Tea Wisdom

Here at the tea center in Taiwan, we drink tea as a means of connection. This means connection to Nature, to others near and far, to the divine and to Wisdom and Truth. There are many ways we practice this connection in our lives of tea. One is a weekly book reading we hold here on Wednesday mornings.

Each Wednesday, we discuss a book related to Tea Wisdom. Each local student and each guest has a unique viewpoint to share, and we are often surprised and delighted by the perspectives offered during each discussion. This week, we discussed a reading about Taoism, a topic closely related to tea both historically and in the practice of drinking and serving tea.

There's a saying that's older than the word "cha" for tea in China which can be translated to "Drink tea and talk about the Tao." And that's exactly what we did. Over this month's Global Tea Hut tea, locals and two guests (one regular visitor from Germany and another visitor who is from America, but who just returned here after some travels in India) all shared their thoughts, feelings and perspectives on this topic. Although it's often said that the Tao that is spoken is not the Eternal Tao, there's also so much to say around the Tao, and so that's what we discussed. It was a beautiful tea session filled with insights and connection to each other and to deeper truths.

If you can make it to Taiwan, we welcome you to visit us here at Tea Sage Hut for tea sessions and discussions about Tea Wisdom (plus community, vegetarian food and lots of other good things). But if you can't, we can still connect through Global Tea Hut, and you can get more Tea Wisdom from The Leaf, Zen & Tea One Flavor and The Way of Tea.

Wishing you Tea Wisdom in every sip!

~ The Tea Sage Hut family

A Global Tea Community

One of the things that continually amazes us about Global Tea Hut is, well, how GLOBAL it is. There are now hundreds of subscribers in over 30 countries, and each one has his or her own way of preparing, sharing and enjoying the teas we send out each month.

Here's a small group tea session that was held by a subscriber in Los Angeles who recently visited us at the Hut.

Here's a tea session for one that was held by a subscriber who visited us last year (and who hopes to visit again soon).

Here's a tea session from one of our favorite nomads, a subscriber who has visited us twice this year already and who is currently in Thailand.

Here's a GTH puerh tea session in the jungles of Ecuador. It was held by a subscriber who has yet to visit us in Taiwan, but who has attended several of Wu De's workshops in California.

And here's a larger group tea session in Hawaii held by two of our favorite subscribers, international nomads Ganga and Tara.

How do you enjoy your Global Tea Hut tea? What makes your tea sessions special? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

Mailing Global Tea Hut

Here at the Hut, we have a sort of monthly ritual. Each month, a group of volunteers (both local residents and international visitors alike) gathers together to write, edit, print, cut, glue, tape assemble, check, pack, organize and otherwise make real a mailing of Global Tea Hut. Each mailing goes out to hundreds of people in over 30 countries around the globe. Each envelope contains a tea magazine, an organic tea and a tea-related gift. And each mailing session is done with love for those who support what we do with their monthly donations to this project.

We often drink tea while we pack Global Tea Hut. Unlike the tea sessions we usually share, it's usually simple, boiled tea drunk from mugs... just what we need to fuel us. We often listen to music, usually kirtan or bluegrass or old-school R&B. We often laugh a lot, sharing stories and generally goofing off as we work. And most of us find ourselves smiling as we work, knowing that this envelope will go to a dear friend in Estonia, and that one will go to a family member in America, and the one over there will go to someone who we have yet to meet, but have heard wonderful things about, and that a few hundred more will go to people we may never meet, but whose lives may be made a little bit better by what we're doing.

This week, we packed and mailed out our April issue of Global Tea Hut. For most subscribers, it will arrive at the end of March. For some (like those in Russia and Germany, where mail / international mail can take longer), it will arrive a little later. And then, gradually, people around the world will begin another monthly ritual... drinking Global Tea Hut teas. Some drink in solitude, others share with friends, family or even strangers... but that's a topic for another post! Until then, we're sending out lots of wishes for beautiful tea sessions to our subscribers and to anyone else reading this.

Tea Events in Los Angeles

Very soon, Wu De (the founder of Global Tea Hut) will be in LA to hold tea events in support of a new tea center there. Here are the community tea gatherings that will be held during Wu De's visit:

Magic Hour Tea Party Sunday the 23rd 5:30-8:30pm
Music for Tea Saturday the 29th 6-10pm
"Secret Garden" Tea Sunday the 30th 1-5pm

If interested in attending, please contact HausofSages @ gmail . com.

What Is Global Tea Hut?

Much more than a monthly magazine on Cha Dao—Global Tea Hut is a growing community of tea lovers in 30+ countries, connected through the spirit of the Leaf.

Tea & Tao Magazine

Global Tea Hut is a full-color magazine, featuring in-depth articles on tea wisdom, tea science, tea processing, tea brewing, tea history and Cha Dao. It's produced entirely by volunteers. It's completely free from advertisers and endorsements. And it's filled with a love for Tea that far surpasses what you'll see in any other magazine!
Each and every month includes visits to tea and teaware producers, articles and tea info translated from Chinese, spiritual articles on Cha Dao and coverage of topics rarely touched in the West. Plus, it has full-color photography of tea farms, rare teas, tea ceremonies, handmade teaware and more. As membership increases, we plan to travel more, covering tea stories in Korea, Japan, China as well as Taiwan. Every issue contains a "Teawayfarer" section, introducing a Global Tea Hut member to the rest of the community, center news, upcoming events and other ways to connect. We want to share all of this with the world, so all our past issues are available for free on our site!

Sustainable Tea

A central part of our mission is to promote sustainable tea around the world. Each month, we mail out sustainably grown teas that were produced without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or other agro-chemicals. Several times a year, we feature teas that were harvested from wild or old-growth tea trees. And while we usually mail teas that were just harvested (such as White Puerh in spring and Bai Hao Oolong in summer), we sometimes send out aged teas, too (like 1970s Taiwanese Oolong and 1990s Shou Puerh). 
Our teas are mailed in a tea tin that has been lined with rice paper. The tins protect the tea from being crushed. The rice paper is traditional, holding in the aroma and preventing the tea from touching metal. The samples tend to be ten to fifteen grams (sometimes more depending on the tea), which is plenty for a long, large tea session or several smaller sessions.

Gifts with Love

The Global Tea Hut envelopes we mail around the world are made even more special by gifts from tea lovers to tea lovers. They're different every month, and each month's gift is a surprise. In the past, we've sent out all sorts of things that tea lovers adore, including tea chocolates, cloths for the tea table, tea utensils, tea poetry booklets, small works of tea-inspired art, rattan teapot rests, wooden tea utensils, aloeswood incense for tea sessions, and extra tea samples. 
Some of the gifts are made by members themselves, furthering our connection to each other through this global community! We hope to share more tea inspired art, music, writing, poetry and crafts in the coming months. Let us know if there is anything you'd like to give to the community, or receive as a gift from Taiwan.

Global Community

Tea has an incredible ability to connect people, and that ability is clearly seen in the Global Tea Hut community. Global Tea Hut is a growing global community of tea drinkers who connect via monthly subscriber profiles in the magazine, our Facebook page and web forum, visits to our tea center in Taiwan and local community groups all over the world. 
In addition to being central to our thriving tea center in Taiwan, Global Tea Hut plays roles in tea communities in over 30 countries around the world. There are regular Global Tea Hut events held in Los Angeles, Moscow, Barcelona, Estonia, Australia, France and elsewhere. And these aren't just meet-up groups for people to chat about tea; they're communities where people find tea sisters and brothers to last a lifetime, laugh until their bellies hurt, bond over the shared experience of deep tea sessions, and (of course) drink awesome tea. 

When you subscribe to Global Tea Hut, you aren't just getting a cool envelope each month and connecting to local tea communities. You're also supporting a volunteer-run tea center in Taiwan, where guests from around the world can visit and learn about tea free of charge.

For more information, visit the Tea Sage Hut website

Kids drinking tea at Hope Market