The U.S. League of Tea Growers is growing… Tea in uncharted territory… a new book on culinary tea…
The U.S. League of Tea Growers
The League is hosting their annual meeting this week beginning today at the Great Mississippi Tea Company in Brookhaven, Miss. Membership has grown and the organization is electing new officers. The harvest is tiny but owners now plant tea commercially in a dozen states. They may lack volume but these are some of the most technologically advanced growers in the world. The three-day conference includes lectures from university and agricultural extension experts, USDA staff and tea garden tours. Tea-Biz will provide a complete report following the event. Growers next meet at the World Tea Expo, May 6-8, 2015 in Long Beach, Calif. Learn more at: USLTG
Uncharted Tea Territory
Adhiraj “Raj” Vable, founder of Young Mountain Tea, has turned to Kickstarter for support. His first selection is a white tea harvested in the Himalayas on land distant from the traditional high-grown gardens surrounding Darjeeling. The garden is near Beri Nag, India, grown on small plots in the Kumaon region that is still largely unchartered for tea.
“We chose to create a new white peony, also known as a Bai Mudan, for two reasons. First, because it’s an incredible tea. One of the world’s most popular white teas, white peony is refreshing, light, and carries a sweetness reminiscent of honeydew melon,” said Vable. The tea is lightly processed, essentially sun dried which reflects the Chinese Bai Mudan style.
“In June 2013, we harvested leaves from tea plants growing wild in Kumaon and processed it as a white peony. We were stunned by what we had, so we moved forward and planted our first acre. And now here we are, a few months away from sharing this gift of the mountains with you!” said Vable.
This is an organic permaculture garden. The handmade tea is cultivated with sustainable intercropping practices in the foothills of the Himalayas near the border with Nepal. The region was first planted in tea in the 1820s but the British found it too difficult to transport given the terrain, absence of rail service and unreliable roads. Vable is getting good advice from experienced growers including Indi Khanna, the Nilgiri producer of bouTEAque teas.
Vable has been planning this venture for several years.
“We named our company after the rising Himalayas, a mountain range that is still going up as the Indian subcontinent slams into Asia,” he said
He is young, energetic and committed to assisting the Kumaon people who will find work that will help the next generation find reasons to remain in this rugged territory. He discovered the area as a graduate student at the University of Oregon while working with the non-profit group Avani.
In 2013 he returned on a Fulbright Fellowship and negotiated with the Avani to purchase tea grown locally. Young Mountain is seeking $24,000 to fund the first phase of his ambitious plans. The project is nearing $15,000 with 120 backers and a month to go.
To learn more visit www.youngmountaintea.com or Young Mountain’s Kickstarter page.
Tea from Cup to Plate
Raelene Gannon is a tea sommelier, chef and now author of Tea from Cup to Plate, a guide to steeping and cooking with tea. The proprietor of Tea and All its Splendour, an online tea retail site and wholesaler, Gannon developed the recipes during two years of in-the-kitchen experiments drawing on her love of tea and food. Gannon is a certified tea sommelier in Canada, teaches cooking classes in and around Bradford, Ont., and has a great command of the delights of culinary tea (you should taste her delicious tea in chocolate).
Reviewer John Higgins, corporate chef, George Brown Chef School and judge on the Food Network’s Chopped Canada, attests to Raelene’s passion for tea “and with her tea recipes and fabulous tips on how to use tea in cooking, this book is a winner.”
The illustrated text, priced at $29.95, is available now in print or downloadable ebook ($9.95) editions. Click to order.
Learn more at: www.teaandallitssplendour.com
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