Sharing life’s simple pleasure with significant taste
Level 2 - Specialty Tea Institute
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All tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Black. Green. Oolong. White. Yellow. Pu’erh. It’s all in the processing of the leaf.
My tea experience first consisted of tea bags and bottled tea from a cooler. Black tea as iced, sweet and unsweet, when living in the South. Then I discovered the world of specialty tea at the London Tea Room with owner Jackie James while living in St. Louis, and then further expanded my tea tastings with a visit to The Cultured Cup in Dallas during my trip for spinal surgery. I swear tea even helped my recovery. I wanted to know more about what was in my cup.
I am studying to become a Certified Tea Specialist through the Specialty Tea Institute in New York City, with classes in cities around the country, providing the country’s first accredited tea curriculum. I have completed Levels 1 and 2 at The Cultured Cup with owner Kyle Stewart. I am working on Level 3 which is the final step for certification.
So many teas. So many tea folks I’ve met. So much to talk about. Write about.
I’ll just sip some Lapsang Souchong, a black tea from the Fujian Province in China with a smoky pine flavor, while I write- blog posts and a book about the Great Mississippi Tea Company and owner Jason McDonald, along with his partner Timmy Gipson. See what I mean?
I can’t wait to share some tea with you. I’m available to speak about my tea writing research and will bring along my favorite black teas, for now, for tastings. I fell in love with some black teas from Sri Lanka in my Level 3 class in Denver. I still drink tea from tea bags, too. The best tea is the one that you like.
“Tea? Yes, please! Tea soothes and stimulates at the same time with a balance of peacefulness and wakefulness, adding to my creativity and physical activity. And complements when I just want to sit and reflect.”
