Steep Stories

Tag: Tea

  • Bitter Gourds and No-Pants Awards

    Bitter Gourds and No-Pants Awards – World Tea Expo, Day 2 The day wasn’t off to the best of starts. I had to be up at 5:30 for a site tour . . . or so I thought. The day prior, I had agreed to a tour of the QTrade Teas and Herbs facility. Alas,…

  • A Business Trip with Benefits

    A Business Trip with Benefits – World Tea Expo 2015, Day 1 Arriving at the Long Beach Convention Center, and seeing that sign, was like coming home again. This was to be my third World Tea Expo in a row. The first year was a three-day whirlwind of awesomeness. The second was like a quickie,…

  • State of the Minion Address: “World Tea Expo and Beyond!”

    I’ll make this brief, I swear. Some of you fine tea folks are either (a) on your way to World Tea Expo, (b) already there, or (c) grumbling about not being able to go. To those in the former two categories, I just wanted to let you know . . . Hey! I’m there, too! (Soon,…

  • A Tale of a Nepalese Tea Estate

    I’m well aware of the awkward timing of this blog, given recent events. Originally, I’d intended to have this up the week prior. Circumstances of the lazy kind prevented me from finishing it by then. So, here it is, now. And, yes, I will be addressing the really shaky subject matter toward the end. But…

  • Regarding Tea Sachets

    In more informed tea circles, it is common knowledge that teabags are crap. Those little bags of ass-flavored tea usually contain the dust left over after the good, loose leaf tea was packaged. The taste of an average black tea from a bag is rough and bitter, like licking a chalkboard. (Yes, I’ve tried that.)…

  • Tea and Tubas

    I picked a helluva month to quit drinkin’. Okay, not “quit”, per se, but definitely a self-imposed sabbatical toward beer. A beerbatical, if you will. Over the last couple of years, I’d naval-gazed my relationship with alcohol. Sure, I didn’t overdue it often, but questionable decisions had been made. That and it was no longer…

  • The Ballad of Wild Bourbon Black

    After covering more barrel-aged teas than I ever thought possible, it was only a matter of time before an idea struck me. It wasn’t actually my idea, though. The lead blender at Smith Teamaker suggested several years ago, “Why don’t you try it yourself? Get a barrel and just roll with it.” Not his exact…

  • From Red Lodge Books to Odin’s Armpits

    Toward the end of August, my mother asked for my aid in helping her drive from Wyoming to Oregon. One can hardly turn down such a request from their mother, but I added one condition. I would gladly assist…just as long as we made a stop through Red Lodge, Montana. The small town was a…

  • A Tealet Potluck

    Back in August…What? Yes, I’m still on August. There’s a backlog of blogs to get through. Quit yer whinin’, I have to do these in order! Ahem… Back in August a local tea event came to my attention. Local tea events never come to my attention. It may come as a surprise (or not), but…

  • The “Tease” of World Tea Expo

    The Road Trip Sextet, Part 3 – “The ‘Tease’ of World Tea Expo” For Part 1, go HERE. For Part 2, go HERE. You know it’s been awhile since you’ve blogged when your mother says as much in a Facebook message. Earlier this week, my Mum sent me such a message: “So, is June 9th…