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player ready...In 1994, Dan Robertson visited China to produce a documentary, “For All the Tea in China.” He came home with a new appreciation for tea. So Robertson started The Tea House, a Naperville tea-importing firm (630-961-0877) that helps the public get a “degree in tea” via tastings, tours, seminars, in-home tea parties and mail-order sales.
“From its history, its cultivation and processing methods, to the ceremonies surrounding the way in which it is served, everything about this delicious beverage is fascinating and definitely worth studying,” Robertson said.
To that end, he led his first China Tea Tour in 1995. He has also published a 16-page guide, which he includes with orders. The guide starts with the three basic types-black, green and oolong-and ventures beyond to other varieties, among them herbal and fruit teas (called tisanes-which don’t have tea leaves) and medicinal teas. Robertson carries 90 kinds of tea; prices range from 60 cents per ounce (for gunpowder) to $15 per ounce (Dragon Well qing ming, a green tea).
He’s planning his next China Tea Tour from April 19 to May 6, 1998, with visits to 10 tea-growing areas. Price is $3,900 including airfare.
“Our itinerary includes the Lao She tea house, the International Tea Culture Festival, a symposium at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital, a tea practicum at Zhe Jiang Agriculture University and other tea-related stops,” said Robertson, whose plans also call for opening an international tea house in Naperville.