last week was not a good week for me. with my career crisis and general down-in-the-dumpiness, i was not really the best company. but, on tuesday night, things went from bad to good (to worse with epic train cancellations when i tried to get home) in a matter of hours... i'd had been invited to the jing tea masterclass on tottenham court road, but between finishing work and the event kicking off, i had some time to kill. read: pub. i'd made myself comfy in our usual booth (after scrapping with the new bartender about their december prices; not my proudest moment, but warranted, nevertheless), with a bottle of wine and some good company.
an hour and a half later, i was slightly drunk, and coming on very late to the event. i grabbed my coat and hit the road, racing from carnaby street to the paramount towers at totco in less than eight minutes. as i entered the venue -- on the 32nd floor, i was mesmerized (it wasn't just the wine, i promise).
an hour and a half later, i was slightly drunk, and coming on very late to the event. i grabbed my coat and hit the road, racing from carnaby street to the paramount towers at totco in less than eight minutes. as i entered the venue -- on the 32nd floor, i was mesmerized (it wasn't just the wine, i promise).
there, i met the lovely sally -- finally, and we had a wee mingle before getting started on the tea masterclass. the very informative and tea-obsessed lucy and matt from jing spent the next hour or so talking us through the three types of tea they'd brought along; the silver needle white tea, the anji green tea and the phoenix honey orchid black tea, before showing us how to brew and pour our own tea correctly as part of the traditional tea ceremony. not with just any old tea either, it was with the uk's most exclusive black tea; the wild wuyi oolong... faaaaaancy!
the wild wuyi gold retails for around £95/10g, so we were dealing with some posh tea! i'm not a big tea drinker - i prefer my tea to taste like coffee, but there's no denying that £95 tea tastes sensational. i found the white and green teas very fresh, sweet and refreshing -- easy to drink (which was important) and thirst quenching, where as the black oolongs were slightly more bitter and rounded, better to wake you up in the morning!
the wild wuyi gold is handpicked from 100 year old tea trees, and is only ever produced in teeny tiny batches by the most skilled of tea masters, all with generations of experience. we were told that it is a lovely accompaniment to whiskey, haha, but also salmon. neither of which are especially my cuppa tea (puns!), but i will tell you that it tasted like gold.
the wild wuyi gold is handpicked from 100 year old tea trees, and is only ever produced in teeny tiny batches by the most skilled of tea masters, all with generations of experience. we were told that it is a lovely accompaniment to whiskey, haha, but also salmon. neither of which are especially my cuppa tea (puns!), but i will tell you that it tasted like gold.
"jing captures the essence if asian tea for today's world."
thanks so much to jing for their amazing hospitality and guided tasting of their luxury teas on the night!
