Steep Stories

Category: Tea Features

  • Effie’s Tea Offerings

    Australian Tea Week, Day 2: “Effie’s Tea Offerings” This is Effie Gidakos . . . She’s a tea nerd, like I am. She even takes to social media (and local radio) about her love of tea. She’s also obsessed with Christmas (obviously). And—per this week’s theme—she’s also Australian.

  • The Arakai Estate

    Australian Tea Week! Day 1: “The Arakai Estate” Australia. The Land Down Under. Oz. Or whatever other people (including the locals) call it. Our southernmost Pacific neighbor is known for many things: weird and diverse wildlife, a wicked sense of humor, numerous flora and fauna that can kill you in a heartbeat, sometimes good beer…

  • Once Bug-Bitten, Twice Shy

    Well . . . I guess it’s time to put a certain theory to pasture. And it’s all because of these two. Who are they? I’ll get to that. What theory? Oh, I had this hypothesis that tea and dating (or courtship, whatever) didn’t “blend”.

  • Tea Tales and Mocktails

    Two weeks back, I received an invite to go here: Okay, I go to both Smith Tea locations quite a bit on my own, but this was a special occasion. Like last year, this was their media-only holiday pre-release party. They were going to be showcasing their upcoming blends, partnerships, and limited edition holiday offerings.…

  • Puerh . . . After a Fashion

    Shou (or cooked/ripe) puerh is difficult to market. Hell, puerh in general is difficult to spin. How do you convince people that something that’s fermented is something they want? Fermented leaves, no less; in cake form. The conundrum gets even hairier once you try to explain to people what the “cooking” process even is. Example:…

  • Cooked “Puerh” from Laos

    LaosTea—a wholesaler of heicha from Laos—had a booth at World Tea Expo again this last summer. And I didn’t visit it once. In my mind, I kept saying, Eh, I’ve already tried everything they have to offer. What I should’ve been thinking was, I really need to solidify some of my vendor networking contacts! Hindsight…

  • Dark Tea from Burma/Myanmar

    No one likes to talking about Burma . . . or Myanmar . . . or whatever it’s calling itself, now. Even the name of the country is a hotly contested issue. At college parties, whenever some Eastern Philosophy major brought up Buddhism as an example of a nonviolent religion, all someone had to do…

  • Dong Ding Near-Death Experiences

    In 2009, Shiuwen Tai—the plucky owner of Floating Leaves Tea in Seattle—made her first trip to Dong Ding Mountain in Taiwan . . . . . . And almost died.

  • Mengku Puerh Plastered

    A couple of weeks ago, while attending the Northwest Tea Festival in Seattle, a few tea connoisseurs hosted . . . after tea parties. Basically tea parties removed from the regular events of the festival. One such small partyholder-to-be was my ol’ Agarwood puerh dealer, Jeffrey McIntosh. He planned to host two puerh tastings—one that…

  • A Tiny Bit of Canadian Oolong in a Tiny Gaiwan

    In 2003, husband and wife team—Victor Vesely and Margit Nelleman—purchased an old cattle and horse farm near the small town of Westholme. It was located in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Their first inspiration was to create an “Artfarm”, where they could grow herbs and produce, as well as sell…