Valerija Zujeva 17/07/2019 Valerija Zujeva 17/07/2019

INTERVIEW WITH SAIKI WELLNESS

The first of The Saiki Zine series, we introduce Lera the founder of T Lovers. She holds tea ceremonies, tours, workshops and walks that guide curious minds into the world of tea. Lera gives us a wonderfully honest, educational and frank insight into her journey with tea and how it can help us through mind, body and spirit.

How did you find your passion for tea ceremonies?

I was always interested in inner transformation, awakening. How to bring more peace into our lives and have a deep meaningful intimate experience of life, of being. I feel that this is what everyone ultimately craves for underneath all those other desires that we have. When I started my journey in Tea I initially started with doing tea tours and tea tastings in London - which was more informational and recreational. But I always felt something was missing here. Something more deep that Tea can provide. That's when I met Global Tea Hut community and tea school, that linked Tea to meditation, to Zen, to spiritual growth, and that's when I started seeing Tea Ceremonies from a different perspective. I started seeing Tea and the Way, than just merely a drink that we have for entertainment.

What are the benefits of tea ceremonies?

Firstly, Tea as a plant itself has benefits - it has caffeine and the component unique to only Tea - amino acid called L-Theanine. It's known for inducing alpha waves in our brain and for releasing dopamine, causing relaxation without drowsiness. So we have the best of both worlds - energy and focus from caffeine, while being relaxed and less stressed.

Secondly, Tea Ceremony has an ability to bring peace into our lives by taking us from our heads, from our thoughts to the heart, to the body. And how does it do it? By engaging all our senses at the same time and really savouring each moment. Can we taste, smell, see, hear, feel - all at the same time? When we do, then, as spiritual teacher Adyashanti said - another sense is created - a sense of the Heart. Awakening of the Heart. When we are able to do do that, then we are able to have a direct experience of Life, direct experience of being - rather than through filters of the mind such as concepts, ideas, beliefs. And through that there is less separation from life and others, and there is a deep and intimate experience of life itself. Ultimately, that's what we all really crave for - this feeling of intimacy with life. And in that intimate and deep experience there is peace and love.

In what way is tea and energy healing aligned?

Tea heals on so many levels - Mind, Body and Spirit. It connects us to to the Being part of the Human Being too - which is so important. Energy Healing is great for also removing conditioning that stops us from living more fulfilled and happy lives.

What is vortex healing?

Vortex Healing is a path of healing and awakening using Divine as its source. Healing our human side from all the conditioning that we accumulated from childhood and past lives, and awakening to our true nature - consciousness, Spirit, God, Love - everybody calls it different names. These are two separate processes even though some believe its the same. You can be a very fucked up person but enlightened, or a saint on a human level yet not awakened. And although one can influence another in a big way, they are not necessarily one and the same.

In Vortex Healing we believe that everything one and everything in this life is a beautiful expression of Divinity. Everything. Yet, because we have lost the awareness of that, we see life and creation through separation - seeing ourselves as separate beings, separate from others and life and God. This creates all kind of issues and false identities, which imprint every single facet of our bodies and emotions. This conditioning is extremely deep and it distorts our experience of being a human. It creates emotional issues, blockages in our human energy system, leading to physical issues too, creating struggle and suffering. And the negative experiences we have as a result deepen that suffering even more. Vortex Healing works on this human level releasing the conditioning on all levels returning a person to the state of health and happiness. But it also realises that true healing requires wholeness, waking up to who we truly are, waking out of the separateness. So another side of Vortex Healing is this awakening process.

What has been your biggest learning from when you were working in the city to where you are now with t-lovers?

I have to say that when I started doing tea business I realised how many blocks I have - I was afraid of public speaking, I was not feeling good enough, not worthy of success, a phony, I cared too much about what people think of me, and was extremely scared of criticism. It was and still is a huge journey for me to feel worthy, professional, to feel confident. Partly it was due to acquiring knowledge and experience. After all, I started tea business from zero. But a huge part was working on my inner issues, like self-doubt, lack of self-love and confidence, not thinking I am good enough. This journey continues, sometimes its hard, Vortex Healing is an incredible help in this process. And I find seeing the process of me stepping into my power incredibly fascinating and mesmerising.

Which workshop or event would you recommend for someone who is new to tea ceremonies?

I would recommend coming to a one hour tea ceremony on Monday either at Re:Mind studio in Belgravia at 8pm, or Lifespace in Notting Hill at 1pm. I also hold New and Full Moon Tea Ceremonies for women twice a month, and these are incredibly beautiful and deep and intense, so women could come to those too.

What is your favorite ritual?

My favourite ritual is obviously a Tea Ceremony!

Do you have any other wellness practices that you include in your personal routine?

Every morning I do Oil Pulling for twenty minutes - swirling coconuts oil in my mouth and then spitting it out. It does remove the toxins and since I have been doing it I was only sick once or twice - and both coincided with emotional healings and huge realisations and insights and shifts. My mum used to be sick several times a year before, and now, since she has been doing it, she rarely gets sick - a huge shift for someone who was always got colds before.

I don't have wellness practices as such apart from daily meditation - once or twice a day, and plenty of me time, slow time, time and space to just do nothing. Sometimes maybe too much of that! But I find it helps so much. Tea taught be to be sensitive to my needs and listening to those is my main wellness practice.

THIS WAS PUBLISHED HERE: https://www.saikiwellness.com/the-saiki-zine-1/2019/4/10/lera-t-lovers

AND YOU CAN FOLLOW SAIKI WELLNESS FOR MORE INTERVIEWS AND NEWS ON HER INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/saiki.wellness/

Valerija Zujeva 13/06/2019 Valerija Zujeva 13/06/2019

DRINK TEA AND BE ORGASMIC - ARTICLE IN VINTAGE LIFE

The story of how one journalist and blogger got really interested in me having an experience of Drinking Tea and having orgasmic sensations in my body, which resulted in this article published in Vintage Life Magazine - with the same name.

One part of my journey was and still is Tantra - after all, Kashmir Shivaism is a relative of Japanese Zen and Chinese Chaan. Kashmir Shivaism is all about senses, experience, living life totally, savouring each moment fully, experiencing each moment with each cell of your body. That’s what Tantra is about too.

And to me Tea Ceremony is so inherently tantric. It engages all our senses, takes us from our Minds to our Hearts, to our Body, and if we are able to do that, it forces us to have a direct experience of life, of Being. What happens is making love to life through Tea. It’s a beautiful experience, if we are able to really be in our body, and feel tea rather than think about it through all our concepts and ideas and beliefs.

At some point in my life I did a few sessions with Tantra Journey organisation in London, which views tantric bodywork as a way of emotional trauma release. My really good friend Julija was working there and she offered a few complimentary sessions to me with her teacher Mal. I agreed, and I have to say, those sessions were really powerful, a catharsis of some sort. Lots was coming up to the surface, emotions, feelings, movement, tears, uncontrollable laughter, screams. After a 6 hour session (!!!!) I felt like I just finished a one week psychotherapy retreat - it felt so powerful. I realised a lot about my own blocks, conditioning - well, at least I started seeing it - before that it was a blind spot to me.

It was a powerful process and I definitely recommend this, especially if there was some sexual or emotional or physical abuse in your history.

But what happened after that is that my whole body was vibrating - and when I was drinking tea during my morning sittings with Her - it was vibrating even more, the sensations that come close to describing it were truly orgasmic. “Making Love with Life through Tea” was experienced as reality.

I shared it in the PR meeting that this school has organised, and one of the journalists got really interested in in this. And the result of this interest is this article in Vintage Life Magazine (Issue 84, November 2017), where we discuss Tea, presence and feeling orgasmic with Tea - of course.

If you would like to experience this tantric healing, I highly recommend Julija here https://tantrichealingtherapy.com/therapist/julia-vaya-mai - she is an amazing tantric healing therapist with many years of experience, and she always holds courses and workshops.

Here is the article:

Valerija Zujeva 05/06/2019 Valerija Zujeva 05/06/2019

Tea Ceremony Talk and Demonstration at CHALICE WELL TRUST in Glastonbury

I am so honoured and humbled to be invited to be part of the amazing annual festival in Glastonbury to give a talk on Tea Ceremony and give a demonstration of the Tea Ceremony too.

This festival is organised by Chalice Well Trust. “Chalice Well is among the best known and most loved holy wells in Britain. Many legends are attributed to its chalybeate waters, which flow ceaselessly at a steady rate and temperature that never varies. Not least among these is that they represent the blood of Christ miraculously springing forth from the ground when Joseph of Arimathea buried or washed the cup used at the Last Supper. For others the waters are acknowledged as the essence of life, the gift from Mother Earth to sustain its living forms and so a continuous spring like Chalice Well is a direct expression of an unbounded life force.”

This year’s Festival is called “Many Paths, One Source” and is centred around Buddhism - and the numerous traditions that are part of it - Zen, Theravada, Vajrayana etc.

And of course, Tea Ceremony was always present in early buddhist traditions - after all Wu De, a man I call my tea teacher and founder of the Global Tea Hut community, wrote a book with the name “Tea and Zen One Flavour” - showing just that. That Tea and Zen are one and the same.

Tea has been a silent transmitter of wisdom and truth, from master to students, something that couldn’t be transmitted in a linguistic manner.

This and many other things we will explore in this Tea Ceremony talk and Demonstration on 9 June 2019.

Here is a link to the programme of events there - check them out, it’s amazing! https://chalicewellmanypathsonesourcefestival.org/event/tea-ceremony-talk-and-demonstration/

lera zujeva 15/07/2016 lera zujeva 15/07/2016

T-Lovers at ShangCha- Private Networking and Premium Tea Tasting Event

Last week I was invited by a a Chinese Business Group to talk at a private Chinese networking event about Tea ad Spirituality, and also to do a Tea Meditation for those who are interested. The event went really great, better than I expected. I was so nervous about the speech I was supposed to do, preparing it of course the last minute. Then trying to remember the structure and points. Being very nervous and going there by bike with my son Sasha in the back seat. But as I said, it went really well, I caught myself that I am enjoying the speech so much (it can be seen from my facial expression on the photos)! I loved talking about Global Tea Hut community, about Wu De (you can see him on one of the projector pictures!), about Living tea, about Tea and Zen, about the trip to Yunnan - and showing the photos from that trip. I could see from people's faces and attentive eyes that they were touched by GTH's mission and message, and that most of them wanted to participate in a tea ceremony.

And I was quite high for a few days after it, and even managed to do a Sunrise Tea Ceremony the next morning at 4am. We are holding another Silent Sunrise Tea Ceremony this coming Sunday at 4.30am at the same place as before in Stave Hill in Russian Docks in London. You can join us in person or online. All information is HERE.

lera zujeva 31/07/2015 lera zujeva 31/07/2015

London Tea Events in August ’15

August is here, the final month of this summer, and I really hope your love for tea will make you explore all the tea events happening now. I am away for almost all August, so there will be no tea tours and walks for most of it, but there are lots of other ones to choose from! 1. Saturday, 1 August, at 14.30 – Tea Tasting Tour in Shoreditch, £20

We will visit four unique places and taste amazing teas, and I will talk you through each tea that we will have, and we will have a cake in the last place too. It is an amazing way to discover a different side of Shoreditch, the most trendy area of London! All teas and a piece of home baked cake in the last place are included in the price.

2. Every Saturday, at 10am – Postcard Teas School: discussing different teas at each session, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas Timothy has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

3. Sunday, 2 August, at 16.00 in SE London (It will probably take place in a cosy green yard close to London Bridge station) - Tea Meditation with me, £donation, send me an e-mail to reserve your space at withTlovers@gmail.com

Tea meditation is a Mindfulness meditation. It is performed in noble silence with me gently and quietly guiding through it in the beginning. There will be an opportunity to talk before and after meditation, and small snacks will be provided afterwards. We rarely have time to just be with whatever is there, in the present moment. To just sit down, and be totally in the process of drinking tea. And when we do that, magic happens.

4. Tuesday, 4 August, at 19.00 in SE London - Evening Tea Meditation with me, £10

5. Wednesday, 5 August, at 20.00 in Covent Garden – Tea Ceremony and Gong Bath. £18

My favourite tea fairy Kat Bambul is conducting yet another magical journey into tea and gongs. Not to be missed!

6. Wednesday, 5 August, at 19.00 in Docklands – Tea Brewing Masterclass with Tea Studio, £20

Learn (and taste) why its so important to brew tea correctly and the key points to doing this. During the masterclass you’ll taste both badly (to show the difference) and expertly brewed teas as well as learning traditional and modern methods for brewing specialist teas. All of course with plenty of discussion and advice so you can make your tea brewing experience better every time.

7. Friday, 7 August , at 14.00 and 15.00 at British Museum – Japanese Tea Ceremony demonstration by Urasenke Institute. FREE.

I wrote a blog post about my previous visit and impressions last time I went, which explains very well what this demonstration is about: http://t-lovers.com/2013/04/04/japanese-tea-ceremonies-at-british-museum/

8. Saturday, 8 August, at 14.00 in Docklands – Tea and Street Art Tour with Tea Studio, £24

Contemplate Art & Tea. Meet Claire, Street Art Expert, at East India DLR station and progress to Trinity Buoy Wharf where she will talk you through such pieces as the Time & Tide Bell, The Ascenda 1977 and Longplayer as well as several other street artists. Plus TEA, of course!

9. 13-16 August, 10-7pm in Clerkenwell - Namasia Tea Ceremony at the Art Exhibition, £8

Feature of Event:

-University of the Arts of London is well known of their creativity in Art filed. -This exhibition will cooperate with Taiwanese tea ceremony hosted by Namasia Tea House -12 Artists to exhibit their visions of fine arts.

10. Thursday, 13 August, at 7pm - Tea and Cheese Tasting with Tea Studio in South Kensington. £25

I went there in November and even now, at the memory of all those delicious combinations of amazing cheeses and teas, I almost faint from taste bud pleasure… Highly recommended!

I also reviewed this event previously in one of my posts, please check it out!

11. Sunday, 16 August, 3-5pm - Chinese Tea Tasting Workshop in Waterloo, £20, in English

I have never been to one of these before, and it seems to be organised by the Chinese descendants from Hong Kong, who are passionate about maintaining and promoting chinese culture in the West. Looks really good! I spoke once with Selina, who organises it, and she seemed really lovely.

12. Tuesday, 18 August, at 17.00 in Mayfair - Gingerbread and Tea - Food and Drink Themed History of Mayfair, £10

Mayfair has always been the place to visit for afternoon tea. Hear how this tradition came about together with the surprising histories of some of the world's most famous hotels. You will also hear about the Georgians and their passion for ice cream, the binge eating composer and the famous gingerbread seller Tiddy Doll. It’s not all about history though as Joanna will show you some of the hidden cafes and shops of the area including where to have a cream tea for under £9, a rooftop café in a designer clothes shop and one of the best wine shops in London. This walk is approximately 2 hours in length and will finish close to Green Park tube. No food or drink stops or tastings are included in this walk.

13. Tuesday, 18 August, at 19.00 in Docklands - Baking with Tea with Tea Studio, £24

Tea is more than just a drink. Did you know you can bake with it as well? Well how does Matcha marshmallows in white chocolate or smokey Lapsang Souchong Caramel on icecream sound? All of this you will learn at this workshop!

14. Thursday, 20 August, at 19.00 in Docklands - Journey of the Humble Leaf with Tea Studio, £20

Over the two hours, they will cover the diversity of the 6 tea families, tasting exemplar teas within each category. Kyle will explain how each of the teas are made and what sets each tea family apart. Lots of useful information!

15. Sunday, 23 August, at 2-4pm in Brixton - Summer Chinese Tea & Qi Ceremony with Al Falfa, £15

In an informal and relaxed setting we will share some rare loose-leaf white, green and oolong teas and learn the 'gong-fu' approach to making and drinking tea. There will be space for discussion and opportunity to learn all you want about the many benefits and pleasures of fine tea. Additionally, we will practice qigong techniques to engage and awaken the senses. These techniques use a mixture of self-massage, breath-work and mindfulness and are practiced sitting down. On top of their many health benefits, these exercises aim to bring heightened clarity to our senses, which greatly enhances the experience of drinking tea.

lera zujeva 28/05/2015 lera zujeva 28/05/2015

Paradjanov and Tea

I went to Paradjanov event on Saturday, organised by Georgian British Chamber of Commerce, and I got these two cards from there. Today, looking at them, and at Sergei Paradjanov, I really felt like drinking Sheng puer tea from 2001. Because it makes me feel the same. Happy. Creative. Childlike. Innocent. Mad. Open hearted. Which I am sure Paradjanov was all of that. And when I look at these cards and drink sheng puer tea, I really feel like going outside into the streets of London and jump all my way in my neighbourhood or some area full of people, and scream with joy. I haven't done that today, but I am sure, in my next puer and photo sessions I will do that and I will report this here! :)))

lera zujeva 15/05/2015 lera zujeva 15/05/2015

Tea Events until the end of May'15

1. Saturday, 16 and 23 May, at 10am – Postcard Teas School: Shades of Green (16 May) and Blues (23 May), £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL! Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

2. Sunday, 17 May, 3-5pm - Chinese Tea Tasting Workshop in Waterloo, £20, in English

I have never been to one of these before, and it seems to be organised by the Chinese descendants from Hong Kong, who are passionate about maintaining and promoting chinese culture in the West. Looks lovely! I spoke once with Selina, who organises it, and she seemed really lovely.

3. Sunday, 17 May, at 4pm (and every Sunday) – Chinese Tea Ceremony in Hyde Park, £15, in RUSSIAN

This tea ceremony takes place every Sunday! Tasting four great teas and learning lots about them in the beautiful surroundings of Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park. The following teas will be tasted: Silver Needle white tea, Huo Shan Huang Ya Premium extra yellow tea, Lao Tie Guan Yin oolong tea and Tie Luo Han oolong tea. Your guide into the world of tea here is the Daoist master with decades of practice and experience!!!!

4. Monday, 18 May, at 3pm - A Tea Odyssey at Asia House in Central London, £8 I will be there increasing my education in the world of Darjeeling teas!!!!!!

Tea fanatics abound, and its fans are fierce in their interest and loyalty to this very special variety of brewed beverage. Jeff Koehler tells the intriguing and spectacular story of Darjeeling, the world’s most celebrated tea. This is a tale of how Darjeeling developed its prodigious tea industry under Imperial British rule and eventually came to produce some of the highest-quality leaves in the world. It is a fascinating portrait of the region from the days of the Raj to that of the ‘voodoo farmers’ of the present day, who get world-record prices for their fine teas, all set against the backdrop of the looming Himalayas and drenching monsoons. Jeff Koehler, writer and cook, will launch his new book Darjeeling: A History of the World’s Greatest Tea at this event, which is supported by Ahmad Tea, whose distinguished teas will be enjoyed throughout.

5. Friday, 22 May, at 14.00 and 15.00 at British Museum – Japanese Tea Ceremony demonstration by Urasenke Institute. FREE.

6. Thursday, 28 May at 19.00 in Notting Hill – Tea and Cheese Tasting with Whittington’s Tea Emporium. £20

I went there in November and even now, at the memory of all those delicious combinations of amazing cheeses and teas, I almost faint from taste bud pleasure… Highly recommended, and tickets are selling out fast usually for this event! I also reviewed this event previously in one of my posts, please check it out!

7. Saturday, 30 May at 2-4pm in Brixton - Summer Chinese Tea Ceremony + Qigong Session with Alex. £15

I would like to tell you a little bit about the host of this event, Alex. I have not met him in person yet (I am sure I will soon), but I met his girlfriend at Vipassana meditation retreat, and a friend and colleague of his. And what I heard about him is amazing. A young man, a traveller, an adventurer, a talented musician in a band called Gentle Mystics, a meditator and a qi gong practitioner - he is a free spirit, who has such an amazing energy that, no doubt, will be shared with your through tea.

What amazes me is that being relatively young and being also a part of the music industry, he doesn't drink alcohol or take drugs, but is fully dedicated to tea, meditation and qi gong/tai chi. I wish I was like this at his age…. So yes, a recommended event in Brixton that I am sure will be deep and transformative in many ways. It's limited to 6 people only, so booking in advance is highly recommended!

Hope to see you very soon on one of those wonderful events!!!!!!

lera zujeva 03/05/2015 lera zujeva 03/05/2015

Tea Events in London 4-10 May

Ten TEA events this week are taking place! Each day of the week something is happening, so if you are a true tea lover you will definitely find something to suit your taste and availability! Is it May that makes all these events to start happening? In any way, it's amazing to see tea culture thriving and having so many amazing and wonderful events on offer! 1. Monday, 4 May, at 8pm – Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Tea House Theatre in Vauxhall, £25

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Caroll's iconic novel the Tea House Theatre invites grown-ups to join the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, the White Rabbit and a host of other characters for a dinner riddled with games, gambles and recitations.

The menu has been taken straight from the book and we promise you an exciting, entertaining evening from which no one will leave empty handed. And I am sure there will be a lot of TEA flowing too!

2. Tuesday, 5 May, at 7pm – Tea and Food Pairing, Shaftesbury Avenue, £25 - SOLD OUT! Next one on 2 June, so book early to avoid disappointment!

Start the evening with a tea infused Mocktail in the intimate Mee bar before tea guru Kyle guides you through 5 exciting tea and food pairings. Pairing exciting dishes from the menue with Noodle House teas and specially selected teas from Whittington's Tea Emporium's vast range, you will discover how tea enhances the flavour of dishes. With each pairing Kyle shows images and video clips of where the teas come from and how they are made. Lean about the masters who hand make these teas and just why Jasmine Pearls are so special! Then finish off the evening with a unique Tea Cocktail (or Mocktail if you prefer).

3. Wednesday, 6 May, at 20.00 in Covent Garden – Tea Ceremony and Gong Bath. £18

My favourite tea fairy Kat Bambul is conducting yet another magical journey into tea and gongs. Not to be missed!

That’s what she writes about the tea ceremony herself: “Gong Fu Tea Ceremony is a beautiful and meditative ritual of preparing and drinking tea, taking it’s roots from Dao and Zen Buddhist traditions where tea is considered as a spiritual drink. We drink loose leaf tea from the old, naturally growing trees in the wild, rich in substances affecting our consciousness and the body. High quality tea induces a deep meditative state, philosophical and creative mindset, a feeling of contentment, freedom and openness to the mystical. During the ceremony we appreciate the beauty of here & now, indulge all our senses and contemplate on tea, it’s setting, ourselves and our connection with nature. We connect with the spirit of the tea, and let ourselves flow in a timeless zone between heaven and earth.”

4. Friday, 8 May, at 14.00 and 15.00 at British Museum – Japanese Tea Ceremony demonstration by Urasenke Institute. FREE.

5. Saturday, 9 May, at 10am – Black and Pu-erh– Teas from India, China and other areas, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

6. Sunday, 10 May, 11-5pm - A POP UP ORIGAMI POETRY CAFE with Tea, somewhere on the Regents Canal, £10.

This event brings together a passion for tea, poetry and beautiful origami all together as a beautiful package. It includes a personalised poem on an origami model by their professional poet together with a home baked cake and lovely afternoon tea will spoil your senses. Enjoy the landscape of hundreds of flying origami birds, floating boats and swans, and lovely flowers. Friendly and relaxed atmosphere with bird songs in the background. Add aroma to your origami with a scented paper…

£10 per person includes a poem on an origami model, a cake and a tea. Please check for location on their website: http://www.thefloatingshowroom.com/upcoming-events

7. Sunday, 10 May, at 12pm - Chinese Tea and Dim Sum Brunch Club with PaoCha in Streatham, London, £15 - NEARLY SOLD OUT!

Discover tea and dim sum in combination! With hundreds of aromas of Chinese tea to be exploring, Sam and Alex (Sinophiles/foodies/tea obsessives) would like to introduce the diversity of this delightful beverage by hosting their very own tea (not supper) club in the delights of our Streatham abode. Where London does brunch, Southern China does Dim Sum; a good selection of Chinese tea and small light dishes. PaoCha therefore, invites you their very own Chinese style brunch of copious amounts of tea ranging from TieGuanYin Oolong, to Pu’er, to Fuding’s best White tea, and a good filling of Chinese inspired food!

8. Sunday, 10 May, at 4pm – Chinese Tea Ceremony in Hyde Park, £15, in RUSSIAN

Tasting four great teas and learning lots about them in the beautiful surroundings of Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park. The following teas will be tasted: Silver Needle white tea, Baimudan white tea, Lao Tie Guan Yin oolong tea and Tie Luo Han oolong tea. Your guide into the world of tea here is the Daoist master with decades of practice and experience!!!!

Big hug!

lera zujeva 26/04/2015 lera zujeva 26/04/2015

Tea Events in London 27 April- 3 May

Not so many tea events this week, but I am sure you will be in LOVE with the ones that are happening! 1. Thursday, 30 April, at 1pm - Tea Meditation with T-Lovers, South East London (Zone 1/2), FREE

For this meditation, which is a Mindfulness Meditation, we will be brewing tea in the Chinese tradition, and usually I am using special teas with special energy. It will probably be Puerh tea from wild growing trees that are 1,200 years old. Or a special tea called Enlightenment. In any way these kind of teas will make it easier to connect to ourselves and feel our own energy connecting with the energy tea and creating a special experience for us. Small snacks will be provided. I am so looking forward to sharing teas with you!

2. Saturday, 2 May, at 10am – Introduction to Tea – Teas from India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and China, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

3. Sunday, 3 May, 11-5pm - A POP UP ORIGAMI POETRY CAFE with Tea, somewhere on the Regents Canal, £10.

£10 per person includes a poem on an origami model, a cake and a tea. Please check for location on their website: http://www.thefloatingshowroom.com/upcoming-events

Big hug!

lera zujeva 20/04/2015 lera zujeva 20/04/2015

Tea Events this week in London 20-26 April

This week, again, is rich with tea events. It seems that sunshine awakens all the senses and people just want to explore and delve into the word aromas and subtle or strong tastes. I am in LOVE with this fact! 1. Wednesday, 22 April, at 18.30 - The Power of Oolong at ChinaLife in Camden, FREE

During this tea appreciation evening, guests will have the opportunity to hear about the health benefits of drinking oolong tea from tea master Don Mei. Participants will get the chance to sample a variety of oolongs to train the palette, from soft and floral to creamy, rich and roasted, in discovering a new appreciation of the humble tea leaf.

2. Saturday, 25 April, at 10am – The Blues – Oolong teas from Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

3. Sunday, 26 April, 11-5pm - A POP UP ORIGAMI POETRY CAFE with Tea, somewhere on the Regents Canal, £10.

£10 per person includes a poem on an origami model, a cake and a tea. Please check for location on their website: http://www.thefloatingshowroom.com/upcoming-events

4. Sunday, 26 April, at 4pm – Chinese Tea Ceremony in Hyde Park, £15, in RUSSIAN

Tasting four great teas and learning lots about them in the beautiful surroundings of Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park. The following teas will be tasted: Taipng Houkui, GABA oolong tea, Lapsang Souchong and Shu Puer teas. Your guide into the world of tea here is the Daoist master with decades of practice and experience!!!!

Big hug!

lera zujeva 30/03/2015 lera zujeva 30/03/2015

Tea Events this week in London 30 March - 5 April

There are quite a few good ones this week, so don’t miss your chance and join them if you can! 1. Tuesday, 31 March at 18.30 in Greenwich – Tea and Cheese Tasting with Whittington’s Tea Emporium. £20

I went there in November and even now, at the memory of all those delicious combinations of amazing cheeses and teas, I almost faint from taste bud pleasure… Only 3 places left, so if you would like to join them this month, do not hesitate any longer! I also reviewed this event previously in one of my posts, please check it out!

2. Tuesday, 31 March, at 19.30 in Central London, just off Regent street – Tea Masterclass with Lalani!

It costs £25, but you take home with you the whole jar of Lalani’s Assam Tea, which they sell for £10. Amazing Value!

3. Wednesday, 1 April, at 20.00 in Covent Garden – Tea Ceremony and Gong Bath. £18

My favourite tea fairy Kat Bambul is conducting yet another magical journey into tea and gongs. Not to be missed!

4. Saturday, 4 April, at 10am – Postcard Teas School - Introduction to Tea – Teas from India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and China, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

Enjoy!!!!!

PS. Photo is taken from Lalani's web-site

lera zujeva 16/03/2015 lera zujeva 16/03/2015

Tea Events this week in London 16-22 March

There are lots of tea events in London this week, to suit any taste or language - from tea and cheese pairing, meditative tea ceremony with gongs to tea tasting tours and walks. Have a look! 1. Wednesday, 18 March, at 7pm - Tea and Cheese Tasting in Notting Hill (La Cave Fromage) led skilfully and passionately by Kyle, in ENGLISH, £20

I reviewed this event previously in one of my posts and now this is another opportunity for me to say how amazing this event is. Explosion of tastes and aromas will blow your mind, literally. Highly recommended!!!

2. Wednesday, 18 March, at 8pm - in Covent Garden – Tea Ceremony and Gong Bath, in ENGLISH, £18

My favourite tea fairy Kat Bambul is conducting yet another magical journey into tea and gongs. Not to be missed!

That’s what she writes about the tea ceremony herself: “Gong Fu Tea Ceremony is a beautiful and meditative ritual of preparing and drinking tea, taking it’s roots from Dao, Zen and Buddhist traditions where tea is considered as a spiritual drink. We drink loose leaf tea from the old, naturally growing trees in the wild, rich in substances affecting our consciousness and the body. High quality tea induces a deep meditative state, philosophical and creative mindset, a feeling of contentment, freedom and openness to the mystical. During the ceremony we appreciate the beauty of here & now, indulge all our senses and contemplate on tea, it’s setting, ourselves and our connection with nature. We connect with the spirit of the tea, and let ourselves flow in a timeless zone between heaven and earth.”

3. Saturday, 21 March, at 10am – Postcard Teas School - The Blues – Oolong teas from Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

lera zujeva 08/03/2015 lera zujeva 08/03/2015

Tea Events this week in London 9-15 March

This week there are three amazing tea events for your choice!!! 1. Friday, 13 March, at 14.00 and 15.00 at British Museum - Japanese Tea Ceremony demonstration by Urasenke Institute. FREE.

Event details are here: http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/event_detail.aspx?eventId=2050&title=The%20Way%20of%20Tea&eventType=Demonstration

2. Saturday, 14 March, at 10am – Postcard Teas School - Shades of Green – Green teas from Japan, Korea, and China, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

http://www.postcardteas.com/site/school/

3. Sunday, 15 March, at 2pm at We Make London Cafe, in Chalk Farm - Introduction to the Fine Tea World with Momo Cha Tea Company! It costs £30, but T-Lovers followers can still get the Early Bird discount and get the place for £24 (Just enter discount code: EARLYBIRDMARCH). Amazing Value!

I haven't been to any of Momo Cha's events, and haven't yet tried their teas. I am planning to attend their Tea Tasting on the 26 March though and write a blog post about it. But, from their website their teas seem to be really good (all green Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese) and we talked with Mojca on e-mail. I really liked our conversation and I am sure their event is going to be a real gem for all tea lovers!

This is what they write about their event:

"We'll guide you on an experiential journey through the fine teas of Japan, Taiwan and Korea. We will be brewing, tasting, appraising different types of tea, speak about tea history and learn about tea benefits.

Along with tea, we will be enjoying delicious handmade gluten-free snacks.

Each participant will also receive a lovely gift to take home.

You can book your tickets here: http://www.momochafineteas.com/tea-events/tea-tasting-class-15th-march-2015

I hope you enjoy your tea activities this week!

lera zujeva 01/03/2015 lera zujeva 01/03/2015

Tea Events this week 2-8 March 15

Do you love TEA? Again, this week has a lot to offer! 1. Tuesday, 3 Mar, at 7pm – Tea and Food Pairing at Noodle House in Piccadilly, £25 Explore which teas go best with the dishes as Kyle skilfully takes you through five combinations.Book your tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tea-food-pairing-at-the-noodle-house-march-tickets-14919424400?aff=erelexporg

2. Wednesday, 4 Mar, at 8pm - Tea Ceremony and a Gong Bath afterwards in the heart of Covent Garden at Buddha on the Bicycle, £18

http://www.meetup.com/London-Gong-Chamber-Tea-Sanctuary/events/220508754/

Again, Kat Bambul is going to be an amazing host, guiding you into a meditative state with the amazing teas and then through a gong journey.

3. Saturday, 7 March, at 10am - Postcard Teas School - Black and Pu-erh– Teas from India, China and other areas, £20, ADAVNCED BOOKING is ESSENTIAL!

Every Saturday between 10-11am, they will host a relaxed one-hour tasting of teas from areas he has visited complete with illustrated tasting notes.

http://www.postcardteas.com/site/school/

lera zujeva 25/01/2015 lera zujeva 25/01/2015

Tea Events This Week in LondonЧайные Мероприятия на Этой Неделе в Лондоне

Tea Events for this week! There are quite a few good ones this week, so don't miss your chance and join them if you can!

1. Tuesday, 27 January at 18.30 in Greenwich - Tea and Cheese Tasting with Whittington's Tea Emporium. £20

I went there in November and even now, at the memory of all those delicious combinations of amazing cheeses and teas, I almost faint from taste bud pleasure... Only two places left, so if you would like to join them this month, do not hesitate any longer!

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tea-cheese-tasting-january-tickets-13457117601?aff=es2&rank=1

2. Thursday, 29 January, at 19.30 in Central London, just off Regent street - Matcha Masterclass with Lalani! It costs £35, but you take home with you the whole jar of Lalani's Matcha Gold Dust, which they sell for £29. Amazing Value!

I will be there making photographs for my blog post, and it would be really great see you there too!

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/matcha-masterclass-tickets-15252552796?aff=eac2

3. Friday, 25 January, at 14.00 and 15.00 at British Museum - Japanese Tea Ceremony demonstration by Urasenke Institute. FREE.

Event details are here: http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/event_detail.aspx?eventId=255

4. Sunday, 1 February, at 19.00 in Covent Garden - Tea Ceremony and Gong Bath. £18

My favourite tea fairy Kat Bambul is conducting yet another magical journey into tea and gongs. Not to be missed!

That's what she writes about the tea ceremony herself: "Gong Fu Tea Ceremony is a beautiful and meditative ritual of preparing and drinking tea, taking it's roots from Dao, Zen and Buddhist traditions where tea is considered as a spiritual drink. We drink loose leaf tea from the old, naturally growing trees in the wild, rich in substances affecting our consciousness and the body. High quality tea induces a deep meditative state, philosophical and creative mindset, a feeling of contentment, freedom and openness to the mystical. During the ceremony we appreciate the beauty of here & now, indulge all our senses and contemplate on tea, it's setting, ourselves and our connection with nature. We connect with the spirit of the tea, and let ourselves flow in a timeless zone between heaven and earth."

http://www.meetup.com/London-Gong-Chamber-Tea-Sanctuary/events/220034050/

5. Sunday, 1 February, ALL DAY in Birmingham - Day Retreat: Meditation & the Way of Tea. DONATION BASIS

If by any chance you are in Birmingham this weekend, there is an amazing all day tea and meditation event, which is worth coming to especially, even if you are not living there!!!

Come for a nice, relaxing day drinking Tea in relaxing Tea Ceremonies, meditating and sharing lunch together . . . Please book with Birmingham Buddhist Centre on 0121 449 5279. The day is on a donation basis.

http://www.meetup.com/LivingTea-Mindful-Tea-Drinking-Ancient-Tree-Organic-Tea/events/220003782/Чайные Мероприятия в Лондоне на этой неделе для вас!

На этой неделе происходят несколько прекрасных чайных мероприятий, поэтому если вы любите чай, этот пост будет вам очень интересен!

1. Вторник, 27 Января в 18.30 в Гринвиче - Чайной Сырная Дегустация с Whittington's Tea Emporium. £20

Я сходила на это мероприятие в Ноябре, и хочу сказать, что при воспоминании о взрыве вкусовых ощущений на моем языке я до сих почти падаю в обморок. И я не шучу. Это просто настоящий улет во всех смыслах! У них осталось всего два места на вторник!

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tea-cheese-tasting-january-tickets-13457117601?aff=es2&rank=1

2. Четверг, 29 Января, в 19.30 в Центральном Лондоне, офф Риджентс Стрит - Мастеркласс по Матче с Lalani! Он стоит £35, но после него вы с собой заберете домой баночку матчи от Лалани, которую они продают за £29. По моему, это просто даром!

Я буду там делать фотографии для своего блога (и тоже познавать нюансы того, как правильно готовить матчу), поэтому будет просто супер круто, если кто нибудь из моих друзей туда тоже придет!

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/matcha-masterclass-tickets-15252552796?aff=eac2

3. Пятница, 25 Января, в 14.00 и 15.00 в British Museum - Демонстрация Японской Чайной Церемонии Urasenke Институтом. БЕСПЛАТНО.

Примерно два года назад я написала блог пост о своем опыте на этой демонстрации, который объяснит, о чем она: http://t-lovers.com/2013/04/04/japanese-tea-ceremonies-at-british-museum/?lang=ru

Детали мероприятия ЗДЕСЬ: http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/event_detail.aspx?eventId=255

4. Воскресенье, 1 Февраля, в 19.00 в Covent Garden - Чайная Церемония и Гонги. £18 Моя любимейшая чайная фея Kat Bambul проведет вас в очередное волшебное путешествие в страну чая и незабываемых звуков гонга. И это путешествие просто нельзя пропустить!

Вот что она сама пишет о чайной церемонии в описании своего мероприятия: "Gong Fu Чайная церемония это прекрасный и медитативный ритуал приготовления и употребления чая, который берет свои корни из традиций Дао, Дзен и Буддизма, где чай считают духовным напитком. Мы будем пить чай с древних деревьев, которым позволяют расти естественным образом в соответствии с дикой природой, которые богаты веществами, воздействующими на наше сознание и наше тело. Чай высокого качества приводит нас в медитативное состояние, где мы пребываем в философском и творческом настрое, состоянии поной удовлетворенности, свободы и открыты мистическому. Во время церемонии мы ценим красоту состояния здесь и сейчас, наслаждаемся всеми нашими чувствами и ощущаем чай, все, что окружает церемонию, нас самих и нашу связь с природой. Мы соединяемся с чайным духом, и позволяем себе течь в безвременном пространстве между небом и землей"

http://www.meetup.com/London-Gong-Chamber-Tea-Sanctuary/events/220034050/

5. Воскресенье, 1 Февраля, ВЕСЬ ДЕНЬ в Бирмингеме - Однодневный Ретрит: Медитация & Путь Чая. Оплата по принципу DONATION.

На самом деле, это то мероприятие, которое стоит посетить, даже если вы не живете в Бирмингеме. Оно стоит того, чтобы специально туда приехать. Ник, который будет проводить этот медитационно чайный ретрит уникальная личность. Рядом с ним наступает полный Дзен. И я вам обещаю, вы вернетесь домой с ощущением, как будто вы пробыли неделю в небольшом монастыре на склоне холмов в Японии.

Регистрация по телефону 0121 449 5279.

http://www.meetup.com/LivingTea-Mindful-Tea-Drinking-Ancient-Tree-Organic-Tea/events/220003782/

Надеюсь, вам удастся попасть на какие нибудь из этих волшебных и познавательных мероприятий, и насладится чаем во всей его красе!

lera zujeva 22/01/2015 lera zujeva 22/01/2015

Matcha, dark chocolate and a Georgian manМатча, шоколад и грузинский мужчина с красками

This picture is of a georgian man with paints, made by a georgian man from a mental institution in Tbilisi. The patients in that mental institution were going through art therapy, which proved being very successful. In the end, they brought all their work to London, and sold them at an auction and all the proceeds went to support continuing of art therapy in that mental institution in Tbilisi. I got this picture from that auction, and for today's mood I just love how white, and black and green matcha colours play together.

ту картинка нарисована грузинским человеком, который проходил арт терапию в ментальном доме в Тбилиси. И потом все картины, нарисованные душевнобольными людьми, проходящими эту арт терапию, были привезены в Лондон, и проданы через аукцион, и все собранные средства пошли на то, чтобы арт терапия в таких заведенях продолжалась! И вот я купила эту картинку там. Как и штаны, спортивные, на которых была такая крутая вышивка!! Это человек, который просто помешан на вышывании в Тбилиси, и в ментальном доме он вышивает все, что видит: и штаны, и халаты врачей, и тапочки. Из спортивных штанов они превратились в нечто удивительное и волшебное, настоящее произведение искусства! Вот такие таланты иногда проявяются у людей...

Ну а здесь мне просто понравилось это прекрасное сочетание белого, черного и зелени матчи. Правда, она выделяется светлым пятном?

lera zujeva 19/01/2015 lera zujeva 19/01/2015

Tea Events in London this week

There is only one tea event this week for you, but it's amazing and you should go! 1. This Wednesday, 21 Jan, at 8pm - Tea Ceremony and a Gong Bath afterwards in the heart of Covent Garden at Buddha on the Bicycle.

http://www.meetup.com/London-Gong-Chamber-Tea-Sanctuary/events/219695039/

Again, Kat Bambul is going to be an amazing host, guiding you into a meditative state with the amazing teas and then through a gong journey.

lera zujeva 30/07/2014 lera zujeva 30/07/2014

Event not to be missed: tea and food pairingНе пропустите: чай и еда в комбинации в Лондоне

There will be an amazing event on pairing food and tea on Tuesday, 5th of August! Just £15, and for this price you will get several amazing teas, perfectly matched to several amazing dishes and a talk by Kyle about why this particular tea goes well with this particular dish. It's a bargain! And Kyle is a tea professional, who spent a year in Japan, and achieved level I mastery in Japanese Tea Ceremony. Highly Recommended! I am sad that I will not be able to attend as I am going to be away. But these events are monthly, and each month Kyle covers different group of teas. So I will definitely go in September. http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/whittingtons-tea-emporium-5974610553В Лондоне во вторник на следующей неделе, 5 Августа, вечером, будет прекрасное чайное мероприятие. Вечер о том, как комбинировать еду и чай, и какой чай подходит лучше к какой еде. Всего за 15 фунтов вы получаете 4 или 5 чаев, и такое же количество тщательно подобранных к чаю блюд. Плюс обьяснения от Кайла, почему именно этот чай именно с этим блюдом. По моему, это очень круто! За такую цену такое мероприятие!

Я уже говорила о Кайле, он чайный профессионал, и жил год в Японии, где получил первую степень мастера чайной церемонии. Такие мероприятия он устраивает раз в месяц, каждый раз обсуждая разные группы чаев. А сейчас он работает над очередным проектом: чай и сыр. Думаю будет очень интересно!

Мне безумно жалко, что я не могу попасть на это мероприятие, так как я уезжаю в Литву на весь Август, но очень рекомендую!

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/whittingtons-tea-emporium-5974610553

lera zujeva 21/05/2014 lera zujeva 21/05/2014

English Afternoon Tea - Browns HotelАнглийская Чайная Церемония - Browns Hotel

Now it's time to share my experience of English Afternoon Tea at Browns Hotel. It impressed me more than any place that I have been to before. Not with its tea though, but with the real english atmosphere, impeccable service and food. But lets start from the beginning. Browns Hotel is the place where lots of famous people stayed. Not only did they stay there but they also created and wrote some of their work under the influence of the hotel's atmosphere (and no doubt, tea that they had there). Ridyard Kipling was staying at Browns Hotel, and Agatha Christie was a frequent visitor. Some say that it is this hotel that was a prototype for Christie's Bertram Hotel, so much loved by Miss Marple. Who knows, may be the tea room's atmosphere, tea and scones helped her solve those really twisted murders? Queen Victoria used to be a guest in this hotel's tea room too. To sum it up, Browns Hotel is well-known, famous and so attracts a lot of visitors. Well, at least for my mum the biggest attraction was Miss Marple story. And I think she is not alone in this. So my mum decided to give herself a present and have an Afternoon Tea experience in Browns Hotel.

This is how the hotel looks on the outside:

The atmosphere inside was beautiful - live piano music, amazing service, quite a few people at the tables chatting away in a relaxed way. Even heavy rain outside was complementing English Afternoon tea scene!

By the way, there were quite a few Japanese and Chinese in the tea room. From my experience visitors of the English Tea Ceremonies are usually from countries that appreciate tea quite a lot. And these are mainly England, Japan, China and Russia. There are occasionally people from other countries too, but they are quite rare, in my opinion.

This time we ordered black tea only (or red, if we use Chinese classification of tea). Frankly, I was so impressed with the atmosphere at Browns that I wanted to keep this impression and not spoil it with green or white teas brewed for an indefinite amount of time in boiling water. Afterwards my friend, who is an owner of the Chinese Tea shop told me that once she ordered white tea there. And while the tea itself was of exceptional quality, the way it was brewed in boiling water was not. Moreover, it was served in a silver teapot, in which previously black teas were brewed, so this affected the taste and colour of white tea. It looked more brownish than white. But we avoided this dilemma by ordering different varieties of black tea only. I rarely drink black tea. Almost never. Hence, it's quite difficult for me to judge whether black tea I am drinking is good or not.Probably, if it's utterly awful, I will recognise this fact. But honestly, to understand the difference between an ok and a good black tea, and may be even a very good one would be a difficult task for me (unless the tea is Chinese).

Therefore, I can say with clear conscience, that all tea was good at Browns Hotel. Well, except Lapsang Souchong again - I always order this tea, out of curiosity, to see if it's flavoured or not. And as always, in these kind of places, it was flavoured. But I made a decision to ignore this fact. Because as far as my understanding goes, English Afternoon Tea is not really about tea. It is about a setting, an atmosphere, and food. It's definitely not about green or white teas. May be it is about black teas, as it is where the heart and soul of british people is. But again, black teas from anywhere but China. Because Lapsang Souchong is always below the standard quality at these ceremonies.

So what kind of teas did we have there? For a start we ordered Nilgiri and Assam teas (from India). For afterwards - Lapsang Souchong and another tea, grown in England. Yes! Did you know? There is a tea plantation called Tregothnan in Cornwall, where tea is grown, processed and blended. They claim they are relatives of Earl Grey, who got from one chinese man a present in the form of a recipe for the very famous tea called in the same way - Earl Grey. The tea was not bad at all, but as I previously said already, all black teas for me are "not bad". :)

Tea was served in these silver teapots, which is better than metal. But it would still be much nicer if it was served in porcelain, at least for me. And as you can see they have a white table cloth on the table, which immediately puts you into a special, festive mood.

And a silver strainer matching the teapots:

Food can be discussed endlessly. But what I wanted to share is that in Browns Hotel they had a choice - traditional tea ceremony, and a healthy version (without wheat and sugar). I chose a healthy version, while my mum stuck to the traditional one. What I also wanted to point out, because I personally didn't know that - at most English Afternoon Teas you can replenish your tray of finger sandwiches, or scones or little cakes at no extra cost however many times you like. So it's basically eat as much as you can - if you can actually take in that much of this delicious food. :)

Here are some photos of the food there. There is no need for comments as the photos say it all, but I will make a note of what is what.

Our table:

Healthy option - Tabulae:

Fruit kebab:

Mini wheat and sugar free cakes:

Scones and jam from the "classic" menu:

Strawberry jam and clotted cream (so tender and smooth …. mmmmmm)

Mini cakes in the traditional option:

To draw a conclusion: this place in my top favourites at this moment. Not only the food was great and tea not bad, but we had what people call "the experience". It was almost like I went back 100 years, got soaked in the atmosphere of London in those days and got transferred back. A journey beyond time and space. In the previous place, although it was very nice too, I had a feeling of simply having an expensive gluttonous meal. Here, it felt differently. So, I highly recommend to all, who would like to have an English Afternoon Tea experience.Ну вот пришла пора рассказать и об Английской Чайной Церемонии в Browns Hotel. Сразу скажу, что впечатлил он гораздо больше всех предыдущих мест. Но не чаем, а своей атмосферой, сервисом, едой, а также своей историей.

Но начну с самого начала. Browns Hotel известен тем, что там останавливалось много известных людей. И они там не просто останавливались, но под влиянием атмосферы отеля (и как мне хочется думать, его чайной комнаты) творили и писали в номерах, и произвели на свет много прекрасных произведений. Например, там часто останавливался Редьярд Киплинг. И Агата Кристи. Считается, что именно чайная комната этого отеля прослужила прототипом Bertram Hotel, в котором все время жила Мисс Марпл. И под действием чая и пирожных разгадывала самые запутанные убийства. Говорят, что Королева Виктория тоже частенько захаживала туда выпить чай. Вообщем, Browns Hotel известен, знаменит и поэтому манит многих посетить его. Во всяком случае, для моей мамы огромным привлекающим фактором было то, что Мисс Марпл там пила чай. И я думаю, что это является большим плюсом не только для моей мамы. И мама решила сделать себе подарок и сходить туда на чай.

Вот так отель выглядит снаружи:

Обстановка внутри была прекрасна! Музыкальное сопровождение на фортепиано, оживленная атмосфера, прекрасный сервис. И даже дождь за окном соответствовал традиционному английскому чаепитию.

Кстати, было много японцев, китайцев. Я вообще заметила, что на чайные церемонии ходят в основном ценители чая - из стран, в которых чай пьют и любят. А это Англия, Япония, Китай, Россия. Изредка можно встретить представителей других стран, но они действительно встречаются довольно редко.

Чай в этот раз мы заказали исключительно черный (или красный, по китайской классификации). Если честно, мне настолько понравилась атмосфера в Браунз, что портить впечатление зеленым или белым чаем, заваренным кипятком, совершенно не хотелось! Потом уже мне подруга, владелица магазина китайских чаев рассказала, что она там как-то заказала белый чай. Несмотря на то, что сам чай был прекрасного качества, заварили его кипятком, в серебряном чайнике, в котором до этого заваривали черный. И конечно, это повлияло и на вкус, и на цвет чая. Он совершенно не был белым, скорее каким-то коричневатым на вкус. Но мы этой дилеммы избежали, так как с самого начала решили заказать черный чай. Я очень редко пью черный чай. Практически никогда. Поэтому мне сложно судить хороший он или нет. Наверное если полная гадость - я пойму и начну плеваться. Но честно, различить ок черный чай от хорошего или от очень хорошего мне будет сложно.

Поэтому сразу скажу - весь чай, который мы пили был хороший. Ну кроме Лапсанг Сушонга - этот экземпляр я всегда заказываю из любопытства - чтобы узнать, с ароматизаторами он или нет. И как всегда, оказалось, что да, с ароматизаторами. Но я решила закрыть на это глаза. Так как когда его принесли, я поняла еще раз - английская чайная церемония не про чай, а про атмосферу и еду. По крайней мере, не про зеленый или белый чай, скорее про любой черный чай, который не из Китая. Так как в случае с Лапсангом, это тоже полный пролет.

Так какие же мы пили там чаи? Для начала заказали Нилгири (на фото вверху) и Ассам, оба из Индии. А потом Лапсанг Сушонг и чай, выращенный в Англии. Да! Вы не знали? В Cornwall есть чайная плантация с труднопроизносимым названием Tregothnan, где выращивают чай. Они говорят, что являются потомками того самого Графа Грея, которому один китаец много лет назад подарил секрет знаменитого сегодня чая Earl Grey. Чай действительно был совсем не плох, но как я уже говорила выше, для меня все черные чаи "совсем неплохие" :)

Чай подавали в таких серебряных чайниках, что конечно не плохо, но лучше бы в керамических. Плюс, как вы видите, есть скатерть, а это сразу придает торжественность моменту.

Ну и ситечко под стать:

О еде можно говорить очень много. Она была прекрасна, не придраться. Но что мне больше всего понравилось, так это выбор. Можно было выбрать здоровое меню, а можно было традиционное. Мама выбрала традиционное, а я здоровый вариант. И оба были прекрасны, но мне больше понравился мой, здоровый вариант, без муки и сахара. Момент, о котором хотелось бы упомянуть - на английских чайных церемониях можно заказывать все по второму, третьему… десятому кругу бесплатно. Если вам захотелось съесть больше сендвичей, или сконов, или пирожных - все это вам принесут, сколько бы вы ни заказывали. Если у вас конечно будет место для всех этих яств. :)

Вот несколько фотографий с едой. Комментировать излишне, но напишу что есть что.

Наш стол:

Здоровый вариант - Табуле

Фрукты на палочке вместо сконов:

Маленькие пирожные без муки и сахара:

Сконы с джемом из обычного меню:

Клубничный джем и клоттед крим (такой нежный и кремовый….. ням ням)

И маленькие пирожные в традиционном меню:

Вообщем, если подвести итоги, это место - мой фаворит на данный момент. У меня действительно было такое чувство, что я окунулась в Англию 100 лет назад. Атмосфера полностью соответствовала. Мы получили опыт. Если сравнивать с прошлым местом, у меня было чувство - дорого объелись. И все. А здесь осталось ощущение, что я побывала в другом измерении, временном пространстве, и окунулась в традиционную английскую атмосферу. Советую!

lera zujeva 28/04/2014 lera zujeva 28/04/2014

Afternoon Tea - Athenaeum HotelАнглийская Чайная Церемония - Athenaeum Hotel

As was mentioned in my previous post, we chose Athenaeum Hotel, because it was the winner of the best Afternoon Tea place nomination in 2012, and received Excellence Award for its high standard of service in 2013. So I was very curious - is its Afternoon Tea really of this high level of excellence? Or not? And that's what we set out to check. First, in order to give the whole story a positive feeling, I will mention this - the food in Athenaeum was amazing. Finger sandwiches, tender scones, miniature sweets and a chocolate cake were fresh, delicate, delicious and melted in the mouth. Not too rich, not too sweet - just the right balance. But not the tea. We were a little bit disappointed with tea in this place. Delicate tea leaves, brewed with boiling water and left in metal teapots for an indefinite period of time - it is not something I expected from the hotel of this level. And tea itself was not the highest quality too. But let's start from the beginning.

Afternoon tea in Athenaeum takes place in their Garden Room - a rather cosy and warm space with large windows, that let lots of sunshine in and through which you can see a tall wall covered with green plants, trees and flowers. Indeed this gives you a feeling that you are somewhere in a botanical garden and not in the middle of the busy city centre. A great idea, pleasing and refreshing for the eye.

And a window with wild green plants satisfying the eyes of the tired citizen of metropolis:

I have read quite a lot of information about English Tea Ceremonies, and have also been to a couple of them. What struck me immediately is the absence of the table cloth and flowers on the table. From what I know, according to the etiquette, there should be a cloth on the table, preferably matching the colour of tea ware. And also a simple-shaped vase with fresh flowers. Both of them were missing. Well, I thought to myself, may be green plants outside the window are the replacement for the flowers? Everything is possible…

Tea…. Tea… Tea menu was simple and interesting, with the choice of 10-12 teas. It had black, green and flower tea. Any of them could be ordered. In fact you could even order all of them if you wanted! And drink them one after another. If you felt like tasting them all.

We ordered Japanese Sencha and Dardjeeling to start with. And Lapsang Souchong and Assam teas for afterwards. And waited eagerly for our teas to arrive. Before I start talking about teas, I would like to say a little bit more about English Tea Ceremony. Ideally, all tea ware should come from the same set. And I mean ALL. Including teapots. Especially TEAPOTS! For they contain precious TEA! For it is around tea that all food, traditions, rituals etc are taking place. If a teapot is for one person only, it should be small. To fill one or two cups. A jug with hot water must also be present on the table in order to refill the teapot as soon as the tea is poured into cups. So when the cups are empty, a new infusion is ready to be used. Black tea is left to brew for 5-7 minutes, while green and flower teas have their own individual timing.

So. Our tea was brought to us in BIG METAL teapots with HOT BOILING water. Their size was bigger than necessary. And METAL?? There was also no sight of the jug with hot water. Just imagine the tender loose-leaf tea in those metal teapots floating in this boiling water. Poor tea leaves were probably completely shocked with the treatment they were receiving! Especially, my tender delicate sencha. Regardless of the fact that it was not the highest quality sencha, I felt almost physical pain when observing it brewed in such a terrible manner with boiling water in a tea pot for half an hour at the very least. On a side note, sencha is a VERY delicate tea, which should be brewed at 75C temperature. And should be brewed only for one minute. One minute!! Are you hearing me? Not 15 minutes, or 10. Not even five or three. Just one minute! And if you want your tea stronger, you should add more tea leaves, but still brew it for 1 MINUTE only! So can you imagine the horrow that went down my spine when I saw these big metal teapots with boiling water?

Moreover, Sencha is always green. Right after the harvest it is steamed to lock the green colour of the tea leaves and the freshness of spring. Therefore, when Sencha is fresh, high quality, when it is brewed at the right temperature - the infusion is always green. Green! Not yellow! Here is a photo of my Sencha in a cup, and as you can see - it is yellow. By the way, the tea ware and cups were really nice. Made from very fine and white porcelain, they appealed to my taste.

The infusion also did not taste like Sencha. At least not Sencha that I know and love. My mum's darjeeling was also average.

In the middle of the ceremony I ordered Lapsang Souchong and my mum - Assam tea.

Lapsang Souchong (or Xiao Zhong in chinese) - is a red tea from China, which after numerous mechanical manipulations, is smoked over smouldering pine wood and branches. This gives it amazing smoky pine forest aroma and taste, which is unique to this particular tea. I had Lapsang Souchong many times in numerous places in China. I love it with my whole heart, soul and body. And what I love about it is a subtle aroma and taste of those pine needles and wood. The key word here is SUBTLE. When you brew this tea, you can almost feel this ever present thin layer of aroma. It is there, you know it and feel it. But it never hits you. When my Lapsang Souchong was brought to our table, I had a feeling that I was hit on my nose with Lapsang Souchong boxer glove. Really. I cannot find better words to describe this effect the smell of tea had on me. Strong aroma got out of the teapot, made itself comfortable in every corner of the room and mainly in my nose receptors. It was impossible to get away from it. And even my mum sitting 2 meters away from me with her Assam teapot could feel it. It was a very strong smell. Far too strong. What it means for me - it had flavourings in it. This kind of strong unbeatable aroma can only be present in flavoured teas. If the tea was naturally smoked over burning pine wood, it would have a different kind of smell. That's for sure. This aroma was following me for some time after our tea ceremony was over. It accompanied me on the streets of London, sat next to me on my bus journey home, and only a couple of hours later finally said Good-Bye. I was very happy to hear it actually. Or smell it - would be a more appropriate word. I am not going to comment my perception of this tea any further, you should have got it from my comments above.

My mum's Assam tea was not too bad. And not too good either. But at least it had quite a pleasant taste.

And now let's talk about the positive side. The food! From what I experienced, I have a feeling that it is food, not tea, that is the main part of the English Tea Ceremony. And this is where Athenaeum Hotel was at its best. Tasty finger sandwiches, scones with apricots simply melting in your mouth, fragrant and delicious tiny desserts that are so tender you need to be quick to get them to your mouth.

Scones with lemon curd my mum liked so much:

Tender and soft Devonshire Clotted Cream and real (!!) strawberry preserve stole my heart away!

Basically, their food is amazing, and top level. Even though I was not fond of their teas, we still drank two litres of tea each with my mum - which is a very russian thing to do. In old times Russians used to drink tea until the second scarf - which meant they would drink tea until the second layer of scarf became wet from sweat - from drinking so much hot tea. So we were real russians drinking tea the russian way at the english tea ceremony. :)))

When the cakes were offered to us, I couldn't even look at more sweets or food, or tea. We were told that we could try ALL of the cakes on the tray. ALL?? I didn't want even one of them… But then we decided to share a chocolate cake, which was as delicious as all the other things we tried. And it was not too rich either.

We left this place rolling out like balloons, but after one hour we were our normal selves again. I guess two litres of tea drunk in a russian way took most of the space in our bodies.

My verdict for this Afternoon Tea place from 1-5 is 5 for Food, and 3 for Tea.

More will be coming soon, so watch this space!

If you like Tea and London may be you would like to join me on one of my tea walks soon? More information can be found HERE

And if you enjoyed this post, may be you would like to get e-mail updates (it’s free).Как я уже писала в предыдущем посте, мы выбрали именно Athenaeum Hotel, так как он был признан лучшим в чайной церемонии в 2012 году, и получил приз за высокое качество в 2013. Мне было безумно любопытно, действительно ли он стоит своих наград, или нет?

Сразу оговорюсь, что еда там была отменная - и сэндвичи, и сконы, и маленькие миниатюрные пирожные, и шоколадный пирог. Всё было очень вкусное, свежее, и таяло во рту. Не слишком жирно, не слишком сладко - всё, как надо. А вот с чаем нас ждало разочарование. Заваренные кипятком в металлических чайниках листики чая, оставленные там на неопределенное количество время - это не то, что я ожидала от отеля такого уровня. Да и чай, скажем прямо, был не лучшего качества. Но обо всём по порядку.

Чайная церемония в Athenaeum происходит в их Garden Room, довольно симпатичном пространстве с большими окнами, и видом на ограду засаженную зелёными растениями, цветами и деревцами. Что действительно создает ощущение, что ты находишься в ботаническом саду. Хотя находишься ты в самом центре города, очень оживленном и шумном. Интересная идея, и освежает глаз.

И окно с буйной зеленью радующей уставший глаз городского жителя:

Я много читала про английские чайные церемонии, на каких-то присутствовала собственной персоной. И что мне сразу же бросилось в глаза - это отсутствие скатерти на столе, и живых цветов в вазе. По правилам этикета, на столе должна быть (желательно однотонная) скатерть в тон посуде и строгая ваза с живыми цветами. Ни того, ни другого там не было. Ну ладно, подумала, я, может вазу с цветами заменяет зелень за окном? Всё может быть, конечно.

Чай… Чай…. Меню было интересное, с хорошим выбором из 10-12 чаев - там присутствовал и черный чай, и зеленый, и цветочный. Можно было выбрать какой угодно. На самом деле можно было выбрать хоть все, и пить их один за другим. Это если есть желание попробовать всё, что есть на выбор.

Наверное, так и надо было сделать, но я на тот момент ещё не поняла, как это работает. Поэтому мы с мамой заказали два чая для начала. И потом ещё два чая в середине, к сладкому.

Я заказала японскую сеньчу. Мама - дарджилинг. И стали ждать в предвкушении. Как отступление, опять немного расскажу про английскую чайную церемонию. В идеале, вся посуда, и я действительно имею ввиду ВСЯ - должна быть из одного чайного набора. Это понятие включает в себя и чайники. Тем более - чайники! Ведь в них находится Чай! Чай, вокруг которого создается всё чайное действо с едой, традициями, ритуалами, и тд. Если чайник с чаем - на одного человека, то он должен быть маленьким. На одну-две чашки. На столе должен присутствовать кувшин с кипятком - потому что когда чай разливают по чашкам, заварку снова заливают кипятком, чтобы новый настой был готов к тому времени, как первая чашка опустошится. Черный чай заваривают 5-7 минут, и потом разливают по чашкам. С зелёным и цветочными обращаются индивидуально в зависимости от чая.

Так вот. Нам принесли чай, заваренный кипятком,в металлических чайниках большого размера. Этот размер был явно больше, чем надо. Никакого кувшина с кипятком для последущего заваривания чая тоже не было. То есть представьте чай, который был в этих металлических чайниках. Бедные чаинки были в ужасе от происходящего. Тем более тонкая нежная сеньча. Хотя она и не была лучшего качества, мне всё равно было физически больно её видеть там, в кипятке, в железном чайнике, оставленную на пол часа как минимум. Что с ней там происходило, мне даже не хотелось представлять. К слову сказать, сеньчу нужно заваривать при температуре 75 градусов. И заваривать ровно одну минуту. Одну Минуту!!!! Вы меня услышали? Ни 30 минут, ни 15, ни пять, и даже не три. Одну! И если вы хотите сделать чай крепче - то золотое правило гласит: положите больше заварки, но держите чай ОДНУ минуту! Поэтому увидев железные чайники огромного размера и кипяток, по моей спине прошел холодок.

Ещё сеньча всегда зелёная. Сразу после сбора урожая сеньчу пропаривают, и она сохраняет всю зелень чайных листьев и свежесть весны. Поэтому когда она свежая, хорошего качества и когда её завариваешь при правильной температуре - настой всегда зелёный. Зелёный, а не желтый. Вот вам фотография моей сеньчи в чашке. Как вы видите, он - желтый… Кстати, чашки были из прекрасного белого тонкого фарфора. Чашки и блюдца мне очень понравились.

На вкус это тоже была не совсем сеньча. Во всяком случае не сеньча, которую я знаю и люблю. Дарджилинг моей мамы также был посредственным.

Потом к сладкому я заказала Лапсанг Сушонг, а мама - Ассамский чай.

Лапсанг Сушонг (или Сяочжун по-китайски) - это китайский красный чай, который после многочисленных с ним манипуляций томят (или коптят) над дымом от сосновых дров и веток. Поэтому у него такой свойственный только ему аромат и вкус соснового леса, копчености. Именно елово-сосновой копчености. Я пила этот чай в Китае в разных местах, и люблю его всей душой и телом. Что мне в нем нравится, так это еле уловимый аромат и вкус сосновых веток. Ключевое слово здесь - еле уловимый. Он присутствует явным, но тонким слоем. И уж точно не бьет вас в нос своей копченостью при заварке. Так вот чай с названием Лапсанг Сушонг, который нам принесли к десерту, ударил нам по носу тяжелой боксерской перчаткой. Других сравнений, как описать этот эффект, мне просто не приходит в голову. Сильный запах разнесся по всему залу, заполнил каждый уголок, и прочно поселился на наших рецепторах обоняния. Перебить его чем либо было невозможно. Это был очень сильный, очень резкий аромат. И для меня это означает одно - это был чай с ароматизаторами. Такой настойчивый, неперебиваемый запах бывает только у них - ароматизированных чаев. Этот запах преследовал меня еще долго после того, как закончилась церемония. Он шел со мной по улицам города, сидел со мной в автобусе, и только примерно через час решил со мной распрощаться. Чему я была очень рада. Вообщем, я не буду комментировать свое отношение к этому чаю. Из моих комментариев выше вы уже сами всё поняли.

Ассамский чай был не самый плохой. Но и не самый лучший. В всяком случае, он был довольно приятный на вкус.

Ну а теперь хватит о грустном. Давайте, перейдем к еде. У меня складывается такое ощущение, что в Английской чайной церемонии именно еда, а не чай является главным. И здесь они в этом преуспели. Нежные сэндвичи с вкусной начинкой, растворяющиеся во рту сконы с кусочками абрикосов, ароматные и безумно вкусные пирожные, которые надо еще суметь донести до рта целыми - настолько они тонкие и рассыпчатые.

Сконы с лимонным творожком:

А девонширский клоттед крим (похожий на масло из топленых сливок) и клубничное (настоящее!!!) варенье покорили мое сердце навсегда!

Вообщем, с едой там всё прекрасно. И несмотря на качество и метод заварки, мы выпили каждая по два литра чая и попробовали всё, что было на выбор. Поэтому когда привезли пироги на выбор на тележке, и сказали, что мы можем попробовать ВСЕ из них, я уже не была способна ничего пробовать. Но мы с мамой решили поделить кусочек шоколадного пирога, который оказался отменным на вкус.

Выкатились мы оттуда как колобки. Но уже через час чувствовали себя также легко, как и до чайной церемонии. Всё-таки два литра чая - это по нашему, по-русски. :)

Мой вердикт этому месту по 5 бальной системе - 5 за еду и десерты, 3 с натяжкой за чай.

Ждите следующих рассказов!

Если вы любите чай и Лондон, то может быть вы хотите присоединиться к одной из моих чайных прогулок? Следующие прогулки будут в пятницу 2 Мая и в пятницу 9 Мая. Прочитать о них можно ЗДЕСЬ и ЗДЕСЬ.

И если вам понравился этот пост, может быть вам захочется подписаться на новостную рассылку (это совершенно бесплатно!).