I am constantly amazed how the food world has exploded to such a degree that one can now become an expert in so many different fields -- pastries, bread, chocolate, cheese, coffee, olive oil, and, of course, tea. I met my good friend Sina Carroll while we were both slinging cheese at Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building, and even then, she was more knowledgeable about tea than your average Brit. You laugh, but I got my tea smarts from To the Manor Born, Jeeves and Wooster, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Upstairs, Downstairs, and everything else on Mystery! and Masterpiece Theater. Currently, I'm addicted to and primarily drink Earl Grey. Out of a bag. I mix it up a bit with some Lemon Lift, Darjeeling, Constant Comment, and even English Breakfast. However, I am quite willing to learn what I'm missing. Luckily, Sina is quite willing to teach what she knows. Here is the first part of my interview with her.
Tell me, Sina, what exactly do you do?
I am a teabar tender and tea educator at Celadon in Albany. I serve premium grade, seasonal, whole leaf, loose leaf pesticide-free Asian teas (90% Chinese, 5% Indian, 5% rest: Taiwanese, Japanese) all in a traditional Chinese tea style of service using a Gaiwan (gai = lid, wan = bowl). I use other tea tools, like a strainer to pour the tea through, a server to pour it into, tongs to pick up cups with, a water pitcher to rinse everything with warm water so all teaweares are pre-heated, and little coasters to serve the tea on. I educate people about where tea is grown, harvested, processed, how people on tea farms live, how tea is imported, graded, bought, stored, made and served. I also help people choose specific teawares for appropriate teas, and [I inform] them [about] specific steeping times and temperatures for over 70 teas. I have been learning to do this for one year.
So, you must have massive qualifications -- what are they?