This weekend on Saturday was the third annual Victoria Tea Festival 'Revival'. For a small donation of 5$ and your own cup from home you could sample some of the local tea companies in town, as well as from the Mainland. We weren't quite sure what to expect, as there used to be a tea festival that took place in Victoria that had been cancelled due to lack of funds. It was one of the major reasons why I wanted to move to Victoria. The tea culture on the island seemed so diverse, full of life and passion. It was intoxicating, and while my interest in tea was still budding at the time, I was disappointed to hear the year that I landed on the island I now call home was the same year the tea festival had been canned. When I was surfing around on Facebook about a week ago I just so happened to stumble across a targeted advertisement for the tea festival. I immediately got jittery and fired off an all caps text to my roommate. Date. Time. Place. A giant grin on my face. Check, check, check, aaannd check! We had to go. Based on the photos they had on their Facebook page, the outdoor venue was much smaller then what my roommate was used to. They had previously attended a festival that took place at the Crystal Gardens that had lots of different classes, covering various topics related to tea. There were demonstrations on how to hear the temperature of the water without needing a thermometer, as well as proper tea ceremonies that you could learn about and take part in. This festival was small. There were roughly seven different booths, not including the Tea Symposium inside the JagaSilk Tea Bar. Each of the booths were unique in what they had to offer. The first offered samples of their tea. All I could see was a bright green-blue, and thanks to the butterfly pea flowers we talked about in our Howl's Moving Castle blog post, I knew right away what we were looking at. They were showcasing their personal blends that included the special transformative flower. The one on sample was butterfly pea flowers, lavender and peppermint (sourced from Washington State; a popular place for quality mint, if you were curious). The next stall was a woman who did tea readings (which Astra will touch on in a bit), and another made tea infused jellies. Of course I had to ask why all their bases were with grape jelly to satiate my own curiosity, though I was certain of the answer already. Grape is a surprisingly versatile flavour that pairs well with many profiles, all while not interfering with other flavours in the dish (or in this case, jelly). Case in point, the grape was like a step ladder for the tea infusions. Some were more subtle then others -- like green tea jellies versus the earl grey infusion. As we moved down the line, we came across a man selling more medicinal teas that were inspired by Chinese medicine. They had their own blends as well, focusing on specific themes; Remedy for cold and flu; Sleep for peaceful rest; Cleanse for a light detox. We sampled the Cleanse tea, which had a really lovely roasted flavour to it. We had expected a far more medicinal flavour to the tea and were extremely thrilled when we sipped the tea and found it far more enjoyable then medicine should be. But, hey! We're not going to complain. After all, it's good for you! My roommate and I shuffled down the line, and found ourselves at a kombucha stall. For me kombucha is really hit or miss, especially considering that the kombucha we know here on the West Coast is not the kombucha many Asian countries are familiar with. But we're not here to talk semantics. All things considered It was some of the best kombucha I have had so far living on the island, and Unity Jun's products are made in Canada! It made the experience all the more special. Our last stop was at the JagaSilk booth where they were making a sample of their lovely matcha (or maccha if you prefer) right at the table for all those interested! Recommended at 65°C, the thing you need to understand about matcha is that it is very delicate (do you see a recurring theme? Take notes! Take care of your tea). You really need to control the water flow and pour of your spout. If you follow us on our Instagram you will have most likely seen the video that was posted. The attendant's kettle had a very fine, small spout to it. She added the water very slowly, pausing every now and again, and once ready to whisk she used a specific wrist motion in order to get a nice froth with her matcha. A good matcha will be extra creamy, and if you can appreciate some of the more umami flavours that matcha can have, then I highly recommend popping by the JagaSilk tea bar if you're ever in Victoria! It was a quick walk through, but rather intimate. While it was over sooner then I would have liked it was a nice break from ordinary life. It was a reminder to take a deep breath once in a while, but also a nudge to attend some of the smaller events in your town or city. You never know what you could be missing! I would gladly go again next year, and hopefully next time with even more tea! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Astra's Tea Reading Review: Rather than a book pairing for this special additional post, I'm going to focus on a different kind of reading--a tea leaf reading! At the Victoria Tea Festival, a woman named Nicole was offering Tea Leaf Readings. Having never had my leaves read before I was very curious to see what it was all about. I've read Tarot cards for years, and have always had a fascination with various forms of pattern-reading, clairvoyance, and fortune telling. How did this particular method work, what was involved, and what kind of response would Nicole read in my tea cup? At first, I was attracted to the table by all of the adorable teacup-and-saucer sets. These were British style vessels, not the small Chinese porcelain cups I had expected. One in particular caught my eye: with a lattice-like rim to its saucer, a shimmering opalescent lacquer inside the porcelain, and a short wide cup. There were also four teas from our local Silk Road Tea company to choose from, and a number of small silver spoons for us to brew our own cups. Asking to sign up for a reading, I found that there was an empty slot starting in 4 minutes, and taking it, I was encouraged to pick, brew, and drink my tea as soon as possible so we could begin. I selected Philosopher's Brew, which is one of my favourites from Silk Road (a lemongrass, chamomile, rosehips blend that provokes introspection and relaxation), and one we've been out of stock of at home for some time. Since Nicole was still learning the art, and because I was the first of the day, I think I caught her off-guard a little, as there were a few instructions she forgot to give me while I was stirring the loose tea in my cup--like the fact that I'm supposed to focus on a specific question, or topic (much the same as one focuses when shuffling Tarot cards). Instead, I watched my tea steep, trying to cool it quickly enough to drink. As the residue must be left behind on the rim and bottom of the cup, the tea is brewed loose. One is meant to use their teeth against the edge of the cup to strain as they drink. If one has rabbit front teeth, like me, this proves less than satisfactory, so once my tea cooled enough to be a tolerable temperature to stick my lip into, I began sieving through my lips instead. All in all, I ended up eating quite a bit of my tea (so glad I chose a herbal)! One drinks their way around the rim of the cup, each sip progressing bit by bit. With a handled cup, this does make for some awkward last dregs, as the handle was tucked up against my chin, but I managed it. I was requested to be sure to drain every last drop, before passing my cup to Nicole. Discovering at this point that I was meant to have been meditating on a theme, I decided to pick a general topic that would tie in with where my head-space has been lately. If any whirring subconsciousness was influencing the patterns my lips made in the leaves, it would like be on this theme: The Path Ahead. I won't go into the minutiae of my reading, nor the interpretations I took from it. Instead I want to highlight what the experience was like, in case you are interested in having your leaves read. Nicole smelled the tea first, cupping the bowl of the teacup in both hands. Beyond the scent of the tea itself, sometimes a person leaves behind their own scent that mingles with the tea and imparts a theme to the reading. Next, she rotated the cup between her palms, inspecting the shape of the clump of leaves at the bottom of my cup, and also inspecting the trail of patterns and gaps made by the dregs trapped along the rim of the cup. She appeared to be rotating the cup in the same direction I had rotated it to drink. Then she began reading with the "high level" pieces, that is, each of the clumped shapes around the rim. Each cluster represented different symbols, which have meanings (much like the symbolism of images found in dreams). The more tangled or complex each cluster, the busier that segment would be, sometimes with more to juggle or more at stake. The gaps between clumps acted as pauses between events or stages of the coming weeks. Sometimes there would be a simple symbol (at one point I had perfectly crossed lemongrass filaments, like an x in the midst of a gap, which implied introspective discovery, rather than direct action). After reading each of these, Nicole then moved on to the conclusion to my question--in this case, my destination in the path ahead--which revolved around the larger clump of leaves at the bottom of the cup. These sink and settle while drinking, and so are considered anchoring--the result of all of the action and choices represented on the rim. Their configuration also seemed to explain the timeline of this reading, and provide some guidance to keep in mind while facing the path ahead. I tried to look up some of the symbolism she mentioned afterwards, and there seems to be a great deal of complexity as to when certain symbols hold certain meanings, though I'm not sure if this is to do with placement, proximity, or other techniques. As with any soothsaying endeavour, I try to provide as little feedback to the reader as possible, allowing them to give me a "clean" reading unaffected by leading responses. This allows me to go over the notes I made and meditate on their guidance on my own later. I use these sorts of readings not as "what is my fortune?" but rather as "what should I put some focus on in my life right now?" and in that context, the Tea Leaf Reading was very much on point. It was an interesting experience, and I would be curious to do another in the future. That's it for now! See you on Friday for our regular steep.
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AuthorsEmber and Astra joined forces to blog about their two deepest passions: books and tea! Here you will find information on various teas, and--alongside each tea--a book that will be perfectly paired and analyzed. The full book reviews (containing spoilers) as well as the source for the tea will be linked to in each blog post! Archives |