Diane Eddy It’s tea time in Sun Lakes once again! Get out your teacups and come join us November 15 on this fun-filled adventure as we explore China’s most famous green teas. According to an ancient Chinese legend, while drilling a water well, the people of the Tian Mu Mountains (Heaven and Eyes Mountains) discovered…
Tag: Life Beyond the Teabag
Clubs & Classes, October 2016
Life Beyond the Teabag
Diane Eddy Whether you call it tea, thé, or cha, tea is so much more than just a beverage. For many, its mystique is living art, steeped in ceremony and thoughtfulness — a reflection of the things and people we love. Although it is quite basic, tea satisfies not just our thirst but also our…
Features, April 2016
Life Beyond the Tea Bag
Diane Eddy And then tea came to Japan… In the early 600s AD, tea was introduced to Japan through contact between Zen priests and Chinese Buddhist monks. The Japanese Zen priest, Saich returned to Japan in 815 after many years spent in China. He brought with him compressed tea bricks and tea seeds, which he…
Clubs & Classes, March 2016
Life Beyond the Teabag
Diane Eddy A cup of fine oolong tea puts one in mind of a summer garden, highlighted with the aroma of peaches, lilacs, and gardenias. Lovely to look at, finished oolong teas come in myriad forms, colors and flavors. In their astonishing variety, oolong teas, sometimes called Wulong or Blue Teas, are the most interesting…
Features, February 2016
Life Beyond the Teabag
Diane Eddy Yes, some love affairs do last a lifetime. The way of tea is a romantic journey filled with great love affairs, betrayals and intrigue, or as Henry Fielding says in Love in Several Masques, “Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.” More than just a beverage, tea offers us amazing love…
Clubs & Classes, January 2016
Life beyond the teabag
Diane Eddy If you’ve been watching the hit series, Downton Abbey, you may find it fascinating that the ladies of the Crawley family enjoyed their tea first thing in the morning while still in bed. A tray of hot tea was placed on their laps as they snuggled under piles of quilts to thwart the…
Features, December 2015
Life beyond the teabag
Diane Eddy The rituals of tea are a celebratory journey with friends and family, or as Okakura Kakuzo so eloquently states in The Book of Tea, “Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea….let us dream of evanescence and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.” More than just an ancient beverage, tea enchants us…
Clubs & Classes, November 2015
Life beyond the teabag
Diane Eddy Yes, it’s tea time again in Sun Lakes! Our first tea tasting class is November 17 at 10:00 a.m. in the Sun Lakes Country Club Navajo Room. Bring your teacup and saucer and be prepared for a rollicking good time as we sip and slurp teas from all around the world. Our first…
Clubs & Classes, April 2015
Life Beyond the Teabag – April 2015
Diane Eddy During the past six months our tea tasting classes have explored both exotic and well-known teas from China, Japan, Taiwan and India. On April 21, in the final class of this season, we will venture high into the Himalayas to a relatively new tea producing region — Nepal. The story of tea growing…
Clubs & Classes, March 2015
Life beyond the teabag – March 2015
Diane Eddy Tea seems like such a plain beverage — a paper bag filled with tea “dust” dunked in hot water that produces a dark reddish brown or green liquid. Maybe you add a little milk or sugar or lemon to that colored hot water. Sometimes your tea tastes of fruit, berries or herbs but…