Steep Stories

Category: Tea Musings

  • “I Don’t Want the Game to End.”

    Like many with nerdlinger tendencies, I was camped in front of my computer to catch this: The first episode of Star Trek: Picard. It was roughly 10PM on a Thursday, and I resisted for all of ten seconds before purchasing a subscription to CBS All Access. All for the sake of nostalgia. I even brewed…

  • Steeped in Selah

    2019 was a very weird year for tea. Or rather, a very weird year for how tea was covered in the press. And by “press”, I mean, mainstream media, not the usual tea or beverage-centric haunts that won’t hire me that cover tea. I’m talking about The New York Times and Thrillist, just to name…

  • Entheogenesis in Chicago

    At the end of October, I did something completely out of character. I traveled to a city I’d never visited . . . for a tea festival. Stranger still? I flew out for said unknown (to me) city on Halloween. Nothing about this—my motivation, my ambition, what-have-you—added up. The city? Chicago. The event? The Chicago…

  • A Focus on Fellowship

    A week ago, an article made the rounds in the greater tea community sphere. At the time it came out, it rubbed me the wrong way. So much so, I originally meant to pen a rant pointing out where it went wrong, and how the thesis was misguided. After thought and prayer (yes, both are…

  • My Birthday at a Tea Festival

    Over a week ago, I attended Northwest Tea Festival.  Again. It also happened to fall on my birthday.

  • Alternate Tea Etiquette

    Five days ago, a vendor friend posted this article on Facebook: I didn’t read it, which is usually what not to do, but I’ve seen such tea topical articles before. The direction they were going in was nothing new. As such, I left the following curt reply in answer to the title of the article alone: “Any…

  • The Flow of Tea and Time

    I should probably get around to talking about World Tea Expo 2019, huh? To be truthful, my delay in doing so wasn’t related to my usual brand of procrastination, but rather some trauma. Stuff I’ve had difficulty processing and— unfortunately— it’s inextricably linked to my World Tea Expo jaunt this year. Some have advised that…

  • A Rare Tea Tasting with Kevin Gascoyne

    As some of you have seen—via my social media—in June, I was at World Tea Expo. For those who don’t follow me on those platforms . . . I don’t blame you. But that’s beside the point. In the middle of June, I trekked down to Las Vegas for my fifth World Tea Expo. (Oh…

  • In Search of the Tea Tree God

    Several months ago, I had a conversation with a fellow tea nerd about the origin of the tea tree. Y’know, small talk. During the dialogue, he uttered the following assertion that made my imagination boil over like an unrestrained kettle. No one had found the “god” tea tree, yet. Meaning: the tree from which all…

  • Tea at Sea

    I have a good reason for not updating this here blog in awhile, honest. For the last week or so, I was on vacation. As indicated by this dorky tourist capture. No regrets. Short summary: I was on a cruise with a gaggle of family members. All part of a makeshift family gathering that reunited…