In 2009, Sipping Streams Tea Company opened a specialty tea house in a busy, but otherwise unpromising-looking, location in the basement of what was then a rather unappetizing Chinese fast food joint. I was happy to see this, since I drink a lot of loose-leaf green tea, which westernized stores don't carry, and I had been internet ordering from this joint in my hometown. Since its inception, Sipping Streams has done cheerful and extensive marketing all over town and the internet, hosting artistic events, catering at street fairs and festivals, having tea booths at the farmer's market and tourist joints, donating tea for the annual Chinese New Year dinner held by the UAF Chinese Student Association, and maintaining a steady stream of Facebook chatter. It appears that they are doing well and will be around for a while. That is good!
Today I learned that the owners have won an international tea infusion competition in Las Vegas.
"Steven said that he and Jenny practiced and studied three hours a night for the past three weeks with samples of the unusual teas chosen for the contest. They made about 100 cups, using a variety of teas, before the contest... Steven said that making a perfect cup of tea under the circumstances was a challenge because the convention center is big and the water cools fast.
'Some of these teas you have to infuse three times,' he said, adding that there are also differences in water temperature and it is important to not use too much tea or too little."
Huh. Good for them! Although I wonder if any of us mere mortals could ever taste the difference between tea that is subtlety brewed to perfection and tea the way I brew it--dump tea leaves into pyrex cup, dump boiling water at an imprecise temperature, let sit on desk beside keyboard. :)
2 comments:
Have you ever tried Numi's "Gunpowder Green" tea? They're based in Oakland.
I'm not sure, but I've tried lots of the Numi line. They are widely available, which is good!
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