teakkurim

  as i wrote in a previous post , i contacted white2tea about an issue i had with their artwork. i did not hear back. i wrote a more formal letter and sent it to their website and instagram. i still haven’t heard back.   this is bothering more than i wish it did.   here is the letter i wrote:   i would like to ask you to change the art you choose to use for your censer white tea cakes.   as a jew, and a kohen at that, i think it is not fitting to have a picture of a kohen gadol (a jewish high priest) on a product that has nothing to do with the jewish faith or culture. additionally, it is upsetting that the artwork you chose is done by a non-jew.   as a company who talks about being dedicated to social justice issues, i think it would be good to choose different art for your future censer tea cakes. if you want to be extra cool, i suggest also putting a footnote on the pages for your current censer cakes saying that you will be changing the art and the reas...

23 shvat 5781   i love dan congs. i also love puers, but they are mostly a weekend tea for me, ones where i can commit to a good period of sitting with and enjoying the tea hopefully for many many steeps.   one of the reasons i love dan congs is because they can be finicky. i enjoy the challenge of trying to get the perfect brew each time; not too bitter but still containing the different layers of flavor. i also love pouring them because the leaves do so well in the gaiwan. the flavor profiles are also ones i love. im a fruit. i like fruity flavors.   i was excited to find One River Tea Cooperative on the internet. they focus on dan congs, they are a cooperative, one of the people who runs the business went to school in the town im living in, their packaging is cute, and their prices are good. most of all, they have a very affordable sampler pack (i love being able to try many things).   i will cut to the chase incase you don’t want to read this whole post. i was di...

  25 tevet 5781 i bought some things from white2tea recently. people online like them so i felt i should give it a try. their prices seem pretty high and their design style looks like they are marketed for a boujee-er audience. but i wanted to check out the cheaper end of their catalogue and see if their more affordable options were still decent. i bought some 2020 sheng and some dan congs.   after my purchase i came across an unsettling eye sore. a white tea cake with a picture of a kohen gadol, a jewish high priest. what?! not only that, but the kohen gadol looks like it was drawn by a someone who is a New Age Esotericist illustrating a Tarot card after reading a book about “Q”abbalah.   why is this on a tea cake? what does a kohen gadol have to do with this white2tea cake from Yunnan? did they ask anyone jewish whom they know? i very much doubt it was picked or processed by a jew. i also doubt that it was given a heksher.    the cake is named “Censer” for the...