The Meaning of Tea- Review

a lil incentive to get me to dust off my blog a le bit more often .... thanks (again) to twitter in conjunction with meetup.com. I won another free ticket to a lovely event hosted by the DC Asia Society around Dupont Circle. Here's the PR blurb

Alexis Siemons at The Meaning Of Tea, Director of Marketing & PR [masked] (New York City, NY) – March, 2010- Asia Society Washington invites members and guests to a tea tasting and D.C. area premiere screening of the lyrical documentary, The Meaning Of Tea. Filmmaker and Director of The Meaning of Tea project, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt, will be introducing the film, in addition to signing books and sharing a few of his favoriteteas during the tea tasting reception.

The Meaning of Tea is a 74-minute documentary film exploring the calm and purposeful nature of tea life. It is an ongoing, tea-inspired journey that celebrates the history, rituals, spirituality and simple, pure enjoyment of tea through the eyes of tea lovers in places where tea is revered-from India to Ireland, from Taiwan to Japan, from Tea, South Dakota in the USA to Morocco, England and France.

Through inspiring interviews with people from all over the world of tea - tea pickers and plantation owners, street sellers, raders, teapot makers, tea tasters and eloquent tea scholars - The Meaning of Tea film explores the profoundly positive role that tea can play in the renewal of our modern world. The Meaning of Tea is also accompanied by a companion book and a CD of the film's original tea-inspired music. Each one explores the underlying sentiment of tea.

Following a sold-out screening and tea tasting at the Asia Society in New York, The Meaning Of Tea is thrilled to offer its second screening hosted by the Asia Society Washington D.C. during the National Cherry Blossom Festival. This stimulating series of events coincides with the Asia Society’s online discussion that asks, are tea rituals still relevant today?

Along with this online discussion, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt hopes to carry on the conversation as he continues to blog, tweet and
tour the nation offering exclusive screenings that inspire us all to seek out a deeper meaning of tea.

Scott Chamberlin Hoyt is a filmmaker, photographer, painter, budding tea connoisseur and director of The Meaning of Tea project. His longtime interest in tea increased when he began studying various alternatives to orthodox modern medicine and learned that tea, and the enjoyment of tea, is one of the cornerstones of living life well. His perspective is augmented by years of world travel, and deepened by decades of exploration into Eastern thought. Scott is on the board of directors for Global Learning Across Borders, a member of the Directors Circle for the American Botanical Council, and he is President of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. He holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA from New York University.

Asia Society Washington, Asia Society established its office in Washington, DC in 1985 to provide a forum in the nation's capital for diplomats, members of Congress, government officials, journalists,scholars, artists, business executives, and other interested individuals to exchange views on a wide variety of subjects concerning Asia and the increasingly important US-Asian relationship. From Iran to Japan, from Central Asia to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Asia Society programs inWashington look at contemporary issues and the cultural context of the Asian region as well as the implications of future trends. Our programs are designed to address major issues and discuss recent events with key U.S. and Asian practitioners to promote a greater awareness about Asia in the Washington community."

When I arrived, I knew I was gonna be in for a good time. I walked in and saw a few people sipping from the Ultimate Tea Cup easily had from Teaism. What makes this cup great is its sectioned off the hot water & loose tea.. brews & no mixing, no spitting out leaves and the outside does not get hot after you add water lol.

They had a few tables set up for the slight tea tasting..I got this organic herbal blend called Rejuvenation..yummm so minty and refreshing. I also saw jasmine green, an oolong and I believe a black tea available for tasting. The set up for the screening was pretty basic; big room with table & chairs. I was ultra nervous, rolling solo and not knowing anyone but I learned a tea lover is a tea lover regardless of race,creed or status. Besides the wealth of information shared I think the bonding also made this a great experience. Unfortunately although we probably watched about 45mins of the DVD it was skipping chapters so we missed out on alot of content. The DVD was filmed at several areas in the world known for tea (e.g China, Japan, India, England) the premise was give some insights on the tea manufacturing process (growing, picking, tasting, packaging) as well as show how this beverage is more than a drink but a cultural statement to others. I don't want to give too many spoilers but some interesting things I noted:

-tea tasters- taste 2k cups of tea a week.. crazy!

-to hold the tea cup with your palm facing in = good manners

-most "real (non lipton lol) " teas are handpicked.. automation has no occurred- surprising to me.. I just assumed technology had automated 1/2 the things in the living world . Obviously alot of tea farms believe keeping the process as natural and historic as possible to preserve taste and reputation. One scene that stuck out to me was a tea co. that had the tea leaf & ladybug as their logo. The farm manager believed firmly in no pesticides and letting nature intermingle.

-Good tea stays in your heart- so tru .. I only have 2 teas on my list that I can stamp as the BEST EVER lol (Pearl Tea Monkey picked oolong & Teaism World Peace tisane). The rare Gyoruko I got from Germany good reviews online but it tastes like regular green tea to me I've only brewed the lil I have twice but I also picked up some brewing tips last night so I will try the Gyo again soon.

enough rambling.. I need to wrap this entry up and finish my work day. Coincidentally I'm going to a women's tea talk afterwork sponsored by my NEW JOB!!

I have another blog entry coming soon (me promise) to talk about the new gig & ..................... my kindle DX (took that plunge) LOL