Building the Tea Bridge

Thanks to the efforts of  Devan and Reena Shah owners of Chado Tea Rooms.  The grand opening of the Chado of Hollywood had a tea tasting lead by guest speaker James Norwood Pratt, and excellent tea, light and delicious tea foods, and of course tea friends and atmosphere.  The cups are small which allows one to try many teas.  It is clear that we are building the tea bridge; Mr. Pratt has a new book out which is very important for the expansion of tea culture and the tearoom Chado with a clear and complete tea menu and having descriptions of all its teas laid out in detailed yet understandable terms makes drinking tea a learning workshop for beginners and pure enjoyment for connoisseurs. Going back in time just ten years ago, this would have never been possible or thought of, talking about Puer teas, and yellow teas, and such. All of us in the tea community have a responsibility of sharing our knowledge, simple as it might be; even just sharing a cup of tea with a friend is a rich and humble way of spreading the wonders of tea.
icetea8 Aug 1, 2010
Chado website:   http://www.chadotea.com/
Pics:   http://picasaweb.google.com/icetea8/Chadohollywood

This was a proper Chinese "tea tasting品茶", all guests were given a scent cup(Taiwan invention) and tasting cup and carrying bag. This simple tea ware is a must for all tea lovers. The hot tea is served by the “scent cup聞香杯 ” which is taller and narrower and then poured into the “teacup茶杯” which is short and wider, first the aroma from the scent cup is appreciated then the tea is savored from the drinking cup.