TeaClassics

STEEPED IN WONDER: Origins, Flavors and Rituals of Tea You are Invited! July 30th - Sunday afternoon tea talk, traditional tea ceremony performance & tasting, in the beautiful coastal city of PG!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/steeped-in-wonder-origins-flavors-and-rituals-of-tea-tickets-679618556397

STEEPED IN WONDER: Origins, Flavors and Rituals of Tea You are Invited! July 30th - Sunday afternoon tea talk, traditional tea ceremony performance & tasting, in the beautiful coastal city of PG!

Thursday, (Today) May 27th at 4:00pm PST.

Join in on a conversation on the tea cultures of China, Japan and Korea. Moderated by Katharine P. Burnett, Global Tea Initiative’s founding director and Professor of Art History at the University of California Davis with panelists Midori McKeon, an Omote Senke tea practitioner and a professor at San Francisco State University, Sherab Chen, E-Resources Discovery Librarian, faculty of Ohio State University’s East Asian Studies Center and advisor to OSU student organization Tea Friends, and Yoon Hee Kim, founder of TeaClassics, certified tea master and Founding Director of Korean Tea Culture Foundation. The conversation will explore traditional practices as well as the influence of tea culture on daily life and modern arts.

Watch this program, live, on the DIA’s YouTube Channel or page.🍵🤗

Among the brighter sides of my still being here, at this time of the year, instead of being at the mountain hermitage or on a tea field is that I could be here for fresh harvested maesil (une) season. A bit of 매실청 Maesil Plum Syrup & 매실주 Maesil Plum Wine in the making. Also brought home some Meyer Lemons; unlike the Maesil plums, these lemons would be among the season's last harvests.

Today (5/19), now already evening time in Korea, is Buddha's Birthday in Korea - 부처님 오신날 (8th day of the Fourth month of the lunar calendar)

Although anticipated for months, I could not be at the temple or even in the country as planned. Thinking of all at the temple, and sharing some photos from past programs held at CheonJinAm hermitage, honoring Buddha's Birthday.

"Listening to the sounds of nature,
I can ponder how best
to scrub away the grime of my heart.

On a day like this,
with nothing to disturb me,
sitting alone,
I know the joy of being."
~ Ven. Beopjeong, Meditations of a Korean Monk.

#부처님오신날 #천진암 #정관스님 #헌다례
@ 백양사천진암

Today's working tea break had me opening 's Slow Mellow Yellow. From the dry leaves, to the first hint of the nose and through each of the multi infusions, it was as lovely as promised & anticipated, but more importantly it felt like I was meeting a much beloved old friend.

So many familiar notes and evocative of places & people I have missed over the past year & half. I felt grounded as one does when reunited with those you love 🍵💕
@ TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

A perfect bite for a late brunch. Thick slice of dark toast, topped with scoops of avocado & just out-of-the-oven roasted fennel and finished with drizzle of extra virgin olive oil & sprinkle of salt. Enjoyed standing over the stove, with the deepest orange-colored yolk organic eggs, sides of mixed spring greens, grape tomatoes & blackberries.

Another one of my favorite weekend morning treats is to visit a local Farmer's Market, select fresh goodness direct from farm vendors, then return home with far too many items and a giant smile. And as I put away all the goodies, prepare a quick brunch and enjoy a great meal, still standing 🍵💕 @ TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

I was so looking forward to seeing next week, & just in time for Buddha's Birthday. Alas, I will have to wait a bit longer before I can be back at the mountain hermitage or at the research center on the tea fields.

Today would have also been a day when I would have gone to the temple with flowers in hand., for she holds such a special place in my heart and is many things to me, among them a most loved & respected teacher. 🍵💕💐

#스승의날 #많이많이감사합니다 #보고싶어요 #사랑해요 #늘건강하세요 #곧뵐게요

Good Morning, Friends!
Happy Saturday to All 🍵💕 @ TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

Hong Yun T-21, among my favorite Black teas. Today's tea for my . Aromatic, multi-layered complexity with beautiful stone fruit notes. #21., delicious anytime, and could not have paired better with my two-bites snack of Ikura topped Soft Boiled Egg 🍵💕😋

@ TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

Happy Friday, Friends!

When a yummy bite(s) was called for, to pair with my working , this is what came to mind. Ikura (salmon roe) topped Soft Boiled Egg, garnished with hearts-sliced scallion. A deliciously perfect two-bites snack for today.

So many mixed emotions these days, both good & not so positive, at times difficult to feel peace & retain steady calm.., but a tasty soothing afternoon tea always has a way of restoring both body & mind at any given moment. Perhaps another early evening walk in the neighborhood.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening and a restorative weekend 🍵🙏💕

Mother's Day Afternoon Tea 🍵💕

Returned much later than expected from an excellent family hike, and with no time to prepare anything involved, lovingly served a Mother's Day Tea for us five. This held us oh so nicely between early brunch & dinner, In lieu of a full lunch.., an assortment of cheeses & salami, berries, mini roast chicken & asparagus on crackers, roasted pecans and sweets, paired with three choices of teas. Everyone not only loved everything, there were multiple pots of teas steeped and not much to clean up as all plated (& more) were fully enjoyed. 2017 Lapsang Souchong, an Arya Pearl White & a 2002 Yiwu Sheng Pu'er were selected for the tea choices and while all three are much loved, aged Yiwu Sheng did need to be steeped more thab the other two.

Here's hoping that all moms, everywhere and anyone who serves in the many mom-like roles, were shown a whole lot of extra love yesterday! 🍵💕💐 @ TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

Channeling Jeju island's '물회' Mulhoe. Bracing for swollen puffy face all day tomorrow, but thoroughly enjoying on this hot day for now. Paired with Ujeon Green tea 🍵💕 @ TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

New Crop, Pre-GokWoo Ujeon Green Tea, lovingly grown, harvested & made at and sent to me by .

The ever so delicate first green of the Spring teas, with its sublime sweet notes, desired slight hints of astringency & smooth finish were soothing and at once uplifting on a much needed tea break as the temps rose well into the 90s.
And the aroma of the just infused leaves, from within the gaiwan, instantly transported me to the artisanal tea factory where those ever familar fragrance is all around during this time of the year. Deeply grateful for the moments back at origin, if only by the sweet nectar of this beautiful tea 🍵💕

TeaMakesEverythingBetter
@ Griffith Park Tea House

Afternoon Tea, at my pandemic-era combined tea table/work station. Reconfigured as such in the library tea room.🍵💕🤗

Got a text from my mail carrier this afternoon that she had delivered an express package for me, from Korea (btw, how lucky am I that, in this day and age, I can text directly with my mail carrier and we even check in on each other to see how our respective families are. Thankful and not something I take for granted).

So happy to receive fresh tea care package from my tea sister, of , who sent these to me, knowing full well how much I miss being out on the tea fields at this time. First new crop teas (before GokWoo even), both Ujeon green and Hwangcha. What's more, she even sent me some of my handmade Hwangcha from a few years ago which had been stored in an earthen jar for aging.

Such a happy camper I am. Upon receiving my care package, I immediately reached out to a special group of local tea masters for an outdoor tea gathering, here at the tea school. After all, nothing better than sharing freshly received new teas with other tea masters who would be just as excited to share together. We usually gather once each quarter; our last one, scheduled for March 2020, was of course cancelled. Now fully vaccinated, it seems the perfect time for a still masks-on, steep one's own, one-top bistro tables, Outdoor Spring Tea Gathering (a bit of a mouthful).

For today, am enjoying my Hwangcha, paired with roasted pecans from . Both, so good and serving as perfect complement to each other.🍵💕

A delicious outdoor brunch with Jenny & my beautiful niece, , on a gorgeous day in DC. Almost felt transported to the streets of Paris, both in feel and taste. A lovely way to close out my first cross-country trip in sixteen months. 🍵💕

@ Le Diplomate

Tea at the ranch 🍵💕 @ Trippett Ranch

TeaClassics Tea & Food Arts with Yoon Hee Kim

Surreal & sublime, as if in a dream. Tea time, back in NYC & with tea sisters. & . Outdoor tea on the High Line 🍵💕 @ The High Line

A walk to the wharf in the afternoon resulted in cancelling dinner reservation and instead returning home with fresh seafood for a dinner feast!

Alfresco balcony dining at the start, with Oysters on the half shell, Steamed Shrimps, Dungeness Crab Legs, Steamed Crabs with Spicy Chesapeake seasoning, and chilled Sauvignon Blanc. Windy chill eventually brought us indoors for Mixed Greens Salad with avocado & grape tomatoes, Steamed Mussels, and Pan-roasted Branzino. Fresh Blackberries and Tea service to complete our wonderful Monday dinner. Only slight downside was we all ate too much and needed another walk 🍵💕🤗

Evening Tea.
Grateful for this deliciously full and enjoyable Monday. Thankful, as well, to have logged ten miles of city walking., perhaps helped offset just a tiny bit of all the yummies consumed.

Now onto a bit of late night tea session, as I think of the day ahead which will need to start in about four hours. Hoping for a few hours of shut eye soon.

How was your Monday? Hope it was a fulfilling day, and one in which you took time for tea as well 🍵🙏💕

DC Skies 🍵💕 @ Washington D.C.