Moving!

Dear Readers,

Portrait of Tea -blog has moved to a new address and new forum to be linked with classical music. The new blog:

http://ensemblesense.blogspot.fi/

is based on a music society Ensemble Sense's activities. Tea is still important to us as we sometimes arrange concerts with tea!

Please come to share our adventure sharing music, tea and art! 

A Moment for Tea

It was long time ago. A summer when we decided to do the thing most Finns commonly do. What is that? Well, of course a cruise to Stockholm. I was excited to do it, I mean to spend a day in Stockholm. I really like this place: classic, chic, cool... I also thought that cruising part would be fun too. You know, spending time just reading great books in our cabin and properly catch up on things. Well... I know that I haven't done a cruises many times. I noticed quite rapidly that most people don’t have the same idea of activities on the ship as I did. By the way, why is it so hard to find a proper cup of tea in there?

Aija-Riikka Rannanmäki and I go back many years. We were studying at the same university of arts. She is a pianist and currently finishing her studies and teaching piano in the East Helsinki Music Institute. She is also studying comparative literature so she is a very active girl in deed!

Stockholm was as radiant as I had thought. We had a marvelous day wandering around the city, chatting and shopping. And of course we needed to have a nice cup of tea. I had received recommendations of Tea House Chaikhana in the Old Town (Gamla Stan) just opposite the fascinating German Church (Tyska Kyrkan). The tea house was a refreshingly cool and quiet place where one can easily escape the buzzing streets to enjoy quality tea. I ordered a Chinese rose flavored white tea called 'Mei Gui Da Bai'. According to the tea menu of Chaikhana it is: ”White rose tea, or even known as 'rose mist', is among one of the rarest of the flavoured white teas. Produced in limited quantities during a short period in the late spring in Fujian, this silver needle tea distinguishes itself by its smooth sweet taste and sensual hint of high mountain rose that lingers on the palate.” As it was a lunch time we both ordered a petite afternoon tea to enjoy. Aija-Riikka had an English afternoon tea and I had a French one (which was a new acquaintance to me).

Aija-Riikka's home has a tradition of enjoying tea every evening. She remembers her grandmother having it and her parents and little sister have maintained the tradition. Since moving on her own she has done so too. How sweet is that! She prefers black tea but also likes green tea. Usually at home she enjoys organic Assam. In the mornings she likes to have a cup of coffee. She is very fond of her evening tea moment. Like she said: 'It is not just the tea but it is the moment with tea!'

Tea in Need is a Friend indeed!

 

I have had a creative silence for a while from this blog. Life is full of twists and turns and sometimes they take you to a place where you need to take a step back to really see the overall view. During this break I have seen and been in many interesting tea places, enjoyed great tea moments with awesome people or just by myself in solitude. So I have not abandoned tea, vice versa!

I have a little surprise for you! Let me introduce my 'tea muse' Hanna, who inspired me to take these pictures in Kulosaari, a residental area on an island in Helsinki, on a cloudy autumn day with a few rain drops too. There are many places where one can enjoy an uplifting tea moment; just fill a quality thermos with your favorite tea and head to any place with great scenery. Enjoy the moment in good company chatting this and that or just calm down to spend some quality time with yourself. Bring some snacks; fruits, nuts, a sandwich or anything you fancy and have a super lunch in fresh air. I carry my little thermos with me almost every day everywhere I go. I enjoy a cup of tea on the train, with my lunch or if I need to wait for something or in any other situation; if I just feel like having tea to calm me down. I should buy a better thermos, though. It is really important that you don't use the same bottle for coffee and tea. Good one is the one which doesn't infect the subtle flavour of sensitive tea. The bottle shouldn't be too big either as I need it to fit in my handbag easily. Something like 0,5 l could be good. I would appreciate any recommendations!

Tea muse: Hanna

Styling: Viola

Location: Kulosaari, Helsinki

Love for Tea

I met Johanna Tilus in Jyväskylä, central Finland. She is a talented pianist about to graduate as a master of music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. I was visiting my old home town as I used to live there for one academic year long time ago.

We decided to have a good cup of tea in some nice place to cheer up on a rainy day. There were not many options to choose from so Johanna suggested this kind of an alternative place, Shasa, a smoothie bar which unfortunately went out of business just after our visit. How sad! I so enjoyed the vibe in there. They served mostly raw and superfood products. We decided to try a cup of reishi tea: ”Instant Longevity” by Luontolife. It promises to reduce stress, improve quality of sleep and blood circulation. Sounds good! We thought that we tasted tar and licorice. I checked the ingredients: it consists of ganoderma lucidum 33%, licorice root 17%, star anise 33% and mint 27%. We didn't notice any mint, though. Johanna described as her first impression that the drink had a quality of disappearing in one's mouth.

'It is like drinking the earth!'

When I asked Johanna what is her relationship to tea she confessed from the bottom of her heart:

'I have a very deep relationship with tea, a dependency for it.'

We share the same love story. We both fell in love in Paris. For tea, I mean. That is where it all started. Johanna lived there for six months studying piano some years ago. It was love in a first sip, one could say. I was offered a precious Mariage Frères tea. I hadn't known that something so beautiful existed! For Johanna it was in a meeting with her shiatsu masseuse who recommended her to drink herbal teas made of, for example, basil and thyme. So she bought thyme tea and she became totally addicted. She has also lived in Japan and explored the Japanese green tea which she regularly enjoys. There she learnt to drink tea with meals too.

When she was a little girl and felt upset she enjoyed tea with crisp bread dipped in it. It always helped and made her feel much better. Her brother did the same. It is like in Britain when people say: 'Let's have a cup of tea' whenever there is a problem and of course all the other times too. Johanna and I agreed that when having a cup of tea one simply cannot feel anger or anguish and it always cures such negative emotions with its warmth, scent and flavours. It feels as if a new world opens up in front of you, in a simple cup of tea.

'It is like in Paris here,'

thought Johanna of the atmosphere in Shasa. Sad to let her know that Paris has left the town.

About Tea

Long time ago in the Far East Tao mystics and Buddhist munks deeply appreciated tea culture. It was an important part of their daily life.

They used to travel further away into the mountains to learn more about flora.

It all began when sometime five thousand years ago a tea leaf flew into a warm cup of water... A wanderer on his way somewhere experienced something special of which he wanted to tell others. Now tea is a universal drink being the second most popular beverage in the world. And there is no end for its success.

There are several different and interesting ways to enjoy tea around the globe.

 For me it is a cup of tea in the morning warming up my inner soul and guts to get started for the day. A meditative moment in the afternoon and a digestive cure after a meal. In the evenings it calms me down soflty to the dream world. Feeling the warmth melting through fingers as I place them around the porcelain cup. Tea is for every sense as it invigorates them all.

What is the way you like to enjoy your cup of tea? How would you describe your 'tea moment' ?

A Jewel from Gambia

Leo Kallio, Lang Dibba and Tuula Nikkola
enjoying tea in of the salons

In the Old Town of city of Porvoo lies a pearl, a treasure to be explored and a haven to fall into. Travelling back to 1800's in ones mind when the most of the houses in this Finland's oldest business street were built.

Welcoming my little retinue is Mr Leo Kallio, a young gentleman who is one of the sons and offspring of the restorer who had an excellent idea to establish this Tea- and Coffeeroom Helmi (a pearl in Finnish is helmi) in 1983. He is now the executive director of the place.

Their tea selection consists of fifty different teas. Most of them come from Stockholm from the company called Tea Center of Stockholm. Their Söderblandning Green tea is a lovely and sweet blend and one of the most sold teas they have.

Lang Dibba

- Six!! I shout shockingly in this graceful little tea house breaking the porcelain cultivated atmosphere. I am utterly amazed by the amount of sugar cubes my guest, Gambian Lang Dibba, adds to his tea cup.

- It is normal to me... He shyly admits that he uses too much sugar. That is how he is used to enjoy tea also in Gambia. Although sugar is very expensive there and not many people can afford to buy it.

The first time Tuula and Lang met was in a local train in Helsinki. One day Lang just happened to sit opposite to Tuula. Was that love in the first sight? Only they know... 

- Tuula is my First Lady, Lang announced lovingly.

One could say that Lang Dibba is an adventurer and a cosmopolitan. He has lived in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and now in Finland since last spring.

- Finland was my final destination, he says. While in Gambia he already decided about it. It was a gut feeling. It was a mystery to him as much it is to us at the moment as we were wondering what is so special about our country that made him want so eagerly to come here...

Lang Dibba is a linguist. He speaks ten languages so learning Finnish would not probably be much of a challenge adding up to it? He speaks English (official language in Gambia), German, Spanish and then seven different African languages: Mandinga (native), Wollof, Jola, Fula, Sarahuli, Bambarang and Jahanka. Wouldn't there be some opportunity for him to work as a interpreter or traslator, I wonder as he is currently looking for a work. He has been doing lots of things professionally. In Gambia he worked in a hotel, in a factory and then in the President's Office as a protocol officer. He is trained computer information technician in Spain. There he also worked in a telephone company. Now he is keen to any kind of work after he arrived in Finland. 

No restrictions for him so far.

The Day of Princesses (and one Prince...)

Sweet Kaisla Kerttuli

Lovely Pirjo and Cute Adelma

Paju Helmiina with big sister Kaisla in their own little house!

On one shiny spring day I visited the city of Oulu, which is kind of my home city. Through years I have kept contact with some good friends there. Most of them have families and big houses nowadays... Buying an own big house is more affordable in nothern parts of Finland than in Helsinki metropolitan area. It is easier to have your own castle and kingdom or queendom, how ever you like!

One Lovely Lady there is Pirjo, who is a good highschool friend of mine. When growing to adulthoodness we spent some great time together with the company of her then boyfriend Janne. Now Janne is the father of their three children and they live in a very pretty house quite near the center. I am also honoured to be the godmother of one of their little princesses; Paju Helmiina, a two years old. The other girls' names are as adorable as her: Kaisla Kerttuli is the oldest of them, she is 9 years old and the youngest, Adelma Ottiilia, was just born in January of this year. The day was quaranteed to be full of joy and happiness!

Welcoming me was the eldest princess, Sweet Kaisla, who had just got her ears pierced for beautiful jewellery she is keen to. She was dressed in a pink princess gown so I would not be less than utterly impressed! She turned out to be an excellent model for my photographs posing routinely in many different angles. The middle princess, my god daughter Perky Paju, was still taking her beauty nap of the day. She was expected to appear soon. The youngest princess, Cute Adelma, was a new acquiantance for me. I was ever so much pleased to meet her!

On the fine tea table which Lovely Pirjo had set were lots of delicious goods and sweets to be enjoyed with elegant tea, which was organic sencha green tea with zests of mandarin and pineapple, pedals of marigold and cinnamon. Princess Sweet Kaisla had already tasted some of it without us others noticing. She asked; 'What is this luscious grass? It tastes so good!' Her mother Pirjo warmly taught her how this drink of noble should be savored. 'Oh, said Sweet Kaisla, could I also have it?'. 'Could we also listen to the music of Princesses'?

This empire is reigned aswell by one prince, Prince Merry Janne, who happily takes care what is going around and about in this castle. He is a very musically talented fellow with a great timbre in his voice and he plays skilfully guitar, now more-or-less solemnly in his kingdom.

Finally, the waited princess Perky Paju woke up and it was time to dance a Desmond Dance!*

(*Desmond Dance is a special dance and play princesses Kaisla and Paju like to entertain themselves with!)

Ode to Tea of Highgate

Tea: Green tea with honey, lemon and ginger / High Tea of Highgate

Infusion: 70-75'C 2-5 minutes

While travelling in London I must always visit one of the treasures of the charming Highgate Village. In this cute little tea shop and tea room, 

High Tea of Highgate, coloured with white and black stripes softened with delicious pink, you cannot be anything but tempted to stay for a cup of tea and piece of their delicious freshly baked cakes. You can also enjoy their famous high tea or cream tea with scones and all essentials. Every time (and that is not too often) I end up leaving the shop with several packets of tea and some other tea accesorries as they are too sweet to be left behind! Quality coffee is also served there so you could take your tenacious coffee friend with you as well. Since it's last summer I visited there last time I need to go back, hopefully soon, to make a full story of this lovely place. Now I will introduce you one of its' excellent teas.

As the package tells:

'Delightfully soothing and refreshing the addition of spicy ginger, zingy lemons and sweet honey to green tea makes for a cleansing and comforting cup of tea.

Perfect for times when feeling 'under the weather', but also when feeling 'on top of the world!'

Why not, I say. For me it goes also for the occasions somewhere in the middle. As a devoted ginger and honey lover I do find this tea very uplifting and it always cheers me up.

Hunting the Chaga

As we all know tea is a very healthy drink. We hardly need to feel guilty for drinking it too many cups. In the evenings I try to avoid drinking tea with caffeine in it to get better sleep and so I go for my collection of herbal teas or infusions, as you could better call them (usually there are no tea leaves in them, just herbs). And then there are some other so-called teas which are made of very healthy mushrooms!

My father has been drinking daily the chaga mushroom tea because of its healthy benefits. It's said to prevent and cure cancer and all other diseases. He collects it from the forests, dries it in the sunlight, chops it into small pieces and makes a tea from it. His friend does the same! For years I was sceptic of tasting this superdrink as I thought it tastes like coffee! I feel shamed of my pettiness... It was not until now that I went over my limits and had courage (do you even need it?) to taste it. It was splendid! And for the most part I didn't get any associations with coffee! It was more or less like some mild black tea, a good one, with a very smooth feel.

The use of chaga mushroom as a herbal remedy goes strongly back to the 17th century Russia and Siberia and even further away. The chaga grows in the elderly hardwoods and is a common saprotroph mushroom in them. The tree grows in itself a burl which doesn't have any germs in it, not until the tree dies. It contains lots of phytonutrients, is a strong adaptogen and tonicum. The chaga mushroom has also been widely researched scientifically with strong evidencies of its health benefits. Its oxygen radical absorbance capacity is almost 22 times stronger than for example in blueberry. It is also a good source of vitamin B and protein and the list just goes on... Check more of related research here: http://www.mychaga.com/scienceresearch.aspx

It's safe to use it in large amounts and for longer periods of time only if you are not using any antibiotics, penicillin, intravenous glucose at the same time because they work as antagonists and also if you are allergic to some mushrooms you'd better avoid this drink.

I visited my parents in Kiiminki, north of Finland. I asked my father to take me to 'chaga hunting' and he was pleased to take me to the nearest forest. We didn't have to go far to find the tree with one growing on its trunk one and half meters high. Father hit it with his axe and so I got something to take back to Helsinki.

P.s. It's better to go to the forests futher away from roads as chaga mushroom tends to absorb pollution.