Tea-Filled Weekend in Toronto: Part 1

Last weekend (August 9-11) started off with a lecture at The Tea Emporium on Friday presented by the Tea Association of Canada.

James Norwood Pratt is the world renowned San Francisco based tea author and expert acknowledged to be the person that helped bring about North America's present Tea Renaissance.   Originally from North Carolina "Norwood", as he likes to be referred to, is every bit the Southern gentleman; charming, enthusiastic, soft spoken and a dynamic story teller.

He just recently updated "The Ultimate Tea Lover's Treasury" first published in 1982.

"Tea is humanity's favourite habit. We drink it because it makes us feel good and it is good for you".  The audience mainly consisted of Tea Association members.

The hour and half lecture went through the basics covering the six types of teas - White, Green, Yellow, Oolong, Black, and Puerh.  It was an engaging refresher.

Then came autograph time! I missed my chance to pick up the "Tea Dictionary" last year at the World Tea Expo, so this lecture and book signing was a prime opportunity!  This book's for me!

Photo: R. Drolet

and this one's for my friend, Raymonde, who's also a Certified Tea Sommelier

Valerie (James Norwood Pratt's lovely wife), Shabnam (owner of The Tea Emporium), Louise (President of the Tea Association of Canada), me and Norwood

Photo: R. Drolet

This lecture was only the start of last weekend's tea-filled adventures.  Watch for Part 2 as the tea adventures continued at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre with the Tea!Chai!The! Festival, which was part of the Fusion Cooking Festival celebrating Pan Asian sights, sounds and tastes!

Tea at the Shangri-La Hotel (Toronto)

Last December, three Certified Tea Sommeliers (friends: Debbie, Raymonde, and I) went to the Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Toronto for pre-Christmas afternoon tea.  

Yeah, you heard me, I said afternoon tea, not high tea.  Traditionally, high tea was the evening meal of the working class, after the Industrial Revolution in England, served between 5pm and 7pm at the end of the work day.  It consisted of strong tea and hearty foods like kidney pies, shepherd's pies, finger food, and sandwiches. It was their supper.  

Afternoon tea (or low tea) was credited to Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford circa 1840 because she needed something to tide her over between the long hours of lunch (the main meal) and their late dinner.  The tradition of taking tea and a bite to eat in the mid-afternoon soon became fashionable and it spread across the kingdom and continued to this day.  

Don't believe me?  Click here

The afternoon tea service at the Shangri-La Hotel is served in the lobby lounge just outside the Bosk Restaurant.



Who wants this in their living room?  I do!

We were seated in front of the fireplace.  The lobby looked like a luxurious living room with deep leather sofas, and marble floors with carpet. Toronto Life magazine did a great photo spread of the Shangri-La Hotel, click here to view.

Their tea menu is a red fabric bound book.  How elegant!

 

The cover poem, "Seven Bowls of Tea" by Lu Tong is translated below.

We were told they carried as many as 68 teas.

The staff was friendly and helpful.  We settled on two pots of tea and two tea services to share.  We asked for the Nilgiri and Keemun.  Our server took our order and went off to get our tea.  She came back to inform us that they didn't have the teas we selected.  She brought a few tins of tea with her to help us make another selection.  We asked for Darjeeling and Kenyan Purple tea.  Off she went and back again.  No Darjeeling.  Okay.  We consulted the tea menu book again and settled on the Yunnan Ancient Tree.  She went to check and said they have that.

It's nice to say you have a big selection of teas, but not in stock?  hmm...

Our teas were brought to the table and the server poured for us.  We tasted the Yunnan Ancient Tree, not much flavour, we looked at each other and lifted the lid to check the leaves.  We glanced at each other, all shook heads in unison and then poured our cups right back into the pot to let it steep longer.

4 or 5 minutes later, we tasted it again.  Much better, more like the earthy taste of a Yunnan black tea.  It was nice but it wasn't as rich or malty as some.  The Kenyan Purple tea tasted nothing like what I had read before.  It was okay...

The leaves from both teas already looked spent, fully opened after one pot.  There weren't enough leaves and they may have been sitting around a while.  It was a bit of a let down.  

Beautiful setting for our afternoon tea

The scones were good with plump raisins and tasty fruit compote.

The sandwiches: sliced ham with grainy honey Dijon mustard, and the egg with a touch of curry, but the bread was noticeably dry.  The cucumber sandwiches were soggy and mushy.  Must have been sitting around.  Not very creative, in fact the girls proclaimed they could make better!

The sweets (from left clockwise): almond tarts, lemon meringue tarts, pumpkin tarts, brownies, and carrot cakes.

The almond tart was like a biscotti, dry and hard, and tasted like the almond cookies you get at a Chinese restaurant.  Tasty.  A clever presentation.  Perhaps it was designed to be dunked in the tea.

The lemon meringue and pumpkin tarts were good.  I enjoyed those.  The brownie was nice.  The carrot cake was pretty tasty.

pumpkin tart, mmm

lemon meringue tart, yum

The sweets were definitely the highlight of the tea service.  The sandwiches and teas themselves were disappointing.  The service was very good.  But you'd expect a 5 star hotel in a big city like Toronto to be a little more creative and put a bit more care and attention into their tea and food service.  All three of us were surprised.  We were, however, very happy to get together and catch up during the holiday season.

I decided to email the hotel to tell them about my disappointment.  I received two emails back from the hotel, including one from the Food & Beverage Manager.  She thanked me for my feedback and notified me that they were in the process of revamping their tea service for the new year.

I had been wondering about their progress until a couple of weeks ago.  Then I noticed that The Tea Emporium was posting photos about preparing the tea room and the staff of the Shangri-La Hotel.  So that's who they've been working with to revamp their tea service, how intriguing...

I look forward to visiting the Shangri-La again to see how they've improved.

"Rising" by Shanghai-based sculptor, Zhang Huan

Toronto Tea Festival!

Hope the new year's been treating you well so far.  I was out in Vancouver at Christmas time and checked out the tea scene as usual - including a visit to Kitsilano's O5 RareTea Bar for one of their 2 Alchemists + 2 Tea Hunters's Tea, Cocktails & Tapas event!  I finally got to taste some of O5's teas and Kale+Nori's tea inspired cocktails and tapas first hand...and it was delicious!  I'll be steeping a post on the event in the near future, stay tuned!

2013 has been very busy so far.  The Toronto Tea Festival will take place next Saturday, February 2nd at the Appel Salon of the Reference Library.  Yes, Toronto will host its first ever tea festival!  I've had the honour of being part of the organizing committee and helping out with marketing, from flyer distribution (great way to get to know the neighbourhoods in town) to social media efforts, ticket sales and planning.   

 The Toronto Tea Festival will be a great opportunity for people of all ages, newbies and aficionados to gather and learn more about tea and tea cultures. 

The already nearly sold out event will feature some big name speakers from the world of tea such as Camellia Sinensis's Kevin Gascoyne from Montreal, Seven Cups' Austin Hodge from Tuscan, and Shabnam Weber of Toronto's own The Tea Emporium and more.   Lectures will cover topics such as "An Introduction to Tea", "Tea and Health", "The Myths of Chinese Tea Culture", "Tea Mixology 101: Preparing Tea Cocktails",  "Cooking with Tea", and "A Consumer's Guide to Blended Teas and Herbal Infusions".

Tea is a full sensory experience.

There will be Korean and Chinese Gongfu tea ceremonies and tea tastings will be presented and offered throughout the day.  There will be artworks on display created by local artisans and a traditional musical performance by a prodigy trained in China.

With at least thirty confirmed vendors and Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day just around the corner, the vendors area is a must!  

If you don't have your ticket yet, a limited number of tickets will be available at the door for $15.  

Tea is the second most popular drink in the world after water.  

Come to the inaugural Toronto Tea Festival next Saturday and be part of history!  

See you there!

Boozy Teas: Tea Cocktail Workshop at Herbal Infusions

The Holiday season is in full swing, folks getting ready for Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve parties...pretty Christmas lights are up along Yonge Street, the big Christmas tree is up in the Eaton Centre, the malls are staying opened later for the shoppers. 

Even The Grid, Toronto's weekly magazine, had a special "Holiday Hooch" issue out this week.  Their guide to Holiday Cocktails, complete with a legend of snowmen in varying degrees of inebriation, is a survey of the city's top bars for those looking for some holiday cheer. 

So what's a tea lover to do if they want a tea cocktail?  What if they don't want to go all the way to The Comrade in Riverside for an Uncle Garth (a maple-citrus and Earl Grey tea-infused bourbon drink)?!  Sure, there's the Blueberry Tea that any bar should know how to make, but what if you fancy yourself as an amateur mixologist, love tea, and want to save some money?

Tea cocktails have been popping up everywhere lately, even though tea and alcohol has been around for a while.  Think, tea and whiskey...   

There's O5 Tea with their Cocktails, Tapas, and Tea events in Vancouver.  David's Tea brought out "The Cocktail Collection", a collection of five teas with recipe cards.  The LCBO featured some tea cocktails using Sloane Teas in their Food and Drink's Autumn issue.  I even heard a radio interview with Sabnam of The Tea Emporium on tea cocktails a few weeks ago!

You can google recipes on line, or... you can do what I did recently and go to Herbal Infusions Tea Co. for a Tea Cocktail workshop!  Only $30!  Such a deal for a fun and educational workshop!

Dan Johanis left the corporate finance world and opened the tiny modern tea shop at the north east corner of Spadina and Adelaide about three years ago.  Herbal Infusions carry many teas and tisanes.  Dan has collaborated with ChocoSol Traders in creating a Cacao Tea made with 100% organic cacao shell which comes in three different flavours.  (hmm, another thing for the chocoholic on my list...)

Some of the tea wares

Close to a dozen guests crowded into the little shop to watch mixologist, Michelle Tham and Dan work their magic.

  Michelle pours the welcome drink - Me Love Oolong Time

 Made with Orange Blossom Oolong tea syrup (made with fresh tea leaves ahead of time by Dan), Lemon Juice, and Tag No5 Vodka. 

Light oolong tea taste, well balanced and refreshing.

Interesting name,  though it sounds like something you'd hear on the streets of Da Nang......this was just a time to enjoy an adult oolong tea cocktail.  It was tasty!

The Mo'Teato was next, a volunteer helps measure and pours the Peppermint Dream syrup


 Peppermint Dream is a tisane made of peppermint and lavender blended in-house by Dan.

Add some lime juice, Bacardi Black rum and it's ready to drink.  I found myself wishing for some fresh mint leaves...but it was good.

Next we were transported to the Polynesian islands with Lomi Lomi Tea-ki Tiki

 

Lomi Lomi syrup, pineapple juice, Bacardi Superior Rum and Coconut milk ~ tasted like a piña colada. 

Finally, an experimental Lavender Gin Cocktail

Victoria Gin was stirred in ice to chill.  Apparently, you shouldn't be shaking your alcohol, if you want a good, smooth drink.  Shaking it in ice breaks up the surface area, since you're in essence whipping air into the liquid.

So... what does that say about James Bond who likes his martinis shaken, not stirred?  Hmm, maybe that's why the franchise needed to add Daniel Craig to give a dash of toughness back to Bond...

In case you were wondering what that vessel on the bar is... it is a Prohibition era Martini shaker disguised as a tea kettle.  

This was a strong, herbaceous (pink Tibetan Lavender), booze forward cocktail.  By now, I don't remember what else went in there, and my hand writing had become illegible.  Maybe I should just stick with plain tea...  hmm.. nah! 

This pretty drink's got no name.  Perhaps the Lavender Flamingo?  Pretty in Pink?  Can you think of a cool name for it?  I'll pass it on to Dan!


Herbal Infusions will be conducting two more Tea Cocktail workshops:
Thursday, December 6th @ 6pm
Sunday, December 9th @ 2pm.

Space is limited.  RSVP at dan@herbalinfusions.ca or call Dan at (416) 900-6942.