Tealosophy › Brisbane

After starting what was going to be an amazing collection of Water for Tea blog posts this year it came to a bit of an abrupt stop when my many projects collided. I am pleased to report that my interest and passion for this subject didn't end and I have been doing plenty of learning and experiments behind the scenes that culminated in bringing an educational event together to benefit my local tea community. It became clear to me through your comments and engagement about water for tea that I wanted to first focus on looking at solutions for the...

Selecting a quality water for tea is not a new or modern idea. I recently had an email conversation with one of the most knowledgeable tea specialists in Australia on Chinese tea, Cathy Zhang of Ms. Cattea, who reminded me of the history attached with this element, water, in the tea making process. I feel this is important to recognise and remember when moving forward in my own journey of designing and building water for tea so as not to loose sight of the 'why'.   The historical reference Cathy reminded me of when chatting about this topic was the Classic of...

On Tuesday this week my Tea School offered its first 'seriously' nerdy tea masterclass, a tea brewing bootcamp. It was such an enjoyable evening as we worked our way through a number of tea experiments, taking the opportunity to brew tea under the same conditions, adjusting one variable; and comparing the infusions side by side. Our experiments covered brewing vessel material, leaf quality, leaf weight, water, water temperature and steeping length. It was always my intention to cover water for tea. And I was lucky to have special guest Danny Andrade, Product Development Manager of Di Bella Coffee and Australian...

Before we get started I don't want you to believe that you can not make a respectable cup of tea in Brisbane. In the arena of taste there is a level of subjectivity that is unique to each individual. I personally have had some of the most satisfying brews as well as some of the most disappointing in this city. It has taken me a little while to stop the denial about the impact of the local tap water in the tea making process. After adjustments to brewing parameters and a really interesting experience bringing samples back from Japan and experiencing...

Water for tea. I am not going to lie this is a huge topic and one that I have been reluctant to make a start on due to a fear of heading down a rabbit hole that likely has no single end point. I am not an expert nor am I a scientist but I have a vested interest in water as a tea practitioner and as a tea retailer. The reason I have chosen to look more closely at this topic is not to make the tea making process more complex or scientific. But because as my tea practice...