Tag Archives: water sommelier

Mindful Water. Easy ways to taste your water

In this blog I want to examine how water can help us to be more mindful and useful pointers how to best experience and taste your water.

Mindfulness has become one of the most important ways you can improve your life. It’s all about living in the moment, appreciating the now and being able to better control your thoughts. I will share a story with you on how mindfulness has saved my life during a meeting later.

The beauty of mindfulness is that a few minutes every day will have a tremendous impact on your daily life.

Over the past years, mindfulness has allowed me to take charge of my habits and bring more balance to my emotional state. I am using the app Calm , but there are many other options out there such as headspace or insight timer.

You might ask yourself now: but what has water to do with mindfulness?

Most people take water for granted. They sip water here and there, mostly when they feel thirsty or light headed. Many associate water with a meal they take. In most restaurants, a waiter will bring a glass of water as quietly as possible or open up a bottle of water and we sip almost subconsciously as we talk to others.

Hydrate

Being mindful about water can change your wellbeing and your happiness tremendously. Our body is made up of 70 percent water. The better we are hydrated, the better our organs will function. When we get the signal that we are thirsty it is often too late. Our organs do not function properly anymore and we rush to take a sip. Most of us are accustomed to the fact that water is all around us and that you just have to open up the tap to take a sip.

Did you know that by drinking water regularly you can lose up to 10 pounds of weight per year? Just by taking a few sips of water every day.

The quality of the water you are drinking is important. Tap water often contains chemicals to keep the treated municipal water safe and it often does not include enough minerals which your body needs daily.

Spring water on the other hand contains essential minerals, is free of chemicals and comes with a great taste. Drinking water does not only have to be a life saving automatic experience, it can be an enjoyable event.

In order to appreciate the taste, you need to be mindful of how you experience the water. Drinking water can be an experience to appreciate the moment and to be grateful for what we have. It is sometimes the simple things which can help us to get into a better mood and appreciate our daily life.

Let me give you a crash course in tasting. You can break down the experience into several components and you can be mindful of each step.

While your taste buds will be doing the heavy lifting, it helps to enhance the experience to utilize your other senses.

The look

Have a look at the glass, swirl the water around a bit. You can even smell the water, although in most cases the water will be odorless or will have a hint of sweetness. Have a look at the bottle. In great restaurants the wait staff can give you a bit more background on where the water is coming from and what makes it so unique. Knowing what to look for will help your taste buds later on. For sparkling water you can see the motion in the glass: are the bubbles fine or heavy? Do you see them rising to the top quickly or slowly. The intensity of the sparkle will give you an indication on how you might experience your tasting.

12504778 – fresh clean water splash in blue.

The initial sip

The initial sip: When the water enters the mouth, you will have an initial reaction to the water. Does it feels soft or heavy? Do you experience the energy of the bubbles? Does it feel elegant or bold? This can be sometimes a critical moment to decide if you like a water or not.

The taste

Now your taste buds go to work. Each of us experiences taste differently. It depends on the composition of our taste buds and how well we are tuned into the experience. It will also depend on our likes, if we like sparkling or still water, if we have a preference for the intensity or if we like a certain level of acidity. These decisions are made in fractions of a second and feel more like a ‘gut’ feeling. Being mindful and ask yourself: how does this water taste? What makes it special? Do I like it or not?

I like to add certain terms when I describe water. To me there are several categories:

The energy feel: does the water feel vibrant or quiet? When the water dances with my taste buds, is it a slow, romantic dance or a quick, passionate, vibrant dance?
The flavors: Can I sense a bit of salt? Do I feel a bit of acidity? Maybe like a lemon? Like a piece of fruit?
The texture: Is the water velvety or silky? Does it feel complex?
Reflection: Does the water remind me of anything? Granite? Chalk? Silk?

Often a taste will link with a memory. It could be a vacation trip we had to a river or a water fall. It might relate to our grandma’s farm and the spring in the back yard. Maybe a trip to a lake and a taste we had drinking the water on a hiking trip from a clean spring. These memories will try to link to the taste experience you are having right now.

I invite you next time you take a sip of spring or mineral water to be mindful of these categories and find a term that would work for you to describe the water. If you mention these terms to your wait staff they will be able to find you a water that matches the taste and you will enjoy the experience more. Water choices in a restaurant should be much more then just the question : Still or Sparkling?

Part of my job as a sommelier is to find good descriptions of taste, so that people can connect with the experience. It’s not easy as we all have a different understanding of taste. In the beverage industry these descriptions have to be appetizing and inviting so that you would be happy to try it out.

Drinking the water

And finally, drinking the water. When your water makes the way down your throat, it will be a unique experience for you. You might like it or not. This last stage is called the finish and in some cases you will experience an after taste. That does not have to be a bad experience. In some cases you like the experience so much that you will remember the water and would buy it in the future again because of it.

Being mindful

Most of us do not spend much time thinking of this in stages, but being mindful about a simple thing as experiencing a sip of water can open up a whole new world. The saying “ water tastes like water” is outcome of thinking when we do not describe or pay attention to the taste of water. Everything has a taste and everything leaves an impression , you just have to be mindful about it. This is similar to what I am experience in the tea industry. It is just like flying economy and business class. Once you have flown business class you do not want to go back. When we experience a certain taste in water we accept this as normal , as the status quo, but once we have the opportunity to taste something amazing , it will open up a new avenue for us and new possibilities to enhance the quality of life. And why not try to enhance our life with an affordable piece of luxury, a fine water which can add a bit of positivity to our day. Knowing how to taste a water and what to look for, will earn you street (or water) credit with your family and friends.

When I was in a workshop in Rome, during one of the presentations I started to get very bored as the presenter was very dry. I remembered my mindfulness practices and spotted a bottle of Aqua Panna in front of me. I started to think about the qualities of the water, the tastes and the history of this water. These thoughts got me trough the presentation and I took a sip of the water and was saved. You can read my reflections in one of my previous blogs.

Stay Thirsty!

How to smash your day with water and tea at your side.

We all want to get the most out of our day. You want to be full of energy, conquer your goals and be successful. We are constantly on a quest to find the best inspirational solutions to get us trough the day. Sometimes the best solutions are where we least expect them – right in front of our nose.

To master the challenges of the day we need loads of energy, inspiration, good mood and grit to stand our grounds in the complex world we are living in.

Millions of dollars are spent each month on bigger and better things to make us grow. Sometimes it is simply what we call affordable luxury, a small token with high purpose which will have the biggest impact on our life.

We normally treat water to quench our thirst, many do not see water as an indulgence to make our day. This is when fine water comes into the picture.

Start the day

To start the day with a fine water which suites our taste, may it be with bubbles or without, will set our mood into the right direction. Knowing more about where the water came from, picturing the clear mountain stream or the snow capped mountain will enhance our spirit. We can choose a water from a tropical paradise or from a stream nearby, the possibilities are endless. The important element is that we bring meaning into our present moment, rather then just opening up the faucet and get some tab water.

In the past years I made it a joyful practice every morning to pick out one tea a day and drink at the office, re-steeping a high quality loose leaf tea which keeps on giving. This year I am going one step further. I am selecting several teas and matching them to my energy and mood level throughout the day. I found one more habit loop which can make me more productive and brings more joy to my day.

Having tea and fine water in my life is something I am always grateful for and which I am trying to appreciate on a daily basis.

Fine Water

Fine Water gives me the ability to fine tune my hydration needs and to make sure that I take in the right level of minerals needed for my daily growth. My zero-calorie drink habit forces me to search for the most desirable taste and flavor paired with the satisfaction that I am fully in charge of my calorie intake.

Select a Tea to fit your mood

My tea selection in the first half of the day is normally more mellow – white and green teas are the order of the day. I still enjoy the ritual in the morning to fill up empty cotton tea bags with my favorite high quality loose leaf tea. It brings me so much joy to check in with my mood for that day and select the perfect match. Some days I select a Japanese Sencha or a Dragonwell tea from China. Other days I will go for a Anji Ba cha or a Yin Zen. For the afternoon normally I pick a strong black tea. I tend to lose some of my energy in the afternoon, so I am in need of a pick-me-up. I normally tend to pick a strong second flush Darjeeling tea or a traditional Earl Grey. It has made a big difference in the dynamics and productivity in the afternoon.

For me the tea and water experience is a complete package. Try to explore the terroir of a fine water and tea, research the source of a water, look at the TDS and mineral levels to better understand what to expect from a certain fine water.

Research the terroir of a tea, where it comes from , what the desired taste should be and how it should be brewed. Select a cup or mug which connects with you. All these elements combined set the foundation for a great beverage experience. When the fine water or tea hits your taste buds, it will build on this knowledge and the experience becomes so much more rich.

These are the simple pleasures, the affordable luxuries which can positively enhance your day. We are living in a complex world surrounded by challenges, but you have the ability to control and positively impact your day with these little habits and procedures. When your focus zooms away from the noise which is around us and we focus on the joyful moments and environments which we have created, our lives will improve and our mood will change for the better.

Stay Thirsty!

How to Find Tea and Water Inspiration In Stunning Japan

With the holidays now behind us (☹ ) , it is time for me to reflect on the past few days and weeks. For me travel is always a journey of inspiration. Our Christmas trip this year brought us to Japan, a country that has such a deep tea culture. I had also been in Japan in 1993 and was looking forward to showing my family around.

The holiday period also gave me time to look forward to the new year and to think about where to take my sommelier experience. My goal in the tea and water world is to continue to inspire as many people as possible and to raise awareness and excitement for high quality tea and fine water. I want to continue working with the Myanmar hospitality industry to make an impact on raising awareness of fine water and learn more about high quality tea. I am in need of practical tea making experience and hope that 2019 will be the year I can work on a tea plantation. We have only reached the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the best water and tea experience.

My tea and water blog

From now on I will blend both industries into this one blog. My experience in the tea world can benefit the fine water industry. And my amazing experience learning about fine water will help to inspire the tea industry to use better quality water when brewing tea. I aim to further develop my skills to become a bridge ambassador between the water and tea industries and bring value to both. I do not want to have ‘just another tea and water blog’ but want to ‘oooh’ and ‘ahh’ you with my entries. Sometimes thinking about one industry helps me to understand the other one better. They are certainly not in isolation, but are linked to other areas and categories in the hospitality industry.

Tea in Japan is everywhere. It is firmly embedded in traditions, in the culture and for sure in any restaurant you will eat at. Japan produces and consumes 90% green tea. I was excited to find Japanese black tea at a shop on the bottom of Mt. Fuji together with amazing green teas.

It was great to experience the combination of tea as a drink and as a food. Two of my favorite things: freshly brewed Japanese green tea and green tea ice cream.

The first tea experience when we arrived in Tokyo was at the Hama Rikyu Gardens. We found ancient tea houses, some of them have been rebuilt with amazing materials and a passion for original details. A tea house in the gardens offered matcha tea with sweets. I had to think back to my first visit to Japan in 1993 and how we were privileged to experience a traditional tea ceremony. My wonderful tea educator, Donna Fellmann has studied the tea ceremony for decades. It is a world of tea rituals and procedures which work together to create the best experience for its guests.

For the kids there was a different kind of fun – tea cups in Disneyland!

I just love how readily tea is available in Japan. Everywhere there are vending machines dispensing ready to drink tea. I loved this matcha as a morning drink!

In the evening I would order Oolong tea in a restaurant, served in a wonderful tea pot and tiny tea cups. In the western world it is not common yet to drink tea together with a meal, it is rather a dessert option. I found it wonderful to pair my teas with the respective dish. An Oolong with a roasted and complex flavor pairs well with a meaty and hearty dish.

While being inspired by the peace and tranquility of Japan, I was able to reflect on the fine water category as well. The hotel we stayed in had a water dispenser machine. It got me thinking that the relationship of people with water is impacted by such machine. We see wine as precious coming out of a fancy bottle. However we are used to water coming from a tap or a dispensing machine.

How do we change this relationship? How to we make people feel more interested in fine water and the benefits it comes with? These are questions I will ponder more in 2019.

I will leave you with my wish that you spend 2019 a bit more mindful about water and tea and get inspired to try the best of the best for a little piece of affordable luxury.

Stay Thirsty!

How to create your happy life in 2019 guaranteed – Turning wine into water

As we approach the end of the year, we start reflecting on what went well and what did not. We will search deep for our desires and sometimes will feel regret on what we didn’t have time to do. What if I can show you a way that your desires will come true in 2019 without promising you a magic pill? What if there are achievable ways to make time for your dreams and growing as a person? What if I told you that there is a way to become happy by making small changes? And it is all in front of you in and it is as simple as water.

This year has been amazing in so many ways. Working with Michael Masha and Martin Riese to become a Water Sommelier has been a life changing experience. Becoming the first graduate of the Fine Water Academy has just been the icing on the cake.

What this year has done has changed my relationship with liquids, in particular with alcohol and my transition to my zero-calorie drink intake.

Yes, you read that correctly. I do not consume any calories when taking drinks. Period. What sounds like a dull and boring experience has become an elevation of my life perspective and a substantial improvement of my health to levels I would have never imagined to be possible. It is an entirely different world.

I only consume three type of drinks: Water, Tea and Coffee. All of them in their natural and purest form do not contain any calories. That requires skipping sugar or milk or anything else. The trick is how to make it interesting, have fun in life and experience joy and flavor with this horrible sounding drink mix.

Let’s start with the benefits.

Go back 15 months ago and you would find me in the evening on the couch in a sad mood having consumed glasses of wine to dull the sadness. I was exhausted, depressed due to heart problems, and morbidly obese. I did not have any energy and was not looking forward to what was coming. My marriage and my relationship to my kids where hanging by a thin thread, spiraling downwards. My doctors did not make my life outlook too promising unless I decided to change something radically.

Then came October 2017. Something made ‘click’ and the pieces were slowly falling into place. I joined a group called ‘One Year NoBeer (OYNB)’ to find that straw of hope to cling on to. Once you sign up, you receive a short daily video on Day 1 , Day 2 and so on. Each video would focus on what can be done to change your life, one single step at a time. I started to take small steps, and made small changes. Eventually the small changes started to lead to big changes. The OYNB community would lift me up, put energy under my wings to make me fly higher and be myself. One day became 28 , 28 days became 90 days and 90 days became 365 days. One year without a single drop of alcohol!

What sounded like a horrific, sad and uncomfortable journey has become the best journey of my life. Back to the present. I lost 75 pounds, maintained my target weight for the past 5 months (BMI 22.5), have perfect blood pressure (114/71) and I am starting to see the shape of a six pack (not in the form of cans but on my stomach). I experience levels of energy I haven’t seen in 15 years and my family could not be more happy with me.

Having control over your calorie intake for drinks gives you better control over your nutrition management and ultimately over your wellness for the day. Instead of a constant roller coaster ride of cravings and energy lows and highs, it is a more stable and joyful experience. One that lets you focus on growth and a balanced approach towards health and happiness.

That single step in October 2017 created a journey which continues to elevate me to new heights.

How to do it?

Being a water and tea sommelier has helped a lot. Through the fine water academy I learned to experience and appreciate water on a different level. I learned to see water as an affordable luxury. I started to learn about the origins and the taste profiles of water and how water can become not just a hydration tool but also an enjoyable part of my dining experience. During my journey I learned that balance is essential to move forward and grow as a person. Complement this with the varieties of tea and coffee and I have all that I need to enjoy my life, while maintaining my health.

When we grow up we are culturally programmed. We are told at a young age that in order to have fun we need to drink alcohol and that it is cool to drink with your friends. Advertising for alcohol is all around us and many studies are trying to convince us that alcohol in moderation is good for our health. What the ads do not tell us is what alcohol is doing to our body, not only the drink, but the sugar and the calories. The ads do not tell us what alcohol does to our energy levels and to our development.

“Having alcohol is borrowing happiness from tomorrow”

We all want to be happy. Our whole life purpose is to stay happy or to become happier. We are told that alcohol is the solution, that once we drink we will be happy. Yet sometimes we do not understand the difference between happiness and pleasure. Pleasure can be good or bad and it might not lead to the road to happiness. A short term pleasure kick might set us on the path to illness. A lot of addictions prove that. Our body likes the feeling once we drink alcohol but regret sets in the next morning when we have a hangover. Somehow we forget and the cycle starts over again, looking for that happiness.

Shortcuts

The marketing world around us is so helpful. They present us with shortcuts so we do not have to put in the hard work to grow or to achieve happiness. They suggest us that short term pleasure (over and over) is good for us and that sustainable and long term happiness is a fiction. Here is a pill to make you happy. Here is a pill for weight loss. Have a beer to make you feel better and to get comfortable. Take this drink to achieve great things. Have this comfort food to make you feel better.

Wrong.

Short cuts (the way marketing suggests) almost never lead to happiness. They give us instant gratification but they will be soon over and the problems will be still there, in some cases even worse.

Over the past year I have learned to become happy by drinking water. I enjoy the different tastes and stories behind the waters. I am on a path to show people that drinking mineral water can be cool and can improve your taste experience and your wellness. This is my mission as a water sommelier and I am joined by a few converted who hopefully can join together to reach the broader masses. With my OYNB friends we feel like the unplugged from the movie ‘The Matrix’, seeing real life as it really is. A big part of becoming a better human is to help others and as a water sommelier I am planning to do just that.

Having a life that makes me a happy, while at the same time makes me grow, keeps me healthy and elevates my ability to function as a better human being. It is priceless. I am trying to reach out to you, to help you to see that once you give up a little bit (like booze) you can gain something bigger (a happy and fulfilled life).

I hope you can join me on that quest. Feel free to reach out to me for further details. For my fellow OYNB friends, I have written 10 blogs on the OYNB facebook page on my main success factors to stay sober and have fun for 365 days.

Stay thirsty!

Water Sommelier : The journey to a hydrated world

I have been a water sommelier for 4 weeks now and it is time to share by initial reflections with you. My emotions have been stirred up this way (in a good sense) in seeing opportunities and challenges on the road ahead.

This new path has been a wonderful journey so far.

It is largely a path where you do not see a lot of foot prints but that will change in the future. You can for sure see the clear footprints of Martin Riese and Michael Masha on this path and they lead us to a brighter and more elegant experience for water.

You are what?

When I tell people that I am a water sommelier, I get two very different reactions. One is from my friends and colleagues, which is normally a blank stare and confusion of what to do with this piece of information. 65 percent of our body is made of water, yet we are not comfortable to deal or discuss the most essential liquid on this planet. Most people accept the fact that it is around them and as long it serves the purpose of saving our lifes on a daily basis the world is ok. It is when it is not present, the attention turns towards water and the priorities shift. I see this on a daily basis in Myanmar how difficult the struggle for clean and drinkable water is and how much harm polluted water can do to a person.

The better ones will start seeing me as a novelty act, some sort of circus attraction and wait for me to perform magic tricks. Once I explain more what a water sommelier is, the interest sparks and their eyes brighten and the understanding kicks in. This is the hardest part of being a sommelier: use the moment of confusion to turn it quickly into interest and fascination about this important subject.

The other reaction is from people in the restaurant and water business and it reassures me that not all is lost and that we are heading towards a bright water experience. Here is a story which describes this the best.

The spark

I recently was invited to a business breakfast on behalf of my organization (WFP) to network with people. Just by coincidence a famous owner of a restaurant chain was sitting next to me, someone I highly admire for his innovation in Myanmar and the hope his creative food brings to the country. I introduced myself and we exchanged pleasantries about our line of work and why we are here. He had just recently given an inspiration talk at TEDxYangon, which was the highlight of this event. I showed my respect about his work and the talk and after a few minutes we went on to the next person in this networking event.

At the end of the event I took all my courage (I am a bit of an introvert) and joked on the way out about his main restaurant in Yangon being my life line for Aqua Panna and San Pellegrino in the city. When I told him that I am a water sommelier his mood changed and his eyes showed a spark. He introduced me to his brother (an icon by himself – the only certified chocolatier in Myanmar and the creator of the best ice cream in Yangon) and we started talking water. Water became our connector, it had this magic spell in igniting passions in us and brightened the conversation tenfold. That is the essence of being a water sommelier, connecting people and transferring a piece of passion to them about fine water.

When you are passionate about something, life will bring you the most amazing opportunities. Keep an open mind and when you see an opportunity grab it and turn it into something magical.

The road less taken

I am still at the beginning of this journey, but I can see that it will be a road less taken. I can see a future where people pay attention to the quality of their water and enjoy the experience of learning and tasting fine waters around the world. While we are still challenged in hydrating properly to make the best of water for our wellness, water can be so much more. It can complement our restaurant experience and interact with tea and wine and different types of food. The opportunities are endless, we as water sommeliers can open the door for people to experience something wonderful, something that will enrich their life. Water creates an opportunity for affordable luxury, bringing both wellness and a tasting experience to the table.

Where to go from here?

My first couple weeks thought me that small improvements will lead to bigger changes in the future. I will not be discouraged that my passion for water and (tea) is not widely shared (yet) but if I can make people think about high quality water for 5 minutes of their day that will be a huge success. I will continue working with the restaurant industry and water brands here in Myanmar. What initially was a means for assignments for the Fine Water Academy continues to amaze me and there is so much potential for Myanmar and the world. My dream is to bring a fine Myanmar mineral water to the global market for everybody to enjoy and hopefully compete in water competitions around the world.

I will continue to educate my friends and family and organize intimate water tastings in combination with tea and food. I hope to organize a larger event here in Myanmar for more people to enjoy this experience.

I will share my experiences around the world on this blog, keeping my eyes and taste buds open and share with you interesting stories around water and tea from my travels.

Stay thirsty!

My passionate journey to become a dual water and tea sommelier

When I started my studies with the World Tea Academy my teacher, Donna Fellmann, noted in one of her first comments to me: “I wonder what your niche will be…”. That question stuck with me throughout my studies. Once I graduated as a tea sommelier in 2016, I was on cloud nine, sharing my knowledge on my newly created tea blog ManwithaMug and life was good. Over the years, that question however came back, what value do I provide to the tea industry? What makes me unique compared to the hundreds of other tea blogs out there? I don’t just want to review countless teas and write about them, I want to create something new and special. So I went back to the drawing board and look at what my biggest passions during my tea studies have been. I remembered with a smile the segments about tea and water. I poured my heart into that month, as I find it fascinating how good quality (and the bad and ugly) water affects the taste of the final tea.

Fine Water Academy

When Martin Riese and Michael Mascha announced the opening of the Fine Water Academy a light bulb went off. I was following them since years as they stand for high quality and standards in the water industry in an informative, innovative and entertaining way. Learning more about water would mean more value for my contribution as a tea sommelier. I plunged into the journey and signed up to take the water sommelier course. What started has been an eye opening and liberating process to take my understanding of water to the highest level. Not only did I became more aware of my understanding of the capacity of the water industry in Myanmar, it opened up new avenues to explore amazing and talented staff in restaurants and driven owners of water brands who want to make a difference. I started to learn more about the use of social media to present and explore different aspects of the water industry. In the back of my mind has always been how this will help the tea industry. As I blogged about here many times, we spend a lot of time focusing on good quality tea but not on the other 95 percent of which tea is made of.

Fine Water journey

The number of water brands is quite limited in Myanmar and can be counted on one hand. It is still challenging to get clean drinking water and access is still limited. In order to accomplish the challenging assignments for the water sommelier course, I had to bring in suitcases of water from Bangkok! (Ms. Tea declared me officially insane!)

I started engaging with Addy, the owner of Birmanie, the only spring water in Myanmar and his brand has so much potential for the international market. My journey with the fine water academy created something I did not expected in this journey: a sincere appreciation for the complexity and challenges of the water industry. To this day I get blank stares from some people when I tell them that I am a water sommelier. Many of them have not heard of this term. Yet more then 60 percent of our body is water. Water can be an culinary and elevating experience in a restaurant besides just the jug of water we “wash” our food down with.

I did it!

Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined, that I became the first graduate of the Fine Water Academy (Certificate 001!) and I am aware of the responsibility this comes with. I will support Martin and Michael in amplifying the message, that water is not just water and that there is place for fine water as a culinary experience and as an affordable luxury. I want to become a bridge ambassador between the water and tea industry to benefit them both.

I feel I regained new motivation and energy to take this blog (now a water and tea blog) to the next level and inspire and entertain you with my insights into both worlds. Please let me know your feedback what you would like me to focus on and what you would like to learn more about. In the meantime please check out my final project, where I explore the opportunities between water and tea.