Over the past several weeks I’ve not had much of an opportunity to write here at Lao Ren Cha because I’ve been working on several other tea related projects.  Seeing as how those projects are nearing their completion, I wanted to share them with the people who have been kind enough to read LRC…

~ITCC~

Awhile back I was approached by Dan Roberson (the proprietor of The Tea House) about helping him with one of his pet projects called the International Tea Cuppers Club (ITCC).  this group is made up of people from all parts of the world, and all parts of the tea industry (Growers, factory operators, retailers, and of course consumers).

Joining this community allows people to get get access to premium teas, but it is also so much more!  Members can move beyond being passive consumers of tea by taking part in what are called “cupping events,” which actively engages individual members in a open dialogue with tea producers / suppliers.

I really love what this community is attempting to do, and I hope that you take a few moments to check it out.

~Scholar’s Tea~

In addition to working on the ITCC, I’ve also been getting ready to launch my own (small) company which will be selling tea online.  the name of the company is Scholar’s Tea, and I hope to have it 100% ready to go by next week.

To start out, I’ll be doing a “soft launch” with a very limited–but very high quality–product line.

I sincerely hope that people will consider buying the tea they drink from me!

~Tastings~

As I’ve been getting ready to launch my own company I’ve been going to as many tastings as I can.  This has allowed me to meet with tea importers, other tea retailers, and tea consumers.

I’ve learned a great deal from going to these events and speaking with the people I meet there.  Below is a picture of an event that I attended just last weekend.

~Summing It UP~

I’ve been busy.  As the various projects I’ve been working on move on to their next phases I plan to be blogging again here on a very regular basis. (I’m the Lao Ren in the gray shirt on lower left.)

Thanks for sticking with the Lao Ren.