Tea AMA: Ana Dane and Sebastian Beckwith of In Pursuit of Tea
On your website, in the FAQ section, you discuss the standards for the term “organic” in the tea industry (great discussion BTW). Do your organic labelled teas follow the standards of the country the tea was produced in, or the standards of the USA?
SB: As our warehouse is not certified organic, In Pursuit of Tea can’t label our products as USDA Organic.
Most of the teas that we source come directly from small producers, many of whom are organic, some of whom are certified (in their region). I personally want to consume teas which are clean- free of chemical residue, and grown using traditional, sustainable methods- and this is what I buy to sell to our customers.
I spend much time at origin with our producers so that I can get to know them, and see firsthand how they operate. This is crucial, because even organic certification doesn’t ensure clean tea. See this recent article on pesticide residue on organic produce:
In my opinion, many organically-labeled teas are lacking in flavor and aroma- their selling point is solely the USDA label on the package, not the quality of the tea.
How long does it take after you decide to go for a certain flavour in a tea blend to getting what you want out of the various testing concoctions?
SB: It depends- sometimes, you get lucky and after a short time of adjusting proportions, you get close to that final taste you’re seeking. Other times, it’s hard to find the right balance, and it may take awhile to source other spices and herbs that have more of the characteristic you’re looking for.
I loved your shop in NYC and miss it sorely. I attended a tea and cheese pairing class that I enjoyed immensely. One of my favorite things was the lamp shades you had made out of pennies :)
Do you think that the SoHo shop was a bit before its time? What do you think are the biggest challenges facing a tea retailer today?
AD: Hi Nicole,
We miss the Soho shop as well…and all the fun tastings and classes there, where we got to interact directly with tea drinkers like you. I don’t know if it’s the nascent tea industry- or American tastes just slowly coming around to appreciate traditional unblended, unflavored teas- but I do think New York is ready for more real tea shops. The biggest challenge for tea retailers, at least ones like us, is introducing these traditional teas to an often unfamiliar audience.
How did you first get into tea…specifically, how did it become your passion, and how did you turn that passion into a company?
SB: As I mentioned earlier, I worked as a guide for an adventure travel company in the Himalayas and ended up spending time in Sikkim and Darjeeling. I started to enjoy the amazing tea produced in this region, and was able to explore the gardens and topography in depth.
I started bringing tea back for friends, and that lead to the creation of In Pursuit of Tea, with a friend I grew up with.
Do you take in-house photos of all your merchandise for your website listings or are they generic shots?
We photograph all our teas and teaware in house, and Sebastian took all the photos from origin.
The Nantou Four Seasons sound amazing how does it compare with Jin Xuan oolongs?
Thanks
Hi Airmike2,
The Nantou Four Seasons is a greenish- lightly oxidized- oolong, made from the Si Ji Chun cultivar. To us, it’s slightly more aromatic than oolongs made from the Jin Xuan cultivar.
Is there a story that goes with any of your blends? If there are many, what’s your favourite?
SB: Our first attempts at making Earl Grey, when we started the company in Brooklyn, were interesting- we would spray bergamot oil on one pound of Ceylon at a time, mixing by hand to ensure an even application. The problem was that we had to make it often, since people liked it so much- and as our first office was so small, we had to do this outside so as to keep the bergamot away from the other teas.
It was fine until about November, when it started to get cold!
What is the best way to make milk tea?
SB: I like the Hong Kong milk tea! They mix Ceylon, some pu-erh and milk, which makes a strong, rich beverage.
AD: I recently tried butter tea, which is somewhat similar to a chai (imagine butter in place of milk, and salty instead of sweet), and was surprised how delicious it was. It’s traditionally made with yak butter, but good luck finding that even here in New York! Try a version at home, using our looseleaf pu-erh or Assam, mixed with butter and a pinch of salt. Here’s some more background:
@AD – I’m not sure I can support you on the “butter tea is delicious” train. I felt it was drinking basically melted sticks of yak butter.
You can buy instant yak butter tea online. :) You just brew your own tea and then add the instant yak butter tea packet to it.
@Tea Pet – amazing!
@AD – fair enough. it wasn’t for me, though. That said, for any other New Yorkers, if you’re looking for butter tea, you can head to Tsampa to get your taste.
I am new to all the different types of teaware and want to venture into different techniques. I have a Gaiwan now and have been looking at the Yixing sets. Does the clay Yixing pot impart any flavor to the tea, are they porous, and how do you care for these?
Hi Lee,
Yixing clay is unglazed and porous. It’s important to designate a type of tea that will be exclusively used in the pot (i.e. dark oolongs, shu pu-erh) and to never use soap, which could be absorbed. To clean, you simply rinse with hot water; the essential oils from the tea will build up over time and contribute a fuller flavor than you may get from the gaiwan.
That wraps up our first Tea AMA, featuring In Pursuit of Tea. I’d like to thank Ana and Sebastian for stopping by and sharing their knowledge and experience with us. It was great to get to sneak a peek behind the curtain of such an amazing tea company. Stay tuned for other AMAs in the future.
Ana and Sebastian, what’s the best way for people get in touch with you if they have any other questions about In Pursuit of Tea or your products?
It was super fun to read this! Thanks so much for setting it up and to Ana and Sebastian for being so informative and friendly. Yay.
Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did- any other questions, feel free to contact us directly at [email protected].
In the meantime, drink up!
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