One more…this one I believe is still being edited – so we’ll re-post when we see the final version – but this version is already brilliant!
The Tea Association of the US runs a fantastic competition every year called the Calm-a-Sutra of Tea. It’s a creativiy contest challenging College kids to put together an original video highlighting the health benefits of tea. The results are fantastic – and we’ve posted some clips in the past. The competition for 2009 is fully under way and the clips are rolling in – so we thought we would share one we thought was fun.
We live in a world where new is good – perfection is strived for – and young is beauty. We thought however that we would share with you today a beautiful aesthetic that the Japanese believe in – it is the principal of Wabi-Sabi. In a nutshell, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and accepting the natural cycle of growth. It is simple, uncluttered and it values authenticity above all else. Wabi-Sabi is about flea markets instead of big box stores and malls; it’s about aging wood not laminate. The principals of wabi-sabi celebrate crack and crevices and believe that it is a sign that loving has left behind.
It is so easy to disgard what isn’t new and forget what has aged – but stop and look closely next time at a pot that isn’t perfect – a flower that isn’t fully standing tall – or the aged face of the people around you – they all have a story to tell.
Yes – we made a brief blog entry about Milk Oolong when we first introduced it to our tea collection – but I’ve decided to go back and tell you the story behind Milk Oolong. For those of you that haven’t tried it – WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR???? For those of you that have…well you understand what I speak of when I describe a smooth creamy aroma reminiscent of sweet milk – and a fresh light liquor that is clean on the palate.
The tea world is a romantic world – it still lives very much in the world of legends and folklore – and the story behind this amazing tea is no different. Legend has it that one evening, the moon fell in love with a comet as it passed it through the dark night sky. As comets do, it burned out and vanished. The moon was distraught and devastated that its love was gone and in her sorry, she caused a great wind to blow through the hills and valleys where the tea bushes were flourishing, causing a great drop in the temperature. The next morning, the tea farmers went to pluck their tea leaves and discovered when it was processed that the tea had a milky characterisitc.
To answer the question that many people pose when they first encounter this tea – is it flavoured – no, real Milk Oolong is not flavoured – there are cheaper versions that are – but true Milk Oolong gets its milky/sweet flavour from a severe temperature shift that happens just before the leaves are picked. It is an Oolong – which means that it is partially oxidized – this particular Oolong being very lightly oxidized. Make a cup and tell us what you think – it’s flavours are unlike anything you’ve had.
This is a commercial shot at Liverpool station for T-Mobile – but we were struck by and reminded of the power of people and what happens when they work together – powerful…
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