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Shui Tea
Chicago, IL
Tea crazed entrepreneur
Interests: travel, running, tea, sleeping, cooking, reading, underground hip hop
Recent Activity
Sorry, Lainie. I should have said that just because I hate the taste doesn't mean everyone does :) There are thousands, if not millions of people who drink it because they like the taste, not because of health claims.
This was more my reaction to the mountain of unsubstantiated health claims about kombucha. I want people to know the whole story. And any product can harm you... from chicken meat to soda pop.
The Truth Behind the Kombucha label
I coughed once and ended up drinking a mug of tea made of cicada skins. (That experience led to my Prime Directive for Living in Taiwan: Ask before consuming or don’t ask at all.) Similarly, but less disgusting, my grandma believed flat, warm coke cured most ailments. Myself? I treat everything...
Thanks Tatiana! You were drinking Ruby Black from Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan.
WTF is Rare Tea?
I like my steak medium-rare. I prefer rashes and mosquito bites to be rare occurrences. Back in the day, when you stole candy, your granddad could spank your bottom rare. It’s easy to use the word “rare” in concrete, meaningful ways. So then, WTF is rare tea? Step 1: Some teas are of “rare quali...
WTF is Rare Tea?
I like my steak medium-rare. I prefer rashes and mosquito bites to be rare occurrences. Back in the day, when you stole candy, your granddad could spank your bottom rare. It’s easy to use the word “rare” in concrete, meaningful ways. So then, WTF is rare tea? Step 1: Some teas are of “rare quality”. It’s not a mysterious thing: The tea trade has a grading scale. You can read about the Orange Pekoe scale, used in India and Sri Lanka, and focuses on leaf age and size, on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_pekoe The highest grade is FTGFOP, also known as “Far... Continue reading
Posted Jul 7, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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The Truth Behind the Kombucha label
I coughed once and ended up drinking a mug of tea made of cicada skins. (That experience led to my Prime Directive for Living in Taiwan: Ask before consuming or don’t ask at all.) Similarly, but less disgusting, my grandma believed flat, warm coke cured most ailments. Myself? I treat everything with ginger. We’re talking folk remedies, and that’s how Kombucha started. What is it, exactly? It’s vinegar made from tea instead of wine. Sweeten tea, add some bacteria and yeast (a mix known as a mother of vinegar), let it sit for 2 weeks and then you have kombucha.... Continue reading
Posted Jun 29, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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I can make bad wine taste even worse
Posted Jun 26, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Shui #2 & The Irregular Old Ladies of Naperville
Posted Jun 17, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Tea is Healthy Pt. 2: Tea Causes Cancer
I just saw a tea blend that a company is claiming to be blended specially for people going through chemotherapy. I get bloody pissed off when someone tries to use cancer to sell a product. It’s not an excuse for bad marketing, it’s an awful ploy that plays on some of our deepest fears. Almost everyone has been touched by cancer, myself included. There are far too many sad cancer stories out there; cancer is one of the leading causes of death in America. So, when I see tea companies market their green teas as a health food that can... Continue reading
Posted Jun 15, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Public Black Markets of Asia (and WTF, Fake Tea?)
Posted Jun 9, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Tea Kettles are Awful and Should Be Destroyed
Posted Jun 4, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Tea and Health, simplified
Posted May 28, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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How Much Water is In Your Mug?
I’m always eager to give a reason to drink more tea, and I found a great one: Water! Not the 6 ounces of hot beverage that are sitting on your desk, that’s nothing to the 42 liters* of water needed to grow and process and transport that tea. It sounds like a lot, but there are good things about the water used to grow tea. First, almost all tea plantations are in rainy areas. They don’t require irrigation, and don’t generally pollute groundwater. Coffee, on the other hand, is a different water story. Each cup of coffee requires 140 liters*... Continue reading
Posted May 20, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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A Treatise on Iced Tea
Posted May 18, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Why You Shouldn't Buy Tea from a Mall
Posted Apr 26, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Fair Trade: As Far As I Know, Tea Is Not Evil
Posted Apr 15, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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What Secrets Lie in the Puppy Notebook...
Posted Apr 9, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Teapots
Posted Apr 5, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Licking Plastic and Tea Bagging
Posted Mar 30, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Men Control your Tea
First off, if we haven’t met, I’m a white guy. I started Shui Tea without any regard for me being a guy, but I’ve been thinking recently about race, gender and privilege in business. (Really, this is what I think about on Sundays. Better than my March Madness bracket which was destroyed by Northern Iowa last night) There’s a subtle assumption that tea, especially specialty tea, is a feminine product. Check out www.manteas.com and this blog post from Chicago Now, both of which hammer that point home. I couldn’t disagree more, and here’s why: Teavana was founded by a man... Continue reading
Posted Mar 21, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Distractions
Posted Mar 16, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Take Back the Tea Party
Posted Feb 28, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Some like it Hot Contest
Posted Feb 9, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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No Good Coffee 'Round Here
Posted Feb 3, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Shoveling
Saturday, I woke up angry and grumpy. Everything seemed to frustrate me, and I put everything on a back burner to chill out. I wanted to blame everyone for everything, and then I wanted someone to pay for my dinner to cheer me up. It started when I slipped on a patch of ice on Friday morning while walking to the train. It sidewalk ice in the suburbs, in front of a very large new house that has nice imported cars. From what I can tell, they hire a service to clean their driveway, but haven't done anything for the... Continue reading
Posted Jan 25, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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Haiti
I've studied Haitian history, and I found it surprising and interesting. Haiti is located on the western third of the island of Hispaniola, one of Christopher Columbus' first European settlements in the New World. The eastern territory is the Dominican Republic; the island was split hundreds of years ago after a war between France and Spain. (The language barrier still exists). It is the second oldest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, with only the United States older by a few years. It broke away from France during the French revolutions in the late eighteenth century. It is the first... Continue reading
Posted Jan 14, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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What would happen if everyone cared?
What would happen if everyone cared? I'm pretty bad with resolutions, but I still like to stick to classic hopes of a better, more just world. If New Years Resolutions can increase happiness, justice, and well-being, then I'm all for it! So before I talk about how tea can make your 2010 better, I encourage you to do something altruistic for 2010... whether its increase charity donations, volunteer at a hospital, or becoming a better citizen, we all can do out part to make the world better. Now, if I could suggest a second resolution, "Be healthier" (or something similar)... Continue reading
Posted Jan 4, 2010 at Don't Be a Tea Bag
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