With half term upon us many of you are probably thinking of things to do with your family. Taking tea together may not currently be top of your list but we are increasingly finding that our amazing young people find the world of loose leaf tea just as fascinating as the rest of us. We have had the pleasure of welcoming many families to the Tea House & sharing tea with some budding tea experts and entrepreneurs.
But don't just take our word for it. This week if you come into the Tea House you may just have the pleasure of meeting Haydn who has worked with us since we first opened. Since joining us after his GCSEs Haydn has immersed himself in the world of tea and we have really enjoyed sharing our passion with him - tea is even the focus of his A level art work! A few months ago we asked him to share his story with tea so far. So here it is...in his own words....enjoy the read & remember it is never too soon to start your tea adventures & inspire the younger members of your family {in Japan they serve Houjicha in schools.....}
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"When first hearing about a specialist tea house opening in Sturminster Newton I was slightly puzzled as to what this would include. I was aware of the complex world of tea but my knowledge of the drink was pretty limited. Having drunk tea only from bags for 16 years I could hardly class myself as tea connoisseur"
When arriving home from school on the opening day of the Tea House I was welcomed by cries of excitement from my mother recounting her first experience of Silver Needle tea. “You must go” she said. “It’s simply amazing”. It was described to me as therapeutic experience which would release stress from anyone’s body. After this big build up I decided to go and find out what all the fuss was about.
I was really impressed with the tea house, the unique teaware and layout of the shop. Looking at the menu I was honestly stunned by the variety of teas. I obviously looked a little bewildered so Michelle helped by explaining all the different teas and the flavours you get from each one. I was then faced with the tough task of choosing a tea.
After a difficult five minutes I decided to go for the silver needle (a light, gentle white tea from China.) I loved the tea! Everything about it was fascinating! The leaves, the tea bowl, the Gaiwan were all so impressive. However what excited me the most that day was the way my dad’s Da Hong Pao was brewed. The gongfu tea ceremony was mind blowing. I never knew a tea could be made in such an elegant way, and my reaction to the Yixing tea pot was literally “Wow that’s so cool!” I couldn’t believe the amazing flavours you could get from all these different teas. I loved every minute of my first experience in the tea house and the moment I left I knew that was perfect for me. I turned to my dad immediately and said “I want to work in tea”.
Working in the tea house has honestly been one of the most enjoyable and interesting experiences for me. I have learnt so much about the different kinds of tea and I am finding myself to know all about the process from leaf to cup. The first few weeks of work were hard. I was trying my very best to remember all the complicated facts about each tea and knowing exactly what to say to the difficult questions I was occasionally faced with. Bridport food festival was a tricky first outing for me. Preparing the tea and talking to customers about the business was tricky in these early stages at work; I felt like I was asking Michelle more questions than the customers were. However, the day was a huge success and I learnt an awful lot about tea and the business which came in very useful at future events. Learning about tea is part of my life now. I read about it, watch television programmes about it and most importantly I now only drink loose leaf tea. Working at Comins Tea House was never just going to be a summer job for me. It became a passion of mine and I genuinely enjoy going to work there every week.
Last summer I went to the British Family Fayre in Kent with Michelle where we looked to sell all the British teaware we use in the shop. I really enjoyed sharing my passion for tea with everyone there. I felt comfortable and relaxed when talking about tea to the public and I think that was mainly due to the fact that I cannot stop talking about tea. I love drawing people in and explaining to them the fascinating world of tea. I really want to share my new passion with everyone because I now understand that there is a huge variety of tea out there, and so many of us just don’t know life outside of a tea bag.
My plans for the future are very much based around tea now. I am hoping to introduce a tea club at my school to share the passion I now have for tea, and I am also hoping to travel around Asia in my gap year visiting some of the tea plantations that Rob and Michelle source their tea from. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
