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| Jen Piccotti/International Tea Moment |
June 2011 CelebriTEA: Jen Piccotti, International Tea Blogger Extraordinaire
We all have our reasons for drinking tea.
Originally
from Idaho, Jen moved to Orange County, CA, about 11 years ago with her
husband. But she's been a tea enthusiast for almost two decades (18
years) and has three solid years of tea blogging under her belt.
Her
mother started her on tea early, as they enjoyed cups of tea together.
“But it was her sister, my aunt, who took me to my first tea room,” Jen
said. The experience changed her world view. Drinking tea, she said,
“was a way to connect with loved ones in an old world way.
“Being
the closet romantic I am, I absolutely savored that moment and have
spent the last 18 years creating and enjoying tea moments as a result.”
Jen
took that love of tea international during her college years, while
traveling the globe with her sister-in-law. The pair always found a way
to have tea, and her sister-in-law dubbed them their “International Tea
Moments.”
By
then, Jen was hooked – but admits, like many of us tea drinkers, that
her favorite teas change almost every week. Right now she’s exploring
Russian Caravan teas and other Russian inspired blends. “My palate is
not yet loving the ultra-smokiness, though I’ve made some
breakthroughs,” Jen explains. “But I’ve been introduced to a black tea
blend, Russian-inspired, called Anastasia (thank you, American Tea
Room).” Jen calls this tea “strong, with a delicate floral infusion and a
whisper of smoke.” Check out her full review in An Anastasia Moment
here:
http://internationalteamoment.blogspot.com/2011/05/anastasia-moment.html.
Jen
said she also loves Chinese green teas, and recommends TeaSource’s
“amazing” House Green Tea Blend, plus Long Jing (dragonwell). In fact,
her current favorite post is about Dragonwell tea – thanks to
inspiration from her readers. Check it out here:
http://internationalteamoment.blogspot.com/2011/05/alls-wellthats-dragon-well-moment.html
She
didn’t just have a desire to enjoy good cups of tea, though. When she
became a mom in 2008, she said she was “ill-equipped…a fish out of
water.” Struggling to be a good mother to her daughter, Jen searched for
ways to grasp with the familiar to help keep her grounded.
International
Tea Moments, her blog, was born – on a whim, she said. She began
writing about the International Tea Moments she shared with her
sister-in-law years before, and then started expanding on other special
moments involving tea.
Once
she became more confident in her new role as “Mom,” Jen started to gain
confidence in learning more about the world of tea. She blogged about
her discoveries and, consequently, met a number of mentors who
introduced her to more amazing teas and varieties.
“I
love writing about tea with family and friends – reliving the fun
conversations, what we ate, the teas we each chose, and sharing why the
moment was so special,” Jen said, adding that because of many social
networking sites out there nowadays, we (and she includes herself) keep
putting off times to meet and share a pot of tea. “We have a diluted
sense of connection. I guess that makes each Tea Moment that much more
precious.”
Like
many of us, tea is still a great way to connect with friends and family
– and Jen agrees. “Tea is one of those friendly and accessible
traditions that can bring people together and also be a pleasant
companion in moments of solitude,” Jen said. “My view is there is no
wrong way to ‘do’ tea. If you drink tea, create and enjoy your tea
moments exactly as you like. That’s all that matters.”
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| A scrumptious spread for a Tea Moment; and I love the Fiestaware touches |
Name/screen name(s): Jen Piccotti/Tea Moment
Send her your own tea moments to be included in her blog!
