It was a pleasure to meet Bob and Mary Lou Heiss, authors of the extraordinary new book “The Story of Tea” at their store “Cooks Shop Here” in Northampton, Mass and watch Bob brew one of his favorite oolongs, offer all kinds of tea tips, and talk about their tea treks to Asia. (Not- to- mention that they introduced me to some AMAZING tea!!)…

As you’ll see, Bob has developed an enticing ritual that’s culled from their travels in China and Japan, where tea is revered for its flavor, health benefits, and the opportunity to take a short break from the fast and busy pace of contemporary, everyday life.

Although we feature Bob in the vlog, Mary Lou is EVERY BIT AS PASSIONATE and in any conversation the two seamlessly finish one another’s sentences.

From the moment I first laid eyes on the manuscript of “The Story of Tea” by Mary Lou and Bob Heiss, I knew it was extraordinary.

(See the accompanying article, Lessons From the Professors of Tea, in the Wednesday Dining In/Dining Out section of The New York Times this week.)

No other book, to my knowledge, has contained as much fascinating and detailed information with chapters titled “The History of Tea”, “Life of a Tea Bush”, “Journeying Along the Tea Trail”, “An Encyclopedia of Tea“ and” Brewing the Perfect Cup”. The book is now in stores and available via the internet. Even through their writing, the Heiss’ communicate their enthusiasm and passion.

Watch the YouTube video Chinese Fountains of Tea to see Bob use another fun and unexpected method to brew and pour tea, Chinese-style.

Chin Chin!

Nina

Alternate Versions:
Download Quicktime (.mov) 320×240
Download Quicktime (.mov) 640×480
Download MPEG-4 Video (.m4v) iPod/iPhone
Download MP3 Audio (.mp3) Audio
Download Flash Video (.flv) Flash