TeaCast - Tea beverage, culture, health, and business

We taped a portion of our recent visit with David Lee Hoffman. David has traveled frequently to China to individually taste and collect one of the finest pu-erh collections in the States. David worked with Les Blank on creating, "All in this Tea", a 70 minute documentary film on searching China's markets and plantations for great tasting tea, especially varietals grow without chemicals and pesticides. David is devoted to sustainable agriculture and is keenly aware of the cycle of energy and resources that are utilized in our daily lives. Teacast.org is pleased to bring you a portion of our tasting with David, recorded in early February 2010.

We speak with Winnie Yu, Director, Teance, a specialty, direct from garden wholesaler and retailer of Chinese and Taiwanese teas. Ms. Yu has been instrumental in the reemergence of tea as a beverage of cultural and historical significance in the United States. Her writings, lectures, and interactive demonstrations have encouraged us to position tea as a lifelong study of the mind and spirit. Ms. Yu also provides insights into her personal efforts to identify remarkable family operated tea gardens as she pursues buying high quality teas for a thirsty and inquisitive American population.

The Naked Leaf is a specialty tea store located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Jonathan Kane, the proprietor of The Naked Leaf, joins us for a lively discussion of how he transitioned into the retail tea business and explains some of the store's unique features, including locally designed, artisan packaging, tea ware and organic teas.

The Artfarm is an 11-acre organic farm born in 2003 when Margit and Victor took over a beautiful acreage in the heart of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, BC. The Artfarm is a place where farming, creating, being and contemplating merge. A place of nourishment for body, soul and eyes. A place where tea is a way of life. We speak directly with Margit and Victor, as they describe life on the farm and their interests in nurturing tea, art, and food. See also Margit Nellemann's individually crafted teapots and ceramics.

Manik Jayakumar, President, Qtrade Teas & Herbs has amassed a series of remarkable achievements in the specialty tea industry. Starting from his rapid rise to a tea plantation manager in Sri Lanka through to heading one of the largest organic and Fair Trade certified import, blending and distribution centers in North America, Mr. Jayakumar provides us with a unique perspective on how we can all participate in the long term viability of tea plantations throughout the world.

CoffeeFest 2009 and World Tea Expo East 2009 - observations and impressions from a tea perspective. Ron recently spoke at the conference on the use of analytics to better understand real sales performance and buying trends. Performance scorecards and dashboards can be developed and consulted regularly to graphically represent key metrics and support critical management decisions. Segment includes an interview with Manjiv Jayakumar, Director, Qtrade Teas & Herbs. Manjiv shares his impressions of the show and highlights some of their new product launches, including mulling spices, instant green tea, and Fair Trade Certified herbs and spices.

For as many teas as there are in the world, there are infinitely more creative teas and tisanes that can be derived from combining dried fruits, flowers, spices, herbs, and flavors. Desiree Nelson, Qtrade Teas & Herbs, joins us to discuss approaches to coming up with your own signature teas, whether for personal or professional applications. Listen and call in to share your questions and experiences.

Special Guest: Robert Wemischner, an accomplished chef, baker, teacher of cooking and food writer. Mr. Wemischner has taught at prestigious cooking schools throughout the U.S. from L'Academie de Cuisine in suburban Washington, D.C. to the James Beard House in New York. The Dessert Architect (2009), features multi-component plated desserts, geared to professional and serious amateur alike. Mr. Wemischner will join us to discuss how we can incorporate tea into creative and exciting recipes. Publications: The Vivid Flavors Cookbook, (1994). Lowell House-NTC Contemporary Books. Gourmet to Go: A Guide to Opening and Operating a Specialty Food Store (1997), co-authored with Karen Karp. John Wiley Publishers. Cooking with Tea (2000), co-authored with Diana Rosen, Tuttle-Periplus Editions, publishers.

We discuss major misconceptions / myths surrounding tea. Join us with your ideas and stories.

Just getting started with your tea biz? We'll use this show to discuss menu planning - how to develop an effective tea menu for quick service, restaurant, and specialty retail applications.

Writer and curator Beatrice Hohenegger joins us for a lively perspective on Liquid Jade and upcoming the tea exhibition, “Steeped in History: The Art of Tea” at UCLA's Fowler Museum from August 16, 2009 to November 29, 2009. Liquid Jade explores tea in all its historical and cultural aspects. Entertaining yet informative and extensively researched, Liquid Jade tells the story of western greed and eastern bliss. Connecting past and present, Liquid Jade explores the world of tea today and discusses how organic and fair trade practices can begin to address the damage of hundreds of years of labor as well as soil exploitation. “Steeped in History: The Art of Tea”. The exhibition reveals the fascinating history of tea drinking. Paintings, photographs and historical documents, and tea-serving paraphernalia range from tea's mythic origins of South China through its enormous significance in Japan, its introduction in Europe by Dutch traders around 1610, its role in colonial American life beyond the clichés of the Boston Tea Party, and finally to its expanding importance as a global commodity at the height of the British Empire.

Why is tea a healthy beverage? What components in tea make it special? How much do I have to drink? Ron returns to his scientist days and leads us in a discussion of current research on tea and wellness.

Emilie just returned from Japan and had a chance to visit a few tea shops. Join us for this abbreviated show as we discuss her experiences and observations.

George Jage, President, World Tea Expo, will join us to discuss the upcoming World Tea Expo 2009 in Las Vegas on May 2 - 4, 2009. The World Tea Expo World Tea Expo is the only business-to-business event dedicated to tea and a great forum for participants to determine trends, optimize product lines, increase their knowledge and network with peers. If you're still thinking about whether to attend, you won't want to miss this show. If you've already registered, listen for some tips on how to get the most from your visit.

We want to reserve this time to listen to our audience - what would you like to hear more about? We will schedule this for a 30 minute show, but will let this go longer if needed.