Teahouses’ Unique Blends Are Not Just in the Cup
By GREGORY DICUM
Published: January 1, 2010

“…Samovar, in the Castro, makes tea drinking a stylish affair. Teas from around the world are served as they are in their home countries: Japanese maki bowls of rice and seaweed with ryokucha brown rice tea, English tea service with scones and Devonshire cream, Chinese tea with dumplings, and masala chai with curry. Russian tea is poured from a gleaming samovar.

‘We bring the world’s tea traditions under one roof,” said Jesse Jacobs, who opened Samovar in 2001. “It’s contemporary and hip but also respecting tradition.’

…Though many occupy spaces that used to be coffeehouses, it’s too early to call tea drinking a trend that will replace espresso anytime soon. Instead, it’s a parallel, calmer universe.

When people double-park outside Samovar and run in for a cup to go, the way many are accustomed to grab lattes with one nervous eye out for a parking ticket, ‘we give them a free chai sample,’ Mr. Jacobs said, ‘and they go park and come back.’

‘That’s the philosophy of tea,’ he said. ‘It’s about stopping for one moment and taking assessment of your surroundings.’

The original Samovar was so distinctive and enjoyable that the city invited Mr. Jacobs to open a branch in Yerba Buena Gardens to replace a Starbucks in 2006, and the San Francisco Zen Center asked him this year to open a teahouse in a space it owns across the street.”

Veiw The Entire Article as a PDF

Media Contact:
Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

Inc. Magazine Fastest Growing Companies – We Made the List!

Samovar Tea Lounge joins an elite group of companies across America as they have made the 2009 Inc. Magazine 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. Over the last six years, Samovar has grown its staff to over 60 employees and to three San Francisco locations.

We’d like to thank all of our customers for contributing to our rapid and prosperous growth!

Watch ~

ABC News Channel 7′s The View from the Bay tastes, talks, and pairs tea and food with Samovar Tea Lounge founder Jesse Jacobs.

Tea & Food Pairings featured in the segment:

White Tea: Poached eggs, buttered sour dough toast with honey, sauted greens, steamed veggies, and desserts like vanilla ice cream and flan all help to bring out the subtle floral sweetness of this beautiful Chinese White tea.

Puerh Tea: Quiche, omelettes, nutella on toast, bittersweet chocolate, robust red wine and cheese, and spicy foods all pair really well with this earthy, espresso-like aged Chinese tea.

Green Tea: The succulent, floral, aromatic quality of jasmine flowers blended with organic, fair trade Chinese green tea pairs really well with rich, robust, smoky, heavy foods. Brioche French Toast, bacon, smoked fish, huevos rancheros, red meat, baked swordfish, sauteed onions and garlic are all ingredients and flavors that pair greatly with this tea.

Tea & Health:
• Seasonal, whole leaf Tea is healthy, as it’s got less caffeine than coffee, loads of antioxidants, and a natural, fresh delicious taste that comes only with artisanal whole leaf leaves sourced from small family farms around the globe.

• It’s soothing, and simultaneously uplifting, actually known to stimulate the same brain waves that yoga and meditation do!

• And, organic, Fair Trade tea is good for the environment as it is sustainably harvested from small scale family farms.

• Tea is romantic, and perfect for valentine’s day. Bring health and clarity to life and your loved one by giving them artisanal tea.

• Tea is easy. Brewing whole leaf tea is simple and fun, just add a pinch of fresh tea leaves to hot water, steep, and enjoy.

• Tea is about connecting: Living today in our modern world people have the need to connect, slow down, and take time for appreciating life. Tea delivers that.

Romance Tea Set featured in segment, $79

About Samovar Tea Lounge:

•    It raises the bar as the first tea company to launch an unprecedented eco-friendly packaging design consisting of 100% compostable materials. Recognized for its award-winning tea menu and leading role in the burgeoning American tea movement, Samovar develops innovative eco-conscious solutions for everyday small business needs.

•    Samovar’s ingenious packaging utilizes 100% post-consumer cardboard for its exterior shell and a wood pulp fiber liner to retain maximum freshness of their handcrafted teas.

•    A pioneering Bay Area green business, Samovar proudly introduces a sustainable container that, if composted, would turn to soil within a couple of months. The new container will be available in 2010.

•    Samovar holds an exclusive partnership with Eva Lee and Chiu Leng of the Hawaii Tea Society as they will supply artisan tea made in America.

•    Samovar’s goal is to further put America on the map for the production of premium artisan tea. After eight years of continual farming in Volcano Village on the Big Island, Samovar is the first mainland outlet to feature the limited edition Hawaii-Grown Oolong and Hawaii-Grown Black Tea, which was released on September 1, 2009.

•    Samovar recently prepared a custom tea blend for His Holiness The Dalai Lama. The tea is named after The Dalai Lama himself, its titled Ocean of Wisdom. The tea accompanied The Dalai Lama as he presented “The Missing Peace” project at various art institutions across the U.S. Ocean of Wisdom is available for purchase at Samovar’s three Bay Area locations and online.

•    Samovar is the exclusive retailer of “Gyokuro Inoka Hill,” which took 1st Place in the All Japanese Gyokuro Tea Competition last year. No one else in the world sells this tea, not even any retailers in Japan. It’s for only politicians and dignitaries in Japan, and Samovar customers.

•    Almost all Samovar teas are organic and fair trade certified.

•    Samovar utilizes many eco-friendly sustainability practices in their design and building efforts. They use many reclaimed and renewable resources as they design new locations. Their latest locale features a 1200 year-old, 20-foot naturally wind fallen redwood tree from Marin, CA serving as the tea bar.

•    All tables are from wind fallen old growth trees, and the FSC certified wood flooring comes from sustainably managed US forests. All the metal work utilizes materials from turn of the century food processing facilities.

•    Samovar allocates 1% of their profits to an education budget for standout employees to travel to other countries to research new teas firsthand, attend national industry and restaurant conventions, and take tea education classes.

Watch the entire ABC News Channel 7 The View from the Bay Video.

Media Contact:
Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

“New generation teahouses share a vision of tea for the broad audience, say Samovar Tea Lounge founder Jesse Jacobs (featured on this month’s cover)….
‘What all these teahouses have in common is an experience that is based on the foundations of tea: relaxation, social intimacy, and health — and delivered via food and teas with integrity.’”

Story & photos by Jodet Ghougassian

On the first day of our tea journey in Taiwan, my friend Lorraine and I found ourselves on a seemingly endless drive along unpaved roads that snaked dangerously through a hulking mountain range. I found myself having the same thought I did when we staggered onto our flight out of San Francisco at 2 a.m. the day before: “What are we doing?”

But as we came across those mountains and into the majestic region known as Puli, all the hours of traveling and uncertainty melted away. We had been transported into tea-cultivation heaven. Fog-covered tea gardens—picturesque and perfect—dotted the landscape. It was the kind of world you think only exists in books. What’s more, we were in this wonderland to spend time with KC Chen, a farmer and tea master who would be teaching us the intricacies of growing top-quality leaves. This was a priceless opportunity.

It was early last year that the roots of my Taiwan trip took hold. I had been studying tea for nearly four years as an employee at San Francisco’s Samovar Tea Lounge (Lorraine was my colleague there), and I found myself wanting to better understand what it took to process tea from beginning to end. What did all those dizzying words about oxidation really mean? I was fortunate enough to meet David B. Campbell of the Tillerman Tea Company in Napa, Calif., and through him I found out that the opportunity to explore and understand the processing of oolong and black tea was possible. However, it was locked thousands of miles away.

Campbell is a lifelong tea drinker and has loads of experience traveling to rural areas to learn about the cultures of Taiwan, China and Japan. He spent more than 25 years in the wine business and eventually got involved in tea out of frustration; he says he couldn’t find good teas at fine restaurants and was sick of the peppermint and chamomile varieties waiters kept putting in front of him in restaurants. We instantly had a tea connection, and he organized my itinerary to meet his friend and tea master KC Chen in Taiwan. I had never met Chen and knew almost nothing about him.

When we arrived in Taiwan, we anticipated our names would be written on cardboard signs in the arrivals area of the airport. With no telephone or any idea of who or what to expect, we waited for someone—anyone—to greet us and welcome us to Taiwan. We eventually found our translator, Tinja, who led us to a soft-spoken and well-mannered man. KC Chen was much younger than we expected, a far cry from the stereotype of a tea master.

Chen, a ninth-generation tea grower who has tradition seemingly bred into his bones, drove us from Taipei across those treacherous mountain roads and into Puli. Located near the geographic center of Taiwan, the area around the bustling township is marked by stoic tea gardens and high peaks that surround it on all sides. Chen runs two organic gardens as well as his own tea company called Bih-Lu. Bih-Lu’s small tea factory lies in a quiet area outside of Puli’s busy section.

During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945), the Puli hillsides were covered with tea gardens, according to Chen. The local climate favors the growing and making of tea, and Bih-Lu is now into its third generation of ownership and has been in existence for more than 70 years. “I love being in the tea garden, managing and caring for it,” says Chen. “Having our tea plants in harmony with nature is what gives the very best tea.”

According to Chen, the majority of tea masters in Taiwan only produce oolongs. Chen, however, also produces traditional black tea as well as green and white varieties. He’s had Taiwanese organic certification for several years and plans to apply for international certification next year. “We not only make tea, but we remain connected to the cultivation of the bushes; that’s a vital relationship that is necessary to understand the processes involved in manufacturing the leaf,” says Chen. “It is important to understand the climate, the year’s weather and the interrelationship of these to the final product.”

Campbell says the majority of tea farmers he deals with in Taiwan grow organically, but not necessarily by choice: They often can’t afford the chemicals they would put on the plants if given the opportunity. At the same time, though, they can’t afford to pay for any official certification. “The official organic designation is more important to those who do not deal directly with growers or to consumers looking for reassurance,” Campbell says.

Chen grows leaves for oolong tea in a high-elevation garden near Puli, while most of his black tea production takes place in the other garden, located in the nearby Sun Moon Lake region. “It is an area of extraordinary beauty with high peaks and deep valleys,” says Campbell in regards to Puli. He says it’s this landscape and geographical position that make the area such a good one for growing tea: It’s semi-tropical and provides the necessary humidity, but it also has high elevations that yield the cool temperatures key to quality. “As with apples and grapes or any plant really, it is those that grow at the limits of climatic possibilities that give the best quality,” Campbell says.

The week before we arrived, Puli had been ravaged by a particularly powerful typhoon (called Typhoon Jangmi), and the storm had done damage to the harvest we were there to witness and participate in. The high levels of precipitation caused some of the leaves to become overgrown, and the bridge leading to Chen’s garden was destroyed, making it a difficult and dangerous ride in on the first morning we planned to work.

According to Campbell, typhoons are part of the climate that overall makes Taiwan such a fine production area. However, when they reach the level of Typhoon Jangmi, the damage can be catastrophic, resulting in loss of life and destruction of tea areas and other agricultural enterprises. (Tillerman Tea is currently donating 10 percent of gross sales revenue from its retail, wholesale and online business to the Tzu Chi Foundation to aid with typhoon relief.)

When we finally arrived at the gardens, we were glad to see plants that were still intact, making it possible for us to find some suitable leaves even among those bushes that had become overgrown. Already at work were 20 or so women in extremely bright floral-printed outfits and similar hats; it was almost as if it was a strategically planned wardrobe. This was certainly something I had never experienced or seen before, and it made me smile as I entered the tea gardens to join them for the day. I wanted to soak all the excitement in, and I felt as though I had just entered a new museum and was determined to learn everything about a particular exhibit.

As we entered the gardens, we received hats and baskets. “You have a long day ahead,” Rebecca, our second translator, said with a laugh as she pointed us to the bushes. The floral-attired ladies—with small razors attached to the tips of their index fingers—surrounded us, quickly picking the best leaves possible in their designated sections. These ladies were quick at identifying healthy leaves and picking them. I made my way into the bushes and started picking, but was quickly scolded by one of the only men in the circle, who mentioned to me in Cantonese or Mandarin (Rebecca had to translate) that I was picking them incorrectly.

According to Chen, the proper way to harvest leaves is to pull at the edge, where the stem meets the leaf and to trim them. In the wake of the typhoon, many of the leaves were overgrown, and it was challenging to find those that were still healthy. And even those that were prime had to be handled delicately. If the stem is pressed and crushed when picked, the flavor will be affected. The two leaves and bud are snapped back, not crushed, and the withering of the leaf starts to take place almost immediately.

We spent an entire afternoon picking leaves with these women, stopping from time to time to click pictures and wipe away the sweat rolling down our faces. Once the picking was finished, we went to Chen’s small factory by the gardens, where the rest of the processing takes place. We set the leaves out on the floor near a mesh-netted area where they were left to wither and dry. Ah, the smell of fresh tea leaves. It reminded me of ripe apples. After the leaves dried, we transported them inside the factory, where we sorted them and put them on bamboo racks to dry for another eight to 10 hours. There was much to be done from this point forward: drying, kneading, bruising, rolling, shaping and roasting. But for us, all that mattered was sleep. We decided to call it a day.

Yoshi Murai, one of our most avid tea educators at Samovar Tea, has talked to me about how the oxidation of tea is often brought up in marketing and selling situations, but it’s actually not well understood. He thinks the lack of understanding of this rare process is partially due to the fact most tea drinkers don’t really know what goes into oolong tea production as a whole. “We are making headway into it,” he says, “although the task of just describing the tea is so enormous no one has tackled it yet.”

Oolong tea processing is indeed complex. Babette Donaldson, founder of the International Tea Sippers Society, notes that very few people have ever watched a freshly picked tea leaf wither and gradually turn brown. “Understanding oolong is a meditation on the transformation of the leaf,” she says.

Each farm has its own production method—there are different styles of plucking, rolling and roasting. And then, of course, there’s also each tea master’s sense of tradition. Campbell says the biggest challenge in oolong processing is maintaining strict quality standards in the face of increasing demand. “It is important to me that tea gardens are run with traditional care that focuses on quality as opposed to volume,” says Campbell. “The proof is always in the cup.”

The day after we picked the leaves, we got to see first-hand how Chen’s operation maintains that sense of quality during processing. First, we learned more about what the purpose was for putting the leaves on bamboo racks for eight to 10 hours, and the mysteries of oxidation started to reveal themselves. While on the racks, the leaves continued the wilting process that began right after they were picked. This is step one of oxidation. The wilting removes the water from the leaves and pulls the moisture out of them so they are strong for shaping.

From that point, machines took over. After putting the leaves in a drying machine (yes, the drying of tea leaves is a multifaceted process, to say the least), the factory workers would roll the leaves into round balls within fabric, and another machine would wrap the balls tighter and tighter. These steps were repeated more than 50 times as Chen’s staff made sure the proper amount of oxidation and rolling took place. All these processes that damaged the surface of the leaves are what allow oxidation to occur—that is, they allowed oxygen to be absorbed by the leaf. The key to creating “semi-oxidized” oolong tea is making sure the perfect amount of heat is added to leaves so that the oxidation process stays within the tea master’s control.

Watching Chen’s factory men ravel and unravel these balls of tightly packed pellets was fascinating. To eliminate the dust from the leaves, another machine was employed, and the product went through yet another round of drying after that. During the 48 hours that followed, we watched the final stage: the roasting and charcoal roasting of our leaves. I felt like a chemist in the jungles of Puli by the time the whole process came to an end.

I’ve spent much of the year since my trip reflecting on what I experienced and what it means for the actual consumption of tea. Tea culture in the West is growing, and those of us who provide tea for the growing number of aficionados should be developing as well.

Oshan Anand, owner of Om Shan Tea in San Francisco, says the general public has an increased interest in the healing properties of tea and the social and spiritual elements that go along with tea drinking. “The trends in ethical consumerism, healthy lifestyle and desire for authenticity have inspired social consciousness around tea,” Anand says. Those values were evident in the tea gardens of Taiwan as well. Anand says the emphasis on environmental sustainability, purity, gourmet quality and the fusion of ancient techniques with modern innovations is evident in almost every one of Chen’s production methods.

Read the entire Taiwan Teachings article and see Jodet’s stunning photographs in PDF format.

Restaurant Review: Samovar Tea Lounge

By Eliza Sarasohn
December 07, 2009

“At its three locations around the city, Samovar Tea Lounge has mastered what many restaurants aspire to but which few achieve. More than just a business, it’s a lifestyle. Denizens here aren’t just cooks, waiters, baristas, and regulars — they’re  ‘Ambassadors’ on a ‘mission to create peace through tea.’

“Samovar’s approach involves sourcing small batch, organic teas at fair trade prices from artisan family farmers, educating the public on the benefits of tea, and promoting traditional tea culture through the restaurants, events, and extensive Web site, Samovarlife.com. While the globally-inspired menu offers choices from dinner to brunch, small plates to dessert, the star is the tea, which Samovar implores you “sip slowly, filling you with calm and vitality.”

Read More: http://sanfrancisco.jetblue.com/2009/12/restaurant-review-samovar-tea-lounge.html

Media Contact:
Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

December 4, 2009

In a year when luxuries have to come with small price tags, the San Francisco Chronicle gives Samovar Teas a nod in their affordable gift guide:

Give the Gift of Samovar Russian Blend! (Photo by Mike Kepka, SF Chronicle)

“No gifts, no glory — yes, it’s that time of year. The quest for lasting value made our holiday shopping different this year. Quality trumped quantity, an old-fashioned notion that’s new again and, when we did the math, affordable. We took our Champagne-tastes and found indulgences, treats and all kinds of surprises on a ginger ale budget. The challenge made us creative. We’re delighted with the high-low mix. And as you wrap your selections, we know you’ll be basking in the giver’s happy glow.”

For a long time, it was listed on menus just by color. Then, suddenly, there were tastings and classes, talk of varietals, origin, terroir. Like wine 20 years ago, tea has become the drink to know.

Any beverage that’s been around for 3,000 years can hardly be called an overnight success. But even those who have been in the tea business for decades acknowledge a recent spurt of interest.

The reason? Part of it is a perception that tea has health benefits, particularly when compared with coffee. Part is a desire to be soothed in rocky times. And part of it is an appreciation of the increasing quality and variety of hand-crafted teas — what Gary Shinner of Marin County’s Mighty Leaf Tea calls “an upgrade in sensory experience.”

Jesse Jacobs, who last week opened his third Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, cites the farmers market effect: an interest in seasonal, artisanal products from family growers. “The quality of the tea we’re getting now is unprecedented. Partly, that’s because we’re getting it faster, so it’s fresher. But the new demand is also making it possible for a farmer to produce and sell some wonderful teas in small quantities.”

Descriptions of these high-end teas read like a rhapsody on a Bordeaux: thundering, nutty, silky, hauntingly ambrosial, “warm apricot marmalade on toasted English muffin.” It’s a lot like wine, Jacobs agrees — “except, with tea, you can always have one more for the road.”

So how does a tea novice — a two-latte-a-day die-hard, for instance — enter this world? With a glossary, a few caveats and some encouragement.

What’s the best way to find the right tea?

“Sample two or three from each category,” Shinner advises. “Explore as you would with wine. What are the flavors you appreciate?” Jason Simpson, director of coffee and tea education for Starbucks, elaborates: Consider acidity, body, flavor.

For a coffee lover, the first step might be something like Yunnan, a black tea — robust, with a slightly roasted undertone — that takes milk and sugar well.

Don’t rely on the name of the tea, as that can be misleading, cautions Eliot Jordan, director of tea for Peet’s Coffee & Tea. “There are no conventions in naming, and you get a lot of creativity. Is this jasmine tea the traditional green tea, or is it a black tea, or an herbal, or is Jasmine just the name of their dog?”

So taste, first, across the four categories of tea. (Some say five; we’ll deal with that later.) All come from the same plant, the tree Camellia sinensis; the difference is in the processing.

At the center of the tea world are black and green, Jordan says. Black is the thicker, darker brew that took hold in countries that use dairy in cuisine, like India and England. Green is the standard in areas with less dairy tradition — Japan, China, North Africa. Oolong covers the wide range of spectrum between those two, and white is a lightly processed variety that 10 years ago was barely known in the West.

How they’re processed:

White. Leaves are picked, sometimes lightly steamed, and then dried, and that’s it. Simpson describes it as vegetal, grassy.

Green. Withered, then steamed (for more delicate, herbal flavors) or pan-fired (for a heartier, aromatic quality) before drying.

Black. Withered, then rolled — which breaks open the leaves and allows oxidation — and, finally, dried to stop the oxidation.

Oolong. Also withered and rolled but not fully oxidized. The oxidation is sometimes stopped and started more than once, as a lot of change can occur in just an hour. With a smooth, aromatic character, it’s a favorite of many tea professionals, Jordan says, and it’s hard to find a good, inexpensive one because of the work involved in crafting it.

The sometimes-fifth type is pu-ehr, an aged tea often sold in compressed cakes. A secondary fermentation gives it a very dark, earthy quality. In China, where our black tea is called red, pu-ehr is known as black.

Wait, what about herbal?

Tea has to be from Camellia sinensis. Any other infusion is technically a tisane (“ti-ZAN”).

Loose tea good, tea bags bad?

Not necessarily. There are good-quality teas in bags, especially with the recent advent of whole-leaf tea bags, which let the leaves expand and the water flow through. With the loose tea, though, you pay less for packaging, and you get the experience of the tea-making ritual.

The most flavorful teas are whole-leaf, which, though they shrivel when dried, will unfurl in hot water. Large broken pieces aren’t bad; what you want to avoid is finely crushed leaves and dust. Also, tea’s flavor fades as it ages, so consider how likely it is to be fresh. (Pu-ehr aside, of course.)

Where can I learn more?

Besides the thousands of tea aficionado Web sites? The Bay Area is a hotbed of tea stores and tea lounges; some offer classes, among them Tea Time in Palo Alto (www.tea-time.com, (650) 328-2877). Other South Bay tea rooms include Lisa’s Tea Treasures in Campbell and Menlo Park, Ku Day Ta in Milpitas’ Great Mall and Puripan Tea Garden in Santana Row.

Samovar, which has three locations in San Francisco, is adding more educational pages to its Web site, www.samovartea.com; Lupicia, a tea store in Valley Fair, is another good source.

Media Contact: Jesse Cutler, Samovar: (415) 655-3431 / publicity@jpcutlermedia.com

Samovar Zen Valley Tea Tasting

The Samovar Tea Lounge’s Hayes Valley edition has been up and running since the end of 2008, but there’s still no sign on the door to mark the establishment. With its dim lighting, the lounge easily blends into the rows of Victorians on Page Street — an unobtrusive, almost  organic piece of the neighborhood to the casual eye. Which is exactly what owner Jesse Jacobs had in mind….

Click here to read the rest of the article in a new window.

Industry Roundtable (Part One): San Francisco Speaks

With close ties to the Far East, San Francisco has always been a beacon of the United States tea business. During a recent trip to the Bay area, WTN Contributing Editor Lindsey Goodwin spoke with leading tea room owners and tea retailers to get the pulse of the industry.
Participating were Roy Fong, co-founder of Imperial Tea Court, Jesse Jacobs, owner of Samovar Tea Lounge, Jill Portman, co-founder of Mighty Leaf Tea, Winnie Yu, founder of Teance, and Chongbin Zheng, co-founder of Red & Green Company. Highlights of the interviews follow.

WTN: What has been the most important change in the Bay Area tea scene since the American tea revival began?

Portman: There’s a really significant demand for whole leaf, but also for convenience. Customers won’t drink inferior quality in traditional bags, but now there are 20 to 30 companies offering similar products to ours, which we pioneered in the 1990s.

Yu: I think the biggest thing is the availability and recognition of high quality, premium loose-leaf tea. In the 1990s you were finding a lot of blended, herbal or black American-type teas. Now authentic, unblended, premium teas are much more available and appreciated.

Jacobs: I agree, but it’s more than just the tea. It’s the appreciation of the tea lifestyle and what tea represents, like awareness of health, relaxation, sustainability, artisanal products and Slow Food.

Fong: I think those things are important, but more importantly… You know how people drink tea in the Orient as a matter of course, like people in Italy drink coffee as a matter of course? People readily accept tea now, like “This is what you do.” It is so acceptable, you don’t even think of it as extraordinary, but it’s a drastic change from when I opened the first traditional Chinese tea house (in 1993), when people would ask, “Is it in a bag or not?” The first big step was getting beyond bags, and then the question was, “Is it a green tea or a black tea?” Now people know white tea and puer, and ask which region, year, factory and item number a puer is. These changes creep up on you, but it’s so drastic.
Zheng: Since 2005, there are many newspapers, publications, magazines, where people are talking about teas. People are really aware, and asking a lot of questions about teas. … Also, tea has expanded to many areas, and to a fusion of traditional and Western styles while staying pure. They’re in different geographical areas where you wouldn’t expect (them) to succeed, like Samovar in The Castro. There are even outlets in shopping malls, and the Asian Art Museum here has a lot of tea events and programs. … It’s very interesting – all types of people find access to tea. It’s almost like grassroots.

WTN: What are your thoughts on the current state of tea in the Bay Area?

Yu: We call this city “the hotbed of the tea renaissance.” Tea houses showcase teas through fusion and bridge the gap between ethnic shops that offer teas and more accessible, modernized and mainstream, but authentic, formats.

Jacobs: I believe the Bay Area is the epicenter for tea culture in North America, due in part to the weather, which works for hot and iced tea, and because there are many different cultures in a small area. Also, San Francisco is very progressive. It’s a hotbed of new ideas. I can’t think of another area in the world that has all those three things together. It has allowed tea culture to take off. Sure, people drink Moroccan mint tea in Morocco as daily life, but they definitely don’t drink Japanese gyokuro or tea from a samovar. There’s nowhere else with a more international tea culture.

Zheng: San Francisco is pretty provincial and small compared to New York. There’s less distraction. If you have five or six tea stores in the city, everybody knows. The level of competition is very high in terms of getting high quality teas. People in Berkeley and Palo Alto are also very into tea. I live in Marin County, and they include tea tastings in county fairs along with the art, crafts and local foods.
WTN: What are the major business trends in the industry now?

Fong: I think the industry will stabilize, like anything else. A few years ago, at the Fancy Food Show, there were many tea companies cropping up. Now there are fewer new businesses. There are companies who have built up reputations and consistency, and they will do well. In China, they say that people do not stay rich or poor for more than three generations, and a business rarely lasts longer than three generations, but the exception is tea. There’s so much to tea that one generation cannot learn it all.

Yu: Education and sustainability are big trends. We’re dealing with a very educated consumer here in the Bay Area, but the education level is still so far from where it needs to be for them to really appreciate these teas. We need to help people build their palates and learn about tea through classes and events.

Jacobs: Education is also one of our foundations, but not in terms of specific classes. Winnie (Yu) does that really well, and educates the public very deeply. (At Samovar) we like to share knowledge without making it overt. We like making it fun and easy, and letting it resonate on a deep level.

Portman: I think that tea starts with education. Without education, one isn’t drawn to a product.
WTN: What about sustainability?

Jacobs: Nowadays, people are super-sensitive and observant of sustainability. Is something good for me and my wallet and my taste buds and the environment? Will it make me feel good? Does it support the farmers? That’s the metric for our customers.

Zheng: Sustainable packaging materials are important, too. I use bamboo for about 70 percent of my packaging.

Portman: We use biodegradable, corn-based bags with unbleached cotton strings.

Fong: Five years ago, organic tea from China was not readily available. Now I sell close to 100 tons of organic tea a year, which is pretty phenomenal for a small company like mine. In retail, certified organic tea makes up 30 to 35 percent of my sales. I’m surprised fair trade didn’t take off. In the tea business, you have to sell organic tea, but you don’t have to sell fair trade tea. The fair trade people charge so much, there’s no motivation from the merchant side, because it costs so much. With organics, it’s easy for merchants to believe in it and sell it.

Portman: We work in a more project-based way as opposed to feeding the TransFair offices. We are creating a foundation just for that, and have been giving back to gardens for the last three to four years in the form of schools, eyeglass programs, a senior center. … Our volume is becoming quite significant, so we can ensure that our gardens are implementing best practices.

WTN: What are the local changes you’ve seen since the economic turbulence began?

Jacobs: We opened during the dot-com bust along with a bunch of other places. Now it’s the changing of the second guard. There are places that are opening and closing, because the reality of this industry is that it’s tough to make a profit.

Fong: It’s hard to make a living selling only tea. It’s even harder if you only sell what you like. Each place has to do something well. I try to get better at the things I excel in every day. Anywhere with that approach, I think they will succeed.

Yu: People are responding to sales more, but we still have the same clientele. There’s less foot traffic, but when they’re here they buy the same things. Maybe they’re just not leaving their homes, but our buying patterns are the same, and the expensive teas are still moving. Once people recognize a certain quality, it’s hard for them to give up. Tea is not a replaceable product for people. They just want to buy it a lower price.

Zheng: We just did a (retail) warehouse sale. Our teas sold like hotcakes.

Pull Quote: Jacobs: I think that people will pull back on bigger spending and continue to spend on tea like they did in the dot-com bust. Our average price point is $10, and our goal is to make you feel better than you did when you walked in. It’s like the cheapest spa treatment you’ll ever experience.

A cup of coffee is $4, and a pot of tea is $5 and makes 20 cups. It doesn’t matter how expensive it is if there’s value. Our downtown location is up 50 percent over last year, and Castro is up five percent. I think the economic stuff hasn’t settled in yet. I think we’ll know in six months, but in the meantime nothing has really changed. I have noticed that a lot of people became fans of this Japanese gyokuro we sell for $18 a pot after we added a $50 a pot gyokuro to the menu. It’s like they can get an idea of the $50 tea by buying the $18 tea, so the $18 gyokuro is now a best seller.

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