Welcome to my blog. I hope you will join me for a cup of tea!
In this installment of Curated Routes, we explore the hidden rhythms of West Hollywood. Join me for a beautifully paced afternoon weaving together ethereal tea-infused shaved ice at Mewame, the early modern architecture of the Schindler House, Japanese functional design at Toiro, and a meticulously crafted culinary finale at Sei Pizza Bar.
In this route through Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades, we let tea serve as the narrative thread, grounding a beautifully paced day of mid-century architecture, intentional art spaces, and exceptionally sourced, vibrant food.
Tea is no longer just the destination; it's the compass we’ll use to dig deeper, uncovering the intentional spaces, curated objects, and sensory experiences that make a place worth finding. For our first route, let me guide you through the streets of Paris—specifically Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the Left Bank. Here is a curated itinerary mapped out not just by geography, but by the senses: where to find modern rituals, historic architecture, and the kind of exceptional craftsmanship that invites true contemplation.
When you land in Taipei, the presence of tea is immediate. But to truly understand the tea culture here, you have to realize it is not a monolith—it is a spectrum. Join me as we navigate the three distinct tiers of Taipei’s world-class tea scene, from deeply meditative tea houses and purposeful sourcing rooms to the vibrant energy of elevated boba.
My tea journey is about the journey itself, not the destination. I don’t know where I’m going exactly but I know that every cup of tea, whether shared with someone or enjoyed alone, every encounter and conversation over tea, each and every tasting note and photograph I take are worth my undivided attention. So here I am, amplifying my sensory experience of tea by drinking tea, two teas, side by side, in wine glasses. Pure bliss. My senses are alert, my mind is not scattered, I’m here now and I don’t wish to be anywhere else at any other point in time.
If you’ve seen my previous posts about tea chocolate, you know that I am obsessed with bean-to-bar chocolate maker Fossa from Singapore and their single-origin tea chocolate bars made in collaboration with tea curator Pekoe & Imp. I was able to find two bars I had not tried yet, Duck Shit Dancong tea chocolate and Himalayan Royale Tips Hongcha tea chocolate.
I came across a tea-infused chocolate bar by bean-to-bar chocolate maker Fossa from Singapore. It is infused with Honey Orchid Dancong Oolong from China. Read my thoughts and tasting notes.
I came across the recipe for a mocktail called A little bit Russian by Julia Bainbridge. I had heard of Julia Bainbridge before, she’s a writer and the author of Good Drinks, a recipe book on non alcoholic drinks. A black tea concentrate is shaken with coconut milk, simple syrup, bitters and ice, then strained and garnished with orange peel. I tested out this recipe to see if it would meet my tea-centric expectations and slightly adapted it to make the tea flavor shine.
The other day I was at a specialty wine store and stumbled upon a few interesting artisanal chocolate bars, including two tea-infused ones. On a whim, I decided that I needed to try them and purchased them. I was already familiar with both brands but had not tried either of them yet. Were they any good? Read on to find out!
Quando pensiamo agli abbinamenti che si possono fare con il tè o all’uso del tè come ingrediente in cucina, non è automatico associarlo a piatti salati e tanto meno alla cucina italiana. La maggior parte di noi accompagna il tè ad un dolce o dei biscotti ma non si sognerebbe mai di usare il tè per preparare un piatto a base di pesce. Ed è proprio per questo che quando mi sono imbattuta in Christian Nicita sui social media e nelle meravigliose foto dei piatti e degli abbinamenti proposti nella sua sala da tè con cucina a Catania, Acquamadre, sono rimasta sbalordita. La preparazione del tè segue il metodo orientale gongfu cha e il servizio viene fatto in calici di cristallo. Ma non è tutto, perché il te trova spazio anche come ingrediente nelle sue ricette. Purtroppo Acquamadre ha chiuso per via delle difficoltà dovute all'emergenza Covid ma Christian sta già lavorando ad altri progetti a base di tè. Ho avuto modo di intervistarlo virtualmente e di seguito riporto la nostra conversazione.
When I think of tea and food pairings or using tea as an ingredient in a dish, Italian food does not come to mind as the first, most obvious choice. And I was born and raised in Italy. That’s the reason why, when I came across chef and tea lover Christian Nicita and his tea room/restaurant Acquamadre on Instagram, I was immediately captivated. Imagine my reaction when I found out that he was serving gongfu-cha-steeped tea alongside fine-dining dishes in Sicily! Mind-blowing! And tea found its way into the dishes as well, together with local seasonal produce. Unfortunately, Acquamadre has shut down permanently due to the pandemic but Christian is already working on more tea-infused projects. Here is my conversation with him.
After 5 years of tea blogging and countless other tea-related topics to research and write about, I had felt a bit of fatigue and lack of inspiration when taking tasting notes of tea. Luckily, I was determined to dig deeper into the process and found a better way, as well as a much needed creative spark. Read on to discover: The benefits of tea tasting notes. Taking my tea tasting notes to the next level. My tips and tricks for easier tea tastings. How I used Teawala’s Tea Tasting Journal. My tasting notes.
You might be familiar with cold brewing tea but have you tried ice brewing it? I’ve only ever seen ice brewing applied to Japanese green teas and I was curious to experiment with it, which is why I decided to test this method for different tea types from different origins.
A few days ago, I asked my Instagram community the following two questions. Do you wash your teaware? Do you wash your teaware with dish soap? I thought you’d be interested to hear what works for me.
After drinking caffeinated teas for most of the day, I find myself craving something refreshing later in the afternoon or to enjoy at sunset. I invented this thirst-quenching, insanely flavorful iced herbal infusion/mocktail by total chance. Picture yourself on a tropical vacation and that is exactly what the pink drink à la Tea Squirrel tastes like.
Today I’d like to share with you some of my favorite tea creators, tea bloggers and tea podcasts. Some are new discoveries, some have been inspiring me for years!
