Kevin Gascoyne on Darjeelings, Fair trade and the Future of Tea

Talking Tea

We’re back in Montreal this week on Talking Tea chatting with Kevin Gascoyne of Montreal’s famed Camellia Sinensis Tea House.

Kevin, a co-owner of Camellia Sinensis, is known around the world as a prominent tea taster, educator and author. We talk with Kevin about his passion for Darjeeling teas, how classically grown Darjeelings compare with newer clonal teas, and current trends in tea processing. Kevin also discusses fair trade and labor conditions at tea gardens in India and elsewhere, and shares his perspectives on the future of tea’s popularity and growth, both in North America and worldwide. And, as an added bonus, we chat with Kevin about Camellia Sinensis’ groundbreaking studies on caffeine and anti-oxidants in tea.

More info on Camellia Sinensis, including its online store, shop hours, blog and upcoming seminars and events, can be found on its website, http://camellia-sinensis.com, and also on its Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Among Kevin Gascoyne’s many publications are two acclaimed books he co-authored with his partners at Camellia Sinensis: Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties (the original French version is Thé: Histoire, Terroirs, Saveurs) and Green Tea: A Quest For Fresh Leaf and Timeclass Craft (in French Thé Vert: A La Rencontre D’Un Art Millénaire). Both are available on the Camellia Sinensis website.

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Talking Tea is produced and hosted by Ken Cohen. You can follow Ken on Twitter @Kensvoiceken.

This podcast features music from "Japanese Flowers" (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii/japanese-flowers) by mpgiiiBEATS (https://soundcloud.com/mpgiii) available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Adapted from original.

Photo courtesy of Camellia Sinensis Tea House.