Stepping Away From the Teashop But Not From Tea

  Last month marked the last time I worked at San Francisco's beloved Red Blossom Tea Company.  For three years now I've brewed and sold tea at this wonderful shop and during this time have met hundreds, if not thousands, of amazing tea people.  The experience was one in a lifetime, a chance to see the river of life pass by the shop window, I, sitting, wonder who would be the next to come in and sample my tea and the moment.  At times I likened my life to that of the 18th century Japanese tea poet, Baisao, who made camp at the edge of rivers, temple grounds, or in forests, making tea and enjoying the seasons.  Tea came first for him, passersby merely something to typify the moment.  

  Working at Red Blossom was somewhat the same.  Yet, as a tea person, some things about the tea business never seemed to connect with me.  For me, tea is the closest thing I have to a religion, world view, or ideal to which I live by.  Try selling that to a customer.  It doesn't always happen, nor do you always want it to.  I consider tea people rare and the moment, not money, is what should be the goal.  So, at times, having to recognize the monetary factor did trouble me.  Regardless, I was a great salesperson, motivated by the quality of the product and the people around me.  Red Blossom was and is still at the forefront of San Francisco's (if not California's) tea purveying community, so having a chance to be in the fray of that was wonderful.

  

As for things to come, my list seems to be endless.  April seems to be, for time being, a quiet before the proverbial storm of tea-related events.  May will bring with it the cornucopia of new Spring teas.  I am working with several local tea people to organize tastings, many of which will be offered alongside with live traditional Asian music.  More on all that to come!

  For now, I find myself enjoying the quietude of relaxing evenings.  The mixture of the rain and the beginning of Spring is a wonderful time for those in tea.  Away from the retail side of tea, I am, at long last, able to return to a more pure meditative approach to the art.  The silence of the night and the refreshing pause that comes with the changing of the season gives me hope for things to come as I step further in this life of tea.

Ongoing Tea Event: "The Art of Tea: China and Beyond" at the Pacific Heritage Museum

  2009 and 2010 was a wonderful year for tea and teaware buffs in California for two wonderful reasons.  For folks down south, they were treated to the exhibit "Steeped in History" at UCLA's Fowler Museum.  For us up north, an equally exciting exhibit treated us to the beauty that is East Asian tea culture, in the six-month long "Art of Tea: China and Beyond."  Now that it has been extended till the end of April, it gives us Bay Area tea people one more reason to get out and enjoy what is great about our local and unique tea culture.

    

  One of the many reasons I've been so excited about this exhibit is that not on

ly does it bring out the best teaware (over 160 pieces, from the Tang Dynasty to the present) from a multitude of local collectors, but it also features a series of on-going tea tastings, co-lead by my good friend (and fellow tea person) Albert Cheng and, well, myself.  So far, we've conducted almost a dozen tea tastings, all of which have been thematically organized around particula

r tea varietals, showcasing the diversity of tea cultures and styles that exist not only in East Asia (namely China, Korea, and Japan), but also Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and in the West.  And the turn out for these tastings have been amazing!

  Both Al and I had the idea of doing tastings in an attempt to place tea into context with the art and cultures that surround it.  Originally, the tastings were conceived as being a small "get-together"-like gathering, a mellow way to introduce folks to the idea of tea and how to brew it.  I can remember our first gathering was attended by two wandering (and initially hesitant) tourists.  Tea, however, seems to have the ability to quickly breakdown any trepidation and soon we were holding tasting events that numbered close to twenty people (not to mention a waiting list that seemed to get exponentially longer).  It was wonderous and terrific to see that by word of mouth alone the local tea community had tapped into something like this and made it their own!

  Now within what might be its last month open, I encourage all who haven't ventured down to the Pacific Heritage Museum to do so.  You will be happily surprised!  There is also talks of one FINAL tea tasting, so stay tuned!

INFORMATION ON EXHIBIT:

Location: 608 Commercial Street (between Kearny and Montgomery) in San Francisco's Chinatown/Financial District

Phone: 415-399-1124

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10AM to 4PM

***All imaged above were taken and provided by Albert Cheng.  Images include the "Art of Tea" exhibit poster, 19th Century Yixing Teapot Encased in Pewter with jadeite knob and wood handle with silver inlay, image of candied yuzu in Song Dynasty chawan, and recreated scholar's parlor with tables, scrolls, and birdcages.***

New Beginnings

  Hello all those out there in this large (and small) tea world!  Welcome to the inaugural post for this blog, Scotttea.  My name, as the title may lead you to assume, is Scott.  I am a resident of San Francisco and avid tea drinker.  Partially why I am beginning a blog is because, like most (if not all bloggers) I am just looking for a way to put my words out there to the proverbial "sounding board" of the web but, also, looking to see if such words might lead to something greater.

  Living in San Francisco and being into tea, I've noticed several things.  One, San Francisco and the Bay Area seems to be a mecca for tea drinkers.  And, two, there seems to be a palpable tea "ethos" within the Bay Area.  Having worked at one of the busiest tea shops in the city, I have seen and met many of these "tea people" 茶人, and have personally become part of what seems to be a larger "tea community."  And yet, this community seems still within its infancy, still within its developing stages, and not yet at the point that it can grasp at its totality.  In short, it lacks a cohesiveness that can yet enable it to be defined as a whole.

  I am curious to see how this community of Bay Area (and, hopefully, Californian) tea drinkers evolves.  I am blogging in the hopes to observe and chronicle its evolution through the eyes of one person and, with any luck, maybe help it further develop and grow.  Stay tuned for I assure you there will be much more to come as I begin to write on the multitude of local teahouses, tea shops, events, styles, and ways that define Californian tea culture.