Brewing

Despite warmer than usual temperatures, the first day of winter is fast approaching and the holiday season is upon us. But I’ve recently noticed that inside, things are budding and blooming. At the shop, my Camellia Sinensis (tea plant) has finally opened it’s delicately fragrant, single blossom. And at home, both the Peace Plant and the Christmas Cactus are blooming. My amaryllis is not flowering yet, but I expect that it soon will push up its bud. This will be very exciting when the snow hits the ground. There may be nothing more homey than being surrounded by fragrant blossoms, drinking a cup of my favorite tea, with the cold wind and snow blowing outside. We hope you’ll join us often in the coming weeks and months of winter to warm your hands and your hearts with tea.
In the coming week

Our friends at Ajiri Tea received the First Place Award in the recent 2011 North American Tea Championship in the category of Black Tea. The teas were judged on the following criteria: dry leaf, brewed color, brewed aroma, brewed flavor, brewed mouth-feel, and brewed harmony. With the addition of this honor to their Award for Best New Product in the packaging category at last year’s World Tea Expo, Ajiri is proud to demonstrate the care and dedication of their Kenyan tea farmers in producing an exceptional product. As you will remember, the goal of Ajiri Tea Co. is to employ women in western Kenya and to educate orphans in their communities. Please join us in congratulating this young company in their great success, and wish them continued growth in the fulfillment of their mission.

If you’re looking for a bold, robust black tea, stop in and taste Ajiri’s award winning tea. I think you’ll be very impressed.

I always try to forewarn people who are coming to the shop that we are in an unusual spot for a tea shop. We are located, in fact, in an industrial park…within my plumbing and heating professional’s building. He’s a wonderful landlord, and we have working heat and air conditioning here. After being previously located in a beautiful old Victorian era building with character oozing from the walls and beautiful natural lighting…but with poor heating and cooling mechanisms, I’ve decided this is very important. Tea needs to be kept in comfortable, dry environments, as do people. Customers and employees will not be enjoying themselves if they’re freezing, roasting, or having to wipe sweat off their brow. So…I took a chance by renting this space. I figured in China and other parts of Asia, many of the best teas are found in little out of the way holes- in- the -wall. If it can work there, maybe it can work here. Our goal is to offer the finest teas we can at a fair price. It is also to educate and inform our customers. We’ve chosen to put our monetary gains into high quality teas, educating ourselves, and keeping up to date on all things tea, by particpating continuously in our professional organizations and classes, rather than locating in a high rent district. We’re grateful to our customers who go out of their way to find us, spread the word to their friends, and then keep returning. Our location is actually quite convenient to major highways, the Maine Turnpike, and Route #1.

Once you’re inside our space, you won’t realize you’re in an industrial park. The space is filled with wonderful teas: black tea, green tea, Oolong tea, and herbal tisanes, as well as “all things loosely related” to tea! We carry unique gifts and jewelry which anyone, tea lover or not would love to own. Our selection of books includes the Tea Shop Mystery Series as well as children’s books, books about tea in general, and lots of recipes. Many of the books have beautiful photography. I promise you that you will not find such a large selection of tea goodies anywhere else in the state of Maine.

We want you to be satisfied with your tea purchases, so we encourage you to taste before you buy. We can help you sort out what teas you have or haven’t liked in the past, whether you’re looking for a straight tea, a flavored tea, or a blended tea. Or we can introduce you to a totally new taste.

If you’re totally new to tea, or if you’d like in-depth knowledge about a particular type of tea, we encourage you to take one of our classes. It’s always fun to learn with others who share an interest.

And, if you just need a quiet respite away from the daily bustle, you’re welcome to visit and sit at our small table to enjoy being served tea and something light to go with it, all on your own or with a friend. So, thanks for taking a chance and stopping by. We look forward to serving you.

Tea is ready!

Just returned from the annual three day World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, the premier conference for people in the Specialty Tea industry. Although a bit smaller in the past few years, reflecting the economy, I always come away with fresh ideas, new knowledge, and ideas for new products. This year is no exception. When jet lag has dissipated a bit more I will fill you in with a more complete report. For now, I encourage you to visit the shop in the next few weeks as new merchandise arrives. Some of the highlights include tea from Ajiri Tea, a new company importing black tea from Kenya with a heartwarming story behind it; new electric kettles with programmable temperature settings so you can steep your green teas, oolongs, and blacks at the perfect temperature, and tea infused chocolates. Also check out the new selections of the Emma Lea children’s books which chronicle Emma Lea’s experiences having tea with family, friends, and including the new Emma Lea cook book.

Lots of people are interested in tea because they’ve read that it’s good for them. But they tell me they just don’t like tea. Sometimes they associate it with being sick because that’s when they were given it as children. Others tell me it makes them nauseous or gives them a burning sensation in their stomach. Or they’ve tried green tea because that’s what the majority of the health related research has been on, and I’m told the tea was so bitter. So, is there a tea for everyone? I believe there is. With such a huge range of tea, from white to green to oolong to black, and then any flavor or other botanical can be blended or  added to any of those, you can find something that you like. The various teas in and of themselves have a huge range of flavors, and they are best enhanced by learning to choose them carefully and prepare them properly.

The most critical aspects of making a good cup or pot of tea include:

1. Select a high quality tea. High quality tea is the most affordable luxury. Most teas can be made several times over using the same tea leaves, and with each infusion you can often taste a different aspect of that particular tea. 

2. Use fresh water with a good taste…bad tasting water will make bad tasting tea.

3. Measure the proper amount of tea leaf; usually one teaspoon per 6-8 ounces of water. Then adjust to taste. 

4. Use water at the correct temperature. Black teas require water at boiling, but green teas require water that has been allowed to cool for a minute or so after boiling

5. Steep the recommended amount of time… and then remove the leaves from the tea! Otherwise you will end up with a bitter, undrinkable brew.

It’s always good if you can taste some teas before you buy them, or if you can buy in small quantities to start.

So…don’t be afraid to explore the wonderful world of tea. I look forward to helping you!

Things at Nellie’s are beginning to get settled and a rhythm is developing. I’ve missed this rhythm since leaving our old space in Biddeford last October, so it feels nice to settle back in.
Based on the patterns of the past couple of weeks, and looking toward my return to USM in the next few weeks, I’ve made some changes to this weeks schedule of hours. Here they are:

Monday and Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday through Friday: 10 AM to 5 PM
Saturday: by chance or appointment
Sunday: Meet me at The Scarborough Farmer’s Market, 9 AM to 12 Noon, behind Town Hall from Route #1 just south of the Oak Hill intersection.

On my second day in S.F. my personalized tour continued. My friend Wendy McPhee, of Longevite Tea, picked me up in the morning and we proceeded to enjoy tea at three very different tea establishments.

First stop was Imperial Tea Court in the Ferry Building. Owned by long time tea guru, Roy Fong, this reminded me of the tea houses in China. Dark wooden tables and chairs in a quiet atmosphere of good tea and accompaniments. We shared an order of dumplings to tide us over which were superb. The tea service was gaiwan style, the waiter quite knowledgeable and thorough in his explanations. Browsing the assortment of teas and accoutrements before we moved on made me want to return to this interesting shop later in my stay.

After touring a bit of San Francisco, we headed to the Mission District for our 2 o’clock reservation at Lovejoy’s Tea Room .

This was traditional afternoon tea, Scottish style. The tea room is an eclectic jumble of western style tables covered with linens, with a mix and match assortment of china and place settings, three tiered servers, tea pots, and accoutrements. Lace curtains swept to the sides of the windows. British sideboards were filled with tea wares and gift items for sale. The room was filled with parties of one, two, or large celebrations. We shared the three tiered tea service which included finger sandwiches, salad greens, scones, and cookies. Our own pots of tea were hot and well prepared. The server was cheerful and friendly. All together a lovely, pleasant respite for the late afternoon chat, followed by a browse of Lovejoy’s Gift Shop located in a separate building across the street.

Our third tea adventure took us across the Bay Bridge to Berkely. Our destination here was  the tea shop and tea bar Teance. This contemporary space is a study in serenity and art. A carefully planned and designed establishment, located in a very busy shopping strip, one is greeted upon entering by the calming water feature just inside the entrance with a small garden statue, trickling water and gold fish swimming in the large ceramic pot.

The walls are lined with open shelves filled with an array of fine teas, teapots, pitchers, trays, cups, scoops, and all manner of other fine wares. At the back of the shop is the bar where one sits and for $5.00 can have a gaiwan serving of any tea on the menu.This includes many re-infusions of the leaves for as long as they hold their flavor, which can be through 5 or more infusions. The bar itself is a tea lovers dream. Designed of pigmented and formed cement with a metal grid, it allows spilled water or tea to drip through to the built in drains. Our tea server was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and efficient. I enjoyed a superb 15 year old Pu-ehr which was vey smooth, bright, and still going strong after 5 infusions. The other teas I saw people enjoying appeared equally well prepared and of the finest quality. 15 year old Pu-ehr Cloud and Mist, Gaiwan Style

This was another perfect day in San Francisco, thanks to good friends, the smile of the good weather spirit, and a beautiful city!

Next up, the Tea Class!

It was so much fun to visit San Francisco recently for a Specialty Tea Institute class. Through the generosity of several friends, I really was given a wonderful tea experience in that city in addition to attending my class. Thanks to Nez and Donna Tokugawa, owners of Chado-En, I was given a very comprehensive tour of the city. I was picked up at my hotel at 9:00 A.M. and returned at 8:30 that evening. Nez, a native of Japan, grew up in SF and is understandably very proud of his city. From a tour of the Ferry building, up and down the steep streets of neighborhoods, including the famous Lombard Street the Crookedest Street in the world, there was very little in the city itself that we didn’t see.

A very special experience was the opportunity to sit with Peter Luong, at his family owned Red Blossom Tea Company in Chinatown. This young man not only is a very knowlegeable tea merchant, but also was performing on cello later that evening. We had some wonderful Tie Kwan Yin to which Peter had given an additional roast. It was superb. Another highlight was visiting Muir Woods, a beautiful park of California giant redwoods. This was a delighful respite, the huge aged trees soaring above us giving a prehistoric feel to our surroundings as we followed the paths among them.me

Lunch across the bay in Sausolito was delightful, seated outside looking over the water. More traveling around the area brought us back to the city for a sushi dinner which was remeniscent of my short stay in Japan. The Tokgawas outdid themselves in their hospitality, and I can only hope that they will visit Maine sometime so I can return the gift.

Many years ago, 31 to be exact, a colleague at the University of Rochester generously offered my husband and me the use of her summer home in Cape May, NJ for a week. We were new parents, struggling on a tight budget, and welcomed the prospect of a week at the shore after all the crowds had left. In a brilliant moment, we decided that if we drove all night, our 7month old daughter would sleep the entire time, we would arrive and get settled, and then we could all take a nap with our daughter when the time came.

Well, as with all best laid plans…our daughter did not sleep, rather cried much of the way, it poured rain throughout much of the trip, and at some point in our travels, unknown to us, the port-a-crib tied to the roof of our car blew off, lost forever. We arrived exhausted, only to have trouble lighting the pilot in the stove and hot water heater. But the gift of this particular day came when we went outside after all having a nap and being restored. For there covering the shrubs at the front of the house in mosaics of orange and black…were hundreds of monarch butterflies! Up until then I never thought about what happens to butterflies when the weather gets colder, but apparently they do migrate to warmer climates along with their bird-friends, and we were fortunate to have stumbled into their path on that particular day. Their glow brightened the area like a flickering candle in a jack-o-lantern, lifting our spirits and getting our week off to a beautiful start.

This time last year, I was returning from my three week Tea Tour of China, exhausted and exhilerated, reeling from the thousands of colorful images seen during that awe inspiring journey into history. A year later, I am closer to being able to put all that I saw, learned and experienced, into perspective. If you asked me a year ago if I would consider returning to China, I would have said I was unsure; it is such an exhausting trip both physically and mentally. But, at this time, in this year, I find my thoughts frequently turning to China, thinking of the places I would like to see and experiences I would like to have on my next trip there. I’m remembering the myriads of tea tasted at the tea markets, the friendliness of the tea merchants and other shop keepers, the amazing tastes and sights seen in our travels. So…time will tell, but in the meantime, I frequently think of the ancient temple at the top of Green City Mountain which was destroyed in last Spring’s earthquakes in Sichuan Province. We’re told it will be rebuilt, that the monks and other workers who reside there were all safe, and the serenity of that quiet mountain top is changed, but not gone. Hopefully the ancient tea plants tended there are still growing, Tai Chi Chuan with its graceful, fluid movements is still practiced daily in the clear mountain air, and the old man sitting at the base of the steps leading to the temple continues to monitor the comings and goings of the place. I don’t know if I’ll go back in person, but I definitely frequently go there in my mind…and it’s a wonderful journey.

In just a few short days I will be leaving for a long-planned trip which will take me to Japan for just three days, and then on to China for almost three weeks. This will be a once in a lifetime trip for me, I suspect. I will travel on a Tea Tour being led by Dan Robertson of The Tea House, a wholesale supplier in Naperville, IL. Dan has been traveling to China since 1994, and leading these tours since 2000.

We will visit  tea estates, as well as small family owned plots,  where we will see tea being grown, plucked, and processed by hand. We will have the opportunity to taste endless wonderful teas, many of which are never made available outside of China. This is the country where tea has grown wild for centuries and where it has long been celebrated for its medicinal and spiritual effects. We will be staying both at modern hotels and at more personal traditional guesthouses. While on our tour we will have the opportunity to spend time at many tea houses as well as at a calligraphy school, a porcelain factory, and a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. I am so excited to be undertaking this voyage, and I look forward to sharing stories, pictures, and tea knowledge for a very long time upon my return. In my absence, the shop will continue to operate smoothly under the care of Patricia of Cellar Door Floral Designs, and Shirley of Gallery 265. On Saturdays, you will have the chance to meet my daughter, Chrisy McKinney who will be filling in for me. Although my access to e-mail will be spotty while I’m away, I will be happy to try to respond to questions which can’t wait for my return if I can. Otherwise, I will look forward to seeing you all in October! Marianne