When was your first cup of tea?
I remember it quite distinctly -- I was nine years old and a girlfriend of mine hosted her birthday gathering at a quaint English-style tea parlor called Rose Tree Cottage. I added a generous amount of milk and sugar to a porcelain cup of English Breakfast and delighted in the taste. I had tasted coffee before and found it both bitter and aggravating to my stomach. The tea, on the other hand, was mild yet full-bodied. I loved it!

Where does tea come from?
Tea comes from a wide array of places; China and India produce most of the world's tea. However, great tea also comes from Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Cameroon, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Mate comes from South America, and Rooibos comes from South Africa.

What is a Tea Master?
A Tea Master is a person certified by the American Tea Masters Association, with specialized knowledge of all aspects of tea drinking, including the cultivation, preparation, history and culinary uses of tea. During my training, I learned to identify teas by their smell, taste, and leaf quality. I also learned to come up with my own blends, such as my Irish Breakfast blend and my special Chocolate Ginger Chai blend.

What are some of the key health benefits associated with teas?
Several studies suggest that the antioxidant polyphenols present in black, green, and white tea have anti-cancer properties, thus reducing the risk of stomach, esophageal and skin cancers if one drinks four to six cups per day. Other studies have shown that drinking tea can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, while raising HDL (good) cholesterol, and reduce the risk of heart disease. Really, I could go on and on. New evidence also supports the claim that green and oolong teas help promote weight loss. Then, of course, there is rooibos, a type of red tea from South Africa. Technically, one could argue that rooibos is not really tea given that it does not come from the camillia sinensis plant. However, I'll count it as a tea for the purposes of this question. Rooibos is said to calm the nervous system and aid digestion. It contains nutrients such as zinc, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, and copper.

What is your favorite variety of tea? Why?
That is a very difficult question as I love so many kinds of tea. I tend to go through phases where I drink a lot of a particular kind of tea. During the autumn and winter of this past year, I drank a good deal of chai made the traditional Indian way that is, steeped in more milk than water (although I prefer to use almond milk in my tea). These days, I am drinking a lot of jasmine green tea. My partner and I bought nearly 100 pounds of the stuff from the Jiangsu province in China the last time we were there and I absolutely love it. Thankfully, other people share my obsession and it has become one of our best sellers.

What is your least favorite variety of tea?
I am not a big fan of black teas that taste especially bitter or astringent.

What do you like to drink besides tea?
Apart from water, I drink a lot of coconut water and cucumber juice. I have a very active lifestyle and thus, staying hydrated is important. Both cucumber juice and coconut water help replenish my electrolytes and keep me feeling fresh and cool.

What do you like to eat with a cup of tea?
What I like to eat depends on what kind of tea I am drinking. I love to eat sushi with a nice cup of toasty oolong. If I'm feeling especially decadent, I'll eat a vanilla French macaron with a cup of apricot lavender tea. For other ideas, you can see my answers to question nine.

What are some great flavor combinations for teas and complementary foods?
The smokiness of Lapsang Souchong pairs beautifully with fish and I especially love it with a smoked salmon tea sandwich. A Second Flush Darjeeling from the Soom Estate pairs beautifully with dark chocolate and raspberries; I love to enjoy it with scones and raspberry preserves or a dark chocolate raspberry truffle. Earl Grey, a bergamot flavored black tea, is a lovely tea to enjoy with rich, creamy desserts such as crème brûlé. Jasmine green tea pairs well with mild finger sandwiches such as cucumber and watercress and also with white chocolate.

What is your best tip for a tea enthusiast?
Don't get stuck in a rut with your tea drinking. Try different blends, flavors, and grades of tea. Research how other cultures prepare tea and play with another method of brewing this amazing drink. In India, for example, most households boil their tea in a combination of milk and water and then add a generous amount of sweetener. In China, one would never add milk to tea and might even allow the leaves to sit in the cup while drinking from it.