Tag Archives: travel

My new favorite tea companies – the present (Part 2/2)

In the last blog post I shared my favorite tea companies from my European life when I lived in Rome, Italy.

Of course, I still enjoy visiting these stores whenever I have the chance to travel to Europe.

Asian tea culture is very different however. On top of that, Myanmar has it’s own specific quirks and environment which makes buying tea very different than in Europe.

 

tea

 

For starters, online purchases are much more complicated, but also not needed as much in Myanmar because good quality tea is everywhere. Continue reading

A Family Trip Full of Tea Surprises (Hanoi, Vietnam)

One of the big advantages of living in Myanmar is the ability to visit different countries in the region. Flights are relatively inexpensive and more and more carriers connect directly to Yangon. Every country in the region has their own tea culture and traditions full of tea surprises. Normally I just enjoy being with my family and somehow tea will find me. That was the case most surprisingly on our family trip to Hanoi, Vietnam.

My wife, Ms. Tea put together an amazing long weekend trip. I have been a fan of the Vietnam tea culture for a long time, most importantly for its famous Lotus flavored tea. The lotus flower gives the tea a unique taste. I was fascinated by the story of how high end lotus tea is made. Workers would carefully place tea wrapped in rice paper in the lotus flower in the afternoon. The lotus flower would close its pedals overnight and would flavor the tea. In the morning the workers would pick up the flavored tea. I had the privilege to taste such a lotus green tea and it has a very special and delicate taste.  Continue reading