Field Study Components:
3a) A main insight that my group learned from the tea tastings was how to actually taste the teas. Whether it would be learning the distinct tastes between the Darjeeling teas, or the floral undertones to the oolongs. Some of us liked the wood, smokey flavors of the darjeeling and others were more inclined to drink the blossom, orchid flavors that the oolongs gave off. I personally was really interested in the whole culture surrounding tea. I thought that the idea of tea ceremonies are really interesting. It reminded me how closely knit a community comes with tea drinking. I was surprised to find that even the tea pot was important to how you were going to drink your tea and what type of tea you were going to drink.
3b) I haven’t explored much about tea in Olympia to the extent where I know which places I love to get tea. However, I do find myself indulging at the Encore Tea and Chocolate store in downtown Olympia. There they have a wide selection of infusion teas, and even some Darjeeling tea (according to the man that works there) however we aren’t sure how true that is. My field study for when I was not in California didn’t entail tea because I was focusing on an Indigenous foods project. However I have been in Encore Tea and Chocolate many times and have purchased many teas and tasted them.
Written by: Rachel Plenty Wolf
3c) Create a 1 (one) minute video of your group savoring tea during a tea field site visit, which might include in your own kitchens. What is tea culture compared and contrasted with our PNW coffee culture? What is your experience of the terroir of tea? One minute of a video addressing some aspect of at least one of these questions MUST be excerpted and posted to your website.
3d) I always fancied myself as a tea lover until today. As I sit in class surrounded by my fellow class mates I realized I knew very little . Today we are trying Camellia Sinensis and learning how to brew and serve the tea properly. This is a fascinating and amazing process. So much care goes into the serving of this tea. Now time to taste. This light yellow liquid sitting in front of me has a wonderful flowery smell. Like an orchid that has just been plucked form the ground. Wet earth .The taste of roses, orchid and jasmine ignite my taste buds. The name of this perfumed brew is Wenshan Baozong the goddess of compassion. As I am drinking this aromatic tea my senses become more aware of the surroundings . The faint whispers of people talking around me and the rain falling on the roof. I see the dampened bright green trees through the large window and I feel a sense of calm and belonging.
James Norwood Pratt
http://www.jamesnorwoodpratt.com/members/jnptea
Young Mountain Tea Company
http://www.youngmountaintea.com/
NW Tea Festival
MIro Tea Company
http://mirotea.com/about/our-story/
Serious Eats
http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/03/how-to-taste-tea.html
3e) Taste of place. Where things are grown , how they are grown and who grows it. All these factors apply to the tea and is one of the main selling points of the tea industry today. If the tea is hand picked and grown in a certain region it is more then likely gong to be a more expensive tea such as in Darjeeling . First flush of this tea at auction can go for up to a thousand dollars a pound. The pickers of the tea mostly woman are ingrained into the tea industry. Even though they do not own a stock of any sort into the plantation they do live and breath on the tea farm so there culture is a life that becomes one with the tea. SO this gives the idea that the tea is special and unique and that if you drink it you are part of a higher culture.
