He Ate Well

Trees 'n Tea

(Notice the kettle in the corner?) I've been busy researching tea for the past month, and Sebastian Beckwith, the founder of In Pursuit of Tea, has been an invaluable teacher -- when we weren't busy hauling timber at his mountain cabin in rural Connecticut, that is. In between schlepping birch, oak and hemlock logs we drank tea with a group of friends, lots of great tea: Darjeeling first flush, Wuyi rock wulong, Taiwanese mountain wulong, Iron Goddess of Mercy wulong, Ceylon Silver Tip white, Keemun Mao Feng black. They were all whole-leaf teas, brewed in glass or clay teapots or in a gaiwan -- a traditional Chinese steeping cup, like a teacup without a handle, and covered with a lid. Watching Sebastian prepare these teas, listening to him patiently explain their provenance, I began to understand the remarkable variety, breadth -- and complexity -- of the world's most popular beverage. Snippits from my adventures in the world of tea to follow, but for now some photos, all from New York...

Pu-erh: "Tastes ancient, like China"

I've been very fortunate to have a friend named Sebastian Beckwith, the founder of In Pursuit of Tea and a leading authority, who has encouraged and guided my interest in tea. Sebastian recently told me about a New York tea salon-cum-furniture store called "The Tea Gallery." When I stopped by there the other day I happened on a remarkable scene:

Inside an ordinary-looking storefront on a rundown Lower East Side street, a dozen men crowded on stools along a ten-foot long low granite table. They made some room and I squeezed in beside them. They told me they traveled here from places like Boston, Spokane and Martinsville, Virginia -- traveled here to taste rare Chinese pu-erh tea.