Today I learned about Gato Barbieri, the famed saxophonist from Argentina from my good friend Lois Roe. Lois manages the mailing list of Gato Barbieri, and since I told her about my interest in Jazz, she was kind enough to lend me a CD of Gato. Turnsout, Gato Barbieri is going to be playing at Blue Note, in Manhattan, from June 7-12. So, if you are in and about the city on those days, take advantage of this unique opportunity and visit with Gato. And if you talk to him, tell him you found out about him from the Jaya Teas website.
Click here to visit Gato’s newsletter website where you can sign up for the newsletters, and click here for the Blue Note Jazz Club website for more info on the concert.
Glenn Swann, the lifelong student of Asian art and culture including Zen Meditation, Shakuhachi Flute and Tea, will be conducting a two hour workshop on Tea.
The workshop explores various aspects of tea, including the asesthetics, the appreciation, and the culture of tea. This program includes a tasting of many different types of teas including Indian Black Teas, and Chinese Oolong Teas.
Saturday, June 4th, 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm
Cost: $25 per person
Location: 666 Plainsboro Road, Suite 655, Plainsboro, NJ 08536
Contact: Michele @ 609.750.7432 or email by clicking here
Thanks to dilligent efforts of ATT customer service, our phonelines are working again. So, feel free to use the telephone to place your orders. 877-JAYA-TEA
Doesn’t this look delicious!! Fingler Licking Good! Click the photo to go to Diane’s site for the recepie.
Apologies, Apologies, Apologies. I am sorry, but I just found out that our phone number isn’t working. Neither the 877 number, nor the 609-818-1263 numbers are working. We have notified Ma Bell about it and hopefully they will fix this soon. But just in case this doesn’t get fixed for a while, please know that the website and the tea store is very much functional so you can still place the orders through the website.
Sorry about all this, but I have no clue what happened here!
In the mood to see some handsome Chaiwallas? You have got to see these beautiful pictures of chaiwallahs on the Sri Ganesh Tea Stall and Book Store!
Reuters news agency today carried an awful report regarding the ailing tea gardens of Assam. Assam has over 850 tea gardens producing teas supplying to both the domestic and exports market. The indian tea market has been in doldrums for years now, and the price fetched by the owners at auctions has be going lower and lower. This problem is compounded by the import of cheaper, and more inferior tea from abroad (Vietnam, SriLanka) which has also had a depressing effect on prices.
As a result of this, the owners of the estates aren’t even able to provide a living wage to the workers. The level of frustration is so high that several tea garden managers and owners have been murdered by mobs of garden workers unhappy about their living conditions, and a climate of fear prevails in the idyllic gardens.
There are no easy solutions here, but Assam tea industry needs to do more to try to popularize its teas abroad. This would enable the estates to fetch a better price, which would then translate into better wages for the workers. Compared to the Darjeeling teas, the Assam teas are not as widely appreciated in the west, although if they try them once, most agree that Assam produces some of the best teas.
Jaya Teas, for example, has several customers who absolutely adore the Marangi, and the Boisahabi teas, besides the Mokalbari tea. Just check the reviews section
Here is the link to the article.
Cindy W., at Cup of Tea Blog has an excellent article on tasting natural flavors in tea. Among other things, water temperature, water quality, and quantity of tea are important criteria that influence the taste of tea.
I can tell you from experience that new tea drinkers initially find the Darjeeling tea too harsh and bitter. The most common mistake people commit is to use “too much tea”! Indeed, for starters, one should use only half tea spoon of Darjeeling tea with 8 oz of water, steeped for 2.5 to 3 minutes. If the tea is too weak, increase the steep time by a minute or so. If the tea still tastes weak, increase the quanity of tea.
So, why should one use less tea? For the simple reason that the Darjeeling tea is cut leaf tea, and if one uses too much tea, the large amount of tannins that come into the brew makes it bitter.
Any ways, lots of gems in Cindy’s article, so here is the link to it.
Tasting tea
