Photo: Instagram – teaformeplease |
I recently joined the Tea Inspired NYC group on Meetup.com and my first event was a tea ceremony that was held at the offices of The Meaning of Tea. The space was absolutely beautiful and featured a tea garden that truly felt like an oasis in the city. The host, Scott Chamberlin Hoyt, and his friend Mei-Guey guided us through a series of Taiwanese teas. Their combined knowledge of tea and history sparked some lively discussions.
We started off the night with three infusions of very nice Bai Mu Dan and then moved on to a “honey black tea”. That tea in particular piqued my curiosity because the leaves are bitter by leaf hopper insects, just as you would find with an Oriental Beauty oolong. It was obvious why it is called honey because that is exactly what it tasted like. Afterwards we tasted several different high mountain Dong Ding teas. Two of these were aged and they had a rich, earthy and comforting taste.
Seated on a cushion on the floor, I became rather tea drunk as the evening progressed. This hasn’t happened in a while and although it felt a bit unsettling, I just couldn’t resist taking another sip. Although there were a lot of us and the room was rather warm, it was wonderful to spend an evening with people who enjoy tea as much as I do. I’m looking forward to attending future events and meeting more tea lovers in my area. If you live in NYC (or New Jersey like me) and you love tea, I would definitely suggest checking it out.