ROSE TEA TASTING at ROSE FESTIVAL

Last Saturday I was invited to hold Rose Tea Tasting for Malvern Luxury Buildings in collaboration with Squires Garden Centre in Surrey. The tasting was part of a larger Rose Festival event that was all about the queen of the garden herself - ROSE.

It was the hottest day of this year and the garden with all the roses there looked and felt amazingly beautiful. The smell was divine, and the garden buildings where the tea tasting took place were perfect for the occasion.

I chose three teas - simple rose buds from Pakistan, White Darjeeling Tea infused with Rose Petals and Rose and Cardamom Tea (with green rooibos, apples and a touch of Mint). They were all a huge success, and also all had a cooling effect on the body. Rose and white tea are cooling by nature, green rooibos, mint and apples too. The only ingredient that was a little bit warming was Cardamom - but it was a well received exceptions as most people attending the tasting loved its taste.

Even though in my work I focus mainly on Chadao Tea Ceremonies and Meditation - I really enjoyed holding this particular event. Spending morning in the sun surrounded by roses, but mostly by the people - curious minds who joined the tasting. Most of them didn’t know the event is happening, and stumbled across it while strolling through the rows of roses looking for the one they want to buy home. Joining the tasting spontaneously and discovering the whole new world of loose leaf teas and actually loving every single minute of it.

I am always amazed by how everyone responds to Tea and the beauty it brings into our life, sometimes unexpectedly. How a simple cup of tea with or without rose can change the course of our day and induces more brightness in our eyes, energy in our bodies and peace in our minds.

Malvern Gardens also wrote an amazing BLOG POST on how to make your own rose tea and how to cook with rose too!

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.

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/

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!!!!!!

Tea Events this week 23 Feb - 1 March 15

This week there are just a couple events related to tea. It seems it has quietened down in the last week of February. But T-Lovers and Whittington's Tea Emporium remain active! :) 1. Tuesday, 24 February at 6.30pm - Tea and Cheese Tasting with Whittington's Tea Emporium in Greenwich, £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. And if you are in Birmingham this Saturday, the usual Tea Club, run by an amazing soul Nick at the Buddhist Centre, takes place at 11am, donation basis. Nick is moving to London soon, so this tea club is not going to happen very often from now on, so this is a good opportunity to take part in the tea meditation with Nick while it's still there. :)

Hope to see you there!!!

Tea Events this week in London

Do you love TEA? Then these events for this week are just for you! 1. Tuesday, 13 Jan, at 7pm - Tea and Food Pairing at Noodle House in Piccadilly. 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-noodl…

2. Sunday, 18 Jan, at 15.45 - there seems to be an interesting event if you are single, which involves a restorative yoga class & meditation, followed by Chakra Tea Tasting with Ellie Wharton from Positivitea as she guides you through the art of supporting your chakras through special tea blends. More info and booking here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/singles-mingle-yoga-chakra-te…