We are happy to inform you that Jaya Teas has found another home in Champak Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey. Here is a link to the press release which announced the addition of Jaya Teas to Champak’s line of “Arts and Handicrafts”!

Laura Bush and Susanne Schieffer, wife of U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, and Mrs. Hanayo Kato, wife of Japanese Ambassador Ryozo Kato taking tea in the Tea Ceremony Classroom at Doshisha Girls Junior High School in Japan. Laura is travelling with President Bush currently on a tour of Japan and parts of Asia. Here is the link to White House photographs of this tour to Japan.

I am particularly taken by this image of the Kinkakuji Temple! What a beautiful site!

The Guardian has an interesting article on Laxman Rao, a tea seller by day and a writer by night. Laxman Rao has been writing novels for the last two decades but did not see much success because he writes in Hindi, the lingua franca of India, but one in which literature is not appreciated by the masses. So, he had to sell tea to make ends meet.

All this has changed recently with a resurgence of the local Indian languages. Here is a quote from the article about his recent success…

But Rao’s luck appears to be changing. His novel Ramdas, about a wayward village boy who mends his ways only to drown suddenly, earned him 10 times as much money as he made from selling tea. He has handed over the running of his stall to his eldest son while he cycles around Delhi’s libraries hawking his work. “I am the writer, the publisher, the salesman now,” says Rao, 51. “There is a change coming even if I am too old to enjoy it.”

Good luck Laxman Rao, we hope you find the success in writing that you have been seeking for all your life.

Here is the
link to the complete article.

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving, the traditional American Family Holiday is already upon us! For us the adventure of participating in thanksgiving dinner is unique and quite a welcome experience. Not having a large family here in US, in the past we have ended up spending the Thanksgiving dinner at some friends home joining their family for dinner. We always make something traditionally Indian (Aloo Gobi and Pulao always go over well with the hosts), and since last year, we have also added tea to our tradition. Last year we enjoyed Apple tea with our dinner - our hosts, traditional coffee drinkers, couldn’t quite get over the beautiful aroma of delicate apples wafting through their tea cups!

This year I am thinking of doing something different. For a change, we might celebrate the holiday at home, just Jaya, myself and Sunil with Bhaloo, our dog. And this year, I am going to start the day with a cup of Oolong, my current favorite, then enjoy the dinner over hot cups of Passion Fruit Tea, and relax with a cup of Boisahabi after dinner. Nothing like a good Assam to settle the stomach after a full meal!

How do you plan to include tea in your Thanksgiving dinner? Write a comment in the comment section and let me know. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!