The art of tea…growing and nurturing the right tea plants in the right soil, harvesting the tea leaves without damage, separating the tea leaf from the stem and twigs for proper drying, the art of preparing the water and steeping…knowing the differences between green tea, white tea, oolong tea, black and red tea…is as sophisticated and complex as producing the world’s finest coffee or wine.

The mindset and nature of tea is self-realization found through the four guidelines of the tea ceremony: tranquility, harmony, purity and respect. To practice these four principles in daily life is the essence of the tea ceremony. The ceremony is that quiet visit with others that builds bonds and relationships leading back to the outside world of activity. It is a way of life.

The tea ceremony is heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism and is designed to bring focus to the patron and guests so everyone is involved in the occasion; idle talk and gossip are not permitted. It is the safe harbor of peace from a hectic world. The objective of the tea ceremony is for the patron to totally focus on the needs of the guest and build an experience that centers on the aesthetic aspects of nature, mental clarity and peace of mind.

Japan began importing tea from China around the twelfth century for use by the monasteries, aristocracy and the most powerful ruling warriors. The tea ceremony at that time was used as an occasion to publicly display the wealth of the host. The ceremony was usually held in large halls and the guests were surrounded with precious utensils and loud conversation. Around the fourteenth century Zen Buddhist masters developed the tea ceremony into a spiritual practice that is still followed by millions of students in different schools today.

It is said that the largest tea schools are the Urasenke and Omotesenke in Japan. Through their influence this same tea ceremony is practiced throughout the world.

The tea plant is a great lover of hot, humid tropical and subtropical climates. Lots of rain, a well-drained soil rich in sandy loam and an evening coolness produce the best quality teas. The leaves grow slowly and generally only the top two leaves are picked for processing after the plant is about three years old. If tea plants are cared for properly they can live up to 100 years.

Although white, green, Oolong and black teas are all produced from the same tea plant, their distinctive characteristics are derived through different processing methods.

After picking, the fresh tea leaves are withered for 18 to 24 hours by air drying followed by a process called crush, tear and curl (CTC). This starts the natural fermentation process to produce the black color and stronger taste of a black tea.

Plucking only the small, unopened leaf buds and then allowing their moisture to evaporate produce white tea, naturally producing a whitish green appearance. Green tea is produced from the same plant and is made by letting the small, fresh shoots dry naturally for several hours. The shoots are then steamed or heated to prevent the fermentation process to begin. Oolong tea leaves are processed immediately after picking by brushing the edges of the leaf to release its natural chemicals. This promotes fermentation.

All tea is graded by the size of the final leaves and starts with the fermentation process. To start the fermentation process the tea leave is generally broken and twisted breaking the leave into smaller particles. After the fermentation and drying processes the tea leave is passed through various shaking sieves that separates the larger and smaller levels of leaves. The choice teas are of the larger particle size and considered of a higher grade. The smallest particles are tea dust (called fannings or fines) and should never be mixed with the larger particles. This is because during infusion (steeping) the leaves of different sizes take different amounts of time to release their taste. Thus, small tea dust is over extracted and the larger tea particles are under extracted.

Pekoe (P): A broken grade leaf that is curly and without a visible tip.

Orange Pekoe (OP): These are long pointed leaves that are plucked just at the time of the new leaf bud’s opening. This is a leaf with a tighter roll than the F.O.P.

Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP): Tender young leaves with a large portion of the tip. Made from the bud and first new leaf of the shoot. A long leaf with a slightly open appearance.

Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP): A small leaf with good body and strength. A black tea composed of broken segments without tips. India produces the best BOPs.

Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (GFOP): FOP with golden tips.

Souchong (S): Light in color but with a bold, ragged appearance. A large twisting leaf.

Fannings (F): Smaller particle size than the BOP with less keeping quality. Used in commercial tea bags.

Dust (D): The smallest bits of tea and correspondingly a small non-gourmet taste. Used in commercial grade tea bags.

Coffee is one of the three highest consumed beverages in the world. Coffee's affect on history, business, academia and social life is profound. Let's start with the role coffee played in creating and shaping many of today's business, academic and social institutions.

How did information travel throughout Western Europe in the 1700's without telephones, cell phones, IM'ing, or the internet?

Answer: Coffee Houses

Coffee was first introduced to Western Europe through street vendors and apothecaries of Venice and Milan as a medicine to be chewed and not brewed. The effects of caffeine were recognized for increasing mental capacity and to prolong alertness. For this reason coffee became the favorite drink of that day’s version of the ‘information worker’, i.e., clerks, merchants, businessmen and government bureaucrats.

Merchants soon recognized that a coffee house would be an attractive alternative to the alcohol-serving pubs of the day. The first coffee houses open in England around 1650 and quickly spread to Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and throughout Germany. By1700 there were over an estimated 2,000 coffee houses that served as the center of information, rumors, gossip and education in London. Another coffee house was located near London’s Royal Exchange and eventually became the London Stock Exchange. Eventually coffee houses became associated with specific subjects. The Grecian attracted those interested in philosophy, Button’s specialty was literature and Slaughter’s became the hub for chess.

The personality of the coffee house conformed to its location. The coffee house closest to the docks attracted ships’ captains, sailors, merchants and the underwriters who insured the ships. At these coffeehouses one could have free access to daily news of the maritime, world news affecting cargo and even conduct auctions of ships and cargo. Underwriters began to rent booths at a coffee house started by Edward Lloyd and eventually formed the Society of Lloyd’s, better known as Lloyd’s of London.

So the networks of communication took root in the early coffee houses. The social and intellectual interaction created an atmosphere of collective discussion that eventually led to innovation and new business opportunities.

These coffee houses also acted as the poor man’s university. Lectures and the social meeting of prominent individuals such as Sir Isaac Newton were common.

Not much different than today’s Internet, minus the social interaction. But one thing is constant, that cup of coffee on the desk or table!

The best coffee bean in the world is the coffee Arabica, better known as an Arabica bean. The Arabica bean is grown in Hawaii, Africa, Latin America and Asia. But not all Arabica beans can be considered as gourmet coffee beans.

Arabica coffee beans are grown throughout the world within what is called the Bean Belt; that band of tropical land around the middle of the world between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Arabica beans that are considered the best in the world, the gourmet, are grown at elevations up to 6,000 feet above sea level in rich, dark volcanic soil. The volcanic soil is rich in minerals and nutrients and its content encourages better drainage. The higher the elevation the better chance of the bean being considered a gourmet coffee bean.

Harvesting the highest quality bean is based on what is called selective picking. The coffee cherries are not all picked from the tree at the same time, but rather only at their point of precise ripeness. Quality conscious owners will pick a tree numerous times versus stripping the plant of non-ripened fruit.

Gourmet coffee is traditionally grown under shade trees that allow for a slower growing coffee tree that produces a far superior coffee bean. The shade tree method allows for the coffee bean to develop greater sugar content with less caffeine.

Once the Arabica coffee bean has been picked there are two methods of processing: wet processing or dry processing.

Dry processing is the most economical and used in areas that have little water. The coffee cherries are simply spread onto very large hard surfaces and raked into lanes. Throughout the day they are turned and raked into lanes of alternating directions every couple of hours. This process can continue for up to four weeks.

Wet processing requires that the two coffee beans inside the coffee cherry be removed within 24 hours of harvesting and placed in water for 24 hours. This is the where the fine, acidity flavor of the great coffees is produced. It is also called the fermentation stage. The beans are removed from the water and allowed to dry, either naturally or with mechanical dryers.

Roasting is the moment of truth for coffee. The green, dried beans are placed in large roasters with a rotating drum located above its heating source, usually gas fired heat. The drum rotates so the beans are kept in a constant tumbling motion. This insures a more even roast. The air temperature is controlled at around 500 degrees F, but one of the most important factors affecting the roast is controlling the precise flow of gas BTU’s that affect the temperature throughout the drum. An uneven temperature within the drum can create an inferior roast. Eventually the moisture within the bean is forced out and as the inside temperature of the bean reaches 400 degrees F, the oil begins to develop in a process called pyrolysis. Stopping the stage of pyrolysis at the right moment is the art of roasting. It involves sight, sound and smell of the bean that is then cooled down with either cold air or cold water.

Cooling by cold air is the preferred method to stop the process of pyrolysis.

Après coffee is micro roasted which maintains better control over the heat within the roasting drum and the ability to properly cool with cold air. The beans are then bagged in foil gusseted bags with one-way valves while the coffee is still warm. The one-way valve allows the coffee to breath but keeps unwanted air and oxygen out.

Brew with hot water, about 200 degrees F is ideal, but not boiling water. A temperature of 200 degrees F is reached by letting the water come to a boil and then setting for a few minutes to cool. Boiling vaporizes most of the coffee essence and therefore the coffee flavor.

Keep your coffee maker clean. If you have hard water, run a solution of water and vinegar through the coffee maker. Thoroughly flush and rinse afterwards to remove any trace of vinegar.

Don’t reheat coffee or hold it on a burner for very long after brewing. This cooks off the coffee essence and therefore the rich coffee flavor.

Use bottled water or a filtering system whenever possible.