makes tea and tea culture attractive to younger drinkers, the role of social media in breaking through misinformation and stereotypes, and how tea connects with the rising interest in mindfulness and spirituality among young people. Connor also talks with us about his own “tea ride” and how tea drinkers of all ages can use online resources to increase their knowledge of tea and connect with the depth, passion and diversity of the worldwide tea community.

You can find Tching's many resources (including articles by Connor) at Tching.com, at its Facebook page and Twitter feed and on Instagram at tchingblog.

For more information on Talking Tea and updates on new episodes, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/talkingtea.

To inquire about being a guest or having your organization featured, please email us at [email protected].

Have something in mind you'd like to hear discussed on Talking Tea? Leave us a comment on Facebook or on our Libsyn episode page, or email us.

Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.

This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

Photo of Connor Adlam courtesy of Connor Adlam. Connor's shirt by Teaprints (http://teaprints.com).

We're getting a bit contemplative this time of year here at Talking Tea, as the weather turns cooler and our bodies and minds begin to turn inward. So this December we're offering two episodes exploring the spirit of tea as reflected in chado, the Japanese way of tea. To kick off this two-part series we're looking at the life, work and influence of Kakuzo Okakura, best known for his modern classic The Book of Tea.

As some of you may know, Talking Tea host Ken Cohen narrated and produced an audiobook edition of Okakura's The Book of Tea in 2015. Today Ken is chatting via Skype with Bruce Richardson, of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and its publishing arm Benjamin Press. Bruce wrote and published an extensive and scholarly intro to the print version of The Book of Tea, and Bruce shares a bit of his own tea journey with us and tells us how he was first drawn to this text. We discuss Okakura's early life in Japan and his exposure to the West, the origins of The Book of Tea and its connection with Okakura's work at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and Okakura's influence on iconic American art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner, American artist Georgia O'Keefe and the design principles of Frank Lloyd Wright. Bruce chats with Ken about Okakura's perspectives on the connections between tea, art, and Zen, and Bruce shares his own perspectives, influenced by Okakura, on tea as an adventure and a creative path, on the importance of the space within and why the way of tea is the way of life.

Bruce Richardson's illustrated print edition of The Book of Tea, with his introduction, is available through Elmwood Inn Fine Teas or though Amazon.

Ken Cohen's audiobook edition of The Book of Tea, published by Spoken Realms, is available at Audible.com , Amazon and iTunes.

Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @kensvoiceken.

more about Talking Tea

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The views and opinions expressed by guests on Talking Tea are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Talking Tea or its staff.

This podcast features music from “Japanese Flowers” (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.