Boutique Teas May 2013 Tea Events Schedule

April 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Saturday, May 4, 2013
11am to 12:30pm $7
The Art of Tea Brewing
Buddhamouse Emporium, 134 Yale Ave, Claremont

This lecture will explore two tea brewing styles. You will learn and practice gong fu and sencha tea brewing styles. Gong Fu tea brewing style is about practicing your tea brewing technique. This brewing style is for large leaf oolong teas. Sencha tea brewing style centers around whole leaf green teas. Each brewing style, you must determine answers to three questions: How hot? How much? and How long?

How hot must the water be? Japanese green teas are delicate; the water must be around 180 F degrees. Oolongs are hardier leaves and can thrive in hotter water.
How much tea do you need? This answer depends on the tea pot used and your personal taste. Oolong tea leaves are large with robust strong flavors, so you need less leaves. Green tea leaves are smaller with light delicate flavors. You may like to add more leaves for a strong cup.
How long do you steep tea? This answer depends on the type of tea pot and the type of tea. Traditionally, tea is brewed in small pots for 30 to 90 seconds. In reality, you brew tea in a larger cup and the tea leaves 2-5 minutes to properly infuse.
You will sample Japanese green tea, oolong tea and a black tea.

RSVP to Tiffany at tiffany@boutiqueteas.com

Saturday, May 11, 2013
3-6pm $7
The Art of Tea Leaf Reading: Advanced Workshop
Buddhamouse Emporium, 134 Yale Ave., Claremont

This workshop is about focus and energy. Instead of thinking about a questions, you will chose a theme. Themes can include: work, love, friendship, finance and more. Focusing on one aspect of your life will give you a complete picture of that part of your life. There will be unique tea blends and stones available to help you channel your energy into the tea leaves.
RSVP to Tiffany at tiffany@boutiqueteas.com

Saturday, May 18, 2013
3:00-4:30pm $7
The Art of Japanese Green Teas
Buddhamouse Emporium, 134 Yale Ave., Claremont

Two Japanese scholars popularized tea ceremony and tea drinking in ancient and modern Japan: Sen Rikyu and Baishou. Both men discovered tea in the Buddhist monasteries in Kyoto, Japan. Both men left the monastery, pursuing two different paths to spread their love of tea.

Sen Rikyu taught Japanese rulers the art and practice of tea. His specialty centered on simplifying the elaborate Japanese tea ceremony called ‘chanoyu’. This tea ceremony honored the powdered tea called ‘Matcha’. Tea ceremony became elaborate and garish. Only the elite could afford the colorful Chinese tea utensils. Sen Rikyu striped the ceremony to the basics: tea, water, and fire.

Baishou aimed to spread the ritual of drinking tea to the masses. A new style of tea was developed: whole leaf tea. This tea is called ‘sencha’, meaning boil or fire tea. You brewed the leaves in hot water. Baishou and his disciples translated tea literature into Japanese and distributed it to everyone. Baishou was known for his tea stall in Kyoto and his poetry.

You will taste Matcha, sencha, and genmaicha green teas.

RSVP to Tiffany at tiffany@boutiqueteas.com

Facilitator: Tiffany Williams is the owner of Boutique Teas. Boutique Teas offers the ultimate premium loose leaf tea selection, and tea education lectures. For two years, Tiffany has practiced and learned about tea blending techniques. Tiffany writes articles for http://www.boutiqueteas.com and for http://www.tching.com about tea culture, tea leaf reading and tea history. Tiffany lectures at the annual Los Angeles Tea Lover’s Festival.