I did have one worry. I’m sensitive to overpowering scents and was concerned that I would walk in, take a breath, be consumed by an urge to sneeze and bolt for the nearest exit.  Admittedly, a sneezing fit ranks low on the personal catastrophe scale so I set this concern aside, put a few tissues in my pocket and set out for the afternoon.

From the moment I arrived at the Crystal Garden, I picked up a great buzz of energy throughout the giant room. I walked away hours later with the belief that tea has many personalities – elegant, cool, and yet comforting as a tea cozy.  Oh, and while there were so many diverse tea scents in the room, the overall effect was an engaging, even mouth-watering sensation.   My normally “tickly” nose was in seventh heaven.

I drank countless tasty teas and tea blends that day; sampled jasmine infused shortbread, scones with jam and clotted cream, truffles infused with Earl Grey tea, bought green mulberry tisane, chai, and triple berry fruit tea.

I stopped by the presentation stage area and learned what types of tea pots to use with different types of tea to ensure the best flavour, drank even more tea, visited the ladies room several times, checked out exquisite handcrafted teapots, witnessed a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, and finally floated home.

The Victoria Tea Festival is what I call a “Goldilocks” situation.  There’s plenty to sample and far more than one thing that’s “just right” for every attendee.

Photo Credit:  Courtney Clarke

Melissa McLean is a member of the Marketing Committee for the Victoria Tea Festival.  (Apparently she enjoyed her first visit a lot.)

I probably should explain.  You see, we were attending an international trade show in southwestern China and I had tagged along on a noon hour stroll with two RCMP who were dressed in full red serge.

We managed to make it a block to the nearest store after being stopped every few feet by people who wanted to take pictures with the RCMP and the mysterious lady they must be protecting (or maybe arresting, who knew?)

Pu’er was pointed out to me that day but I didn’t buy it, or anything else for that matter.  On later excursions, I found stacks of Pu’er at stalls throughout the streets of Kunming.  We went to a couple places where it was made and saw it in various shades of brown or even dark green, tightly packed into different shapes like bricks and disks like athletes throw.

A lady crouching over a black cauldron told me that you need to know how to brew it properly to avoid a strong, bitter taste experience.  Break off a small piece of the brick, pour boiling water over it, dump the tea water, pour more boiling water over the tea and dump the water two more times, then drink it.

I’ll confess that I didn’t understand the finer subtleties or medicinal benefits of Pu’er at the time – it was the novelty of it all that motivated my purchase.  I would later discover that there is more to the art of preparing Pu’er tea. The instructions I was given on the streets of Kunming roughly describe a process called ‘infusing.’ Part of the joy of drinking Pu’er is to savour the flavourful differences in the tea with every infusion.

I do remember my excitement when my mom and sister opened their gifts.  They turned white paper covered disks over and over in their hands.  Mom raised an eyebrow and looked at me curiously.  She moved to open the wrapper and I pounced.

Having sought some advice since purchasing my gifts, I knew that Pu’er could increase in value over time.  I solemnly urged mom and Angela to leave the wrapper on, store it safely and await further instruction from me.

That was eight or so years ago and I forgot all about our treasures until I saw Pu’er tea at the Victoria Tea Festival last year.

I went online to find out how the value of aged Pu’er is determined and learned that, like wine, not all types of Pu’er are created equally.  Further, it is important where and how you store your tea.  Mine has been sitting in the back corner of my tea cupboard since approximately 2004 –apparently ventilation is important.  Ouch.

At my childhood home, my father is renowned for digging through drawers and cupboards only to emerge with the words, “What’s this, Carol?”

I can envision the scene and unlike my mom’s usual response, “George, I need that.  Put it back,” I imagine her turning the disk over in her hands and saying, “Well, I don’t know, it’s probably something Melissa brought back from her many travels.”  I cross my fingers that she didn’t smell it because if she did, I think I know what happened next.

As for my sister, chances are better than 50/50 that her dogs got to it the day she took it home.

So much for getting rich from aged Pu’er – I guess I’m back to working my lottery wealth management strategy.

Melissa McLean

Photo Credit: P. Arlidge

Melissa McLean is a member of the Marketing Committee for the Victoria Tea Festival.  She is now avidly studying the finer points of properly aging Pu’er tea and how to win big at bingo.

Hot chocolate used to be my cold weather soother but chai overtook it when chocolate wasn’t looking.  I’ve learned a thing or two about chai along the way.  Order a chai tea and find out that it can be served black, without a drop of milk.  Discover that for many people in Asia, chai is just the everyday word for tea.  What I’m dreaming of with warmed milk and spices is called Masala Chai.  What I like on a special treat day with lots of frothy (soy) milk is a Chai Tea Latte.

Fortunately, Masala (meaning “mixture,” as in mixture of spices) Chai tea can be readily found at the neighbourhood tea and coffee shop.  With my usual curiousity at play, I’ve been wondering what it would take to make my own heartwarming Masala Chai.  I’ve learned there is art and science involved and that there are four main ingredient components to consider:

First of all, it’s important to select a strong, loose leaf black tea that will let itself be known in the overall brew – apparently Assam is a popular choice for many Masala Chai teas served in India.

Next is the sweetener and this is a matter of personal choice from a wide array of sugars.  I am a fan of a heavy dollop of liquid honey but bear in mind that I have a sweet tooth with roots all the way down to my ankles.  I also like the texture of brown sugar but any sugar is said to work, including jaggery which is used in Ayurvedic medicine  and is considered by some to be a healthier sugar.

The third ingredient is milk (or soy milk if you’re lactose intolerant like me) and every recipe I consulted proposed that the ultimate choice is whole milk.  Respecting that this is a dietary splurge for many people, a compromise of sorts may be to use condensed milk for a treat and consider it your sweetener too.

Finally, you need a blend of spices and this is where a secret family recipe comes in handy.  If you don’t happen to have a secret family recipe for Masala Chai, here is one to get you started.  If it’s not ‘your cup of tea’ (groan),  experiment and adapt it to suit your taste, creating your own family recipe along the way.

Happy brewing!

Melissa McLean

PS.  Send me a note and let me know how it goes; I would like to hear your thoughts on what makes a great Masala Chai too.

Masala Chai Tea  (Serves: 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons of loose, unperfumed black tea
• 1 or 1 and a half sticks of 1’’ cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of black peppercorns
• 2-3 sticks of cloves
• 2 pods of green cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 pinch freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 cups of milk
• Sweetener (e.g. sugar or honey), to taste
• 3 cups of water

Directions:

• Crush the cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamoms and fennel seeds in a mortar. Leave sealed in a container for a few hours or overnight to mature.
• Put water in a pan, add the above mixture of spices and bring it to boil.
• Cover the pan and simmer for few minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat and let the spices infuse their flavour for 3-4 minutes.
• Add your preferred sweetener and milk to the pan and bring again to boil.
• Add black tea and boil for 5 minutes. Watch carefully to ensure chai does not boil over by reducing heat quickly just before it does.
• Repeat 2 or 3 times. This process thickens the chai and gives a rich and creamy taste. However, this is not necessary if you’re using full cream milk.
• Remove the chai from heat, sprinkle nutmeg powder and stir it.
• Strain it into a teapot or directly into teacups and serve hot.

P.S: Sprinkle a pinch of freshly ground cinnamon powder or place a dollop of whipped cream on top to garnish. For those who like their chai extra spicy, add more black pepper.

(Recipe Source:  http://www.chai-tea-recipes.com/recipes/masala-chai-tea-recipe)

Photo credit:  P. Arlidge

Melissa McLean is a member of the Marketing Committee for The Victoria Tea Festival and can be found hovering over the honey pot  in local tea and coffee shops.

As one who was introduced to Tetley’s Orange Pekoe and Black Currant at a very young age, I found the decision to try steeping loose leaf tea was kind of a daunting one. As silly as it sounds, I was a little concerned about all the little details – I’m no culinary genius! Would I end up with a ton of loose leaf tea particles slipping through the holes of my tea infuser ball with each sip? Are tea infuser balls even the best way to steep tea or should I steep the loose leaf tea directly into the teapot and find an appropriate strainer to do the rest? It just seemed like so much work for a cup of tea that may not even turn out right. I could just imagine myself serving ill-prepared tea to guests and having each one precariously sipping so as not to accidentally ingest any of the little leaves floating around at the bottom of their cup.

Sure, there have been a few mishaps along the way, and I won’t say that I’ve perfected the art of tea steeping, but I’ve come to realize there really is no right way to steep. I’m not one for cleaning out a wet, leafy tea infuser ball, so I choose to steep in the way that I’ve found works best for me – by following the recommended tea leaf to water ratio, steeping the loose leaf in the teapot and pouring the tea through a fine strainer for each serving. Choosing to step out of my regular tea routine and try something new with loose leaf tea has introduced me to a whole new world of tea flavours (and considerably expanded my tea collection), as well as given me a chance to support local businesses and tea masters who create their own blends.

Some of my favourite loose leafs are actually Christmas blends; with December 25^th fast approaching, I’m looking forward to snuggling in with my Christmas tunes on chilly nights and preparing some of my favourite cinnamon and spice loose leaf teas to share. For the chocolate lover, I even have a blend that smells exactly like chocolate oranges!

So my challenge to you this Christmas season, as you put the kettle on to boil with your loved ones gathered around, is to try something new. Maybe it’s loose leaf tea or matcha or even Pu Er – don’t shy away from experiencing a different kind of tea. The rewards might surpass your expectations!

Courtney Clarke

Courtney is a member of the Marketing Committee for the Victoria Tea Festival, and yes, she still steeps a Tetley Black Currant tea bag…sometimes.

In university, I hung out with my sweet boyfriend Earl Grey while my friends worked on developing a taste for their morning java.  Most of them couldn’t be with caffeinated coffee past noon unless they needed help to study through the night.  Meanwhile I could hang around with tea all night over a good book or over ice on a hot summer afternoon.

For the longest time I felt like I risked complicating matters at a business meeting or even as a guest in someone’s home when the inevitable question would be asked, “Would anyone like coffee?”  My decline usually would invite further enquiry and the offer of tea.  Yes, I really would like a cup of tea…but something from my well-mannered upbringing wouldn’t let me put the host to the work of boiling water, digging through the cupboard to find a teapot, steeping tea and doing it all just for me.

Thankfully tea is finding a new place in Canadian society.  This past Saturday I was volunteering for a charity and working alongside a 50 something businessman in his office.  A few hours in, I piped up and asked if I could have a glass of water or…wait for it…a cup of tea.  He slowly rose from his chair, picked up his coffee mug and asked, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like coffee?”  I politely declined and said that water would be fine.

He returned a few minutes later, balancing a tray with a mug of coffee, brown and gold Oriental teapot, tea cup with two lumps of sugar inside it and a spoon.  My heart skipped a beat.

Melissa McLean

Melissa is a member of the Marketing Committee for the Victoria Tea Festival.

Photo Credit: S. Cutler