Tea Culture - Welcome to Tea Culture

Welcome to Tea Culture!  This is a group for people who are passionate about tea.  This includes professionals and experts in the field as well as novices who want to learn more about tea and its many uses and benefits.  Everything on this group will be about regular tea (Camellia sinensis): white, green, oolong, black, pu'er, scented and more.  Herbal tea discussions will not be conducted here unless there is a direct relevance to regular tea.

The discussions will be moderated.  I suggest that you participate by publishing in the "article" format rather than "comments" because it is difficult to keep track of comments on Gather.com.

Published articles will be open to viewing to the general public, including people who are not members of Tea Culture.  Any articles submitted for publication on the group will be read and approved before they are posted.  All articles will need to follow the Gather.com ettiquette rules and be relevant to Tea Culture.

Below are my thoughts, in no particular order, on what I want cover on the group but other topics and questions are certainly welcome as long as they directly relate to regular tea: 

* We will share our knowledge of printed, web-based, personal communication and other resources on tea in this group.

* We will discuss the different types of teas and their preparation.  Questions are welcome.

* Our interest, experience and knowledge of different teahouses, tea ceremonies and tea traditions will be discussed.

* The health benefits of tea and the research on this topic will be discussed.

*Ways to incorporate tea into our daily lives in our food, cosmetics and crafts will be presented.

* Places to buy tea or tea service accessories will be announced and/or reviewed. The form and function of tea-related equipment and accessories will be described.

* The growth, harvesting and processing of tea will be explained.

* This is a place to share images and stories that involve tea in the central theme.

*Other Camellia species may occasionally be discussed, for example, Camellia oil for cooking or other uses but general discussions on the ornamental Camellias should be done elsewhere. 

Thanks for participating,

Dianna