The beautiful thing about the tea world is that when you have a passion and enjoyment for tea there are so many tea friends to be made through online communities. Whilst we are often inspired and gain new tea knowledge through our mobile screens and computers sometimes the planets align and you are fortunate to meet those people in person!
While we shared much of our 2018 tea study trip to Japan with you last year, I didn't ever really say that one of the most incredible parts of the trip was the opportunity to study tea with an incredible group of knowledgeable and skilled international tea practitioners. Many of whom I have fan followed via social media over the past months or years.
Whilst everyone on the trip had an inspiring trip to share, two women we met on this study tour had thrown caution to the wind and embarked on lengthy tea journeys to different tea growing regions in the pursuit of tea knowledge. Through their stories we think you will see that an experience at teas origin is unparalleled in terms of learning and understanding.
A big thank you to these lovely women in tea that have so graciously shared their experience and images with us here at The Steepery Tea Co. So starting next week we will dive into their interviews. But for those that cannot wait here is a little introduction.
- Marjolein Raijmakers ~ Instagram (24 January 2019). Loosely rooted in Dutch soil some people may know Marjolein better as _me.mar_ on Instagram. In 2018 she spent 7 months travelling to Japan and South Korea intentionally looking to see and experience tea in these countries. We connected over our love of ceramics, Marjolein more as a practitioner and I (as you know) with a obsessive appreciation. And she was also the first non-Japanese person to give me an insight into a tea ceremony called Senchado that I am very grateful for.
- Sofie Vercauteren ~ Web | Instagram (31 January 2019). Sofie comes from Ghent in Belgium. I have a soft spot for Belgium as it was like a second home whilst I lived in London (my home for 5 years). Sofie is also known as tearistasofie on Instagram. Sofie travelled for 8.5 months in 2018. Her tea travel footprint will amaze you when you see the list of countries she has visited. I enjoyed speaking with Sofie about her travels, she had an incredible talent to translate her observations in a way that was thoughtful, accurate and insightful.
We hope this encourages you to follow Tealosophy over the following 2 weeks as we share responses to the questions we posed to these women who have gathered such a knowledge and appreciation for tea. I know they will continue giving back to the tea community in spades.
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