05.06.2022 :: May All Tea Gardens Be Green
By the month of May, tea terraced slopes worldwide are growing lush and vibrantly green. Many freshly harvested teas arrive to North America this month. In the Westholme Tea Garden we hope to begin plucking our first flush, which typically falls in serendipitous alignment with International Tea Day on the 21st.
When tea leaves are hidden away inside a tea bag, we may not recognize tea as an agricultural product from an evergreen shrub (Camellia sinensis).
Where and how a tea was grown is expressed in the leaf, and drinking loose tea can remind us of this. All of the quality of soil, the elevation, the timing of harvest, as well as the cultural and historical contexts of the people and place becomes part of the tea.
We are continuously in awe that this one plant can present so many tastes and textures: sweet, astringent, toasty, nutty, soft, brisk, vegetal, kelpy, buttery, creamy, cocoa, fruity, floral, earthy, metallic and more. When tea leaves are properly crafted and when we learn to steep with more appropriate methods for each type there can be surprising differences.
While there is no right way to drink tea, the month of May and International Tea Day invites us to think about rights for the hands plucking tea who are calling for global attention to unjust and inequitable impacts of the tea industry.
Because teas are an expression of the environment where they are grown, working conditions affect the quality of tea.
What better way to consider the ripple effect of a drop of tea than to sit and connect through a cup of tea.
Our Travel the World of Tea Giftset is the perfect way to connect with different landscapes, times, cultures, flavours, practices, and people through cups of tea!
This giftset - whether a gift to yourself or for the tea curious folk in your life - will connect you with teas from around the world. Travel across time and across continents with unique teas, each with a story to tell.
In honour of International Tea Day, we are upgrading this set with a number of new teas and offering 10% off until May 22, 2022. Use the Code TEATRAVELS at Checkout!
View the full newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/westholmetea/teashop-updates-10120259
