The TeaGRAM

Today on the occasion of International Tea Day, I speak with Melbourne resident and history buff, Leon Lyell. Leon is a retired university administrator, a part-time family historian/blogger and a full-time history student enrolled in a Masters of Philosophy.  Leon's mum was born in one of the oldest tea plantations in Darjeeling. He shares his mum's story about growing up in India, his travels to her place of birth and schooling, how his forefathers were pioneering the tea industry in Darjeeling and how he maintains his connections today with the tea fraternity, through an online forum called Koi-Hai. An apt episode to commemorate International Tea Day, which is about celebrating the many people involved in the tea industry the world over.

Muskan is the Head of Operations at the Tea Studio in the Nilgiris, in South India. She is taking over the baton from her father, Indi, and setting the bar higher single-mindedly in a male-dominated industry. Muskan produces 16 bespoke teas, all made to order, and with her all-women team at the Tea Studio. Muskan has won many awards through her work at the Tea Studio, and in 2019, Muskan was named Woman Innovator of the Year in the Indian Business Women Awards. She continues to experiment with new teas, with the help of her band of women and produces some fine speciality teas. Listen to her story in this episode of the TeaGRAM.

Indi Khanna is a 45 year veteran of the Indian tea industry and is the founder of the Tea Studio, based in the Nilgiris, in South India. Having spent time in all the tea growing regions of the Indian Subcontinent, Indi has quite a knack for storytelling and is passionate about tea re-emerging as a premium product, driven by good quality whole-leaf teas. He says "the more people see better teas the more we'll have people turning towards better teas."

Adeline Teoh, our next guest is a Sydneysider. A writer by day and a tea connoisseur, Adeline writes about tea amongst many other eclectic topics. Today we discuss her passion for all things tea, the Australian tea scene and what it is to be a tea drinker in a multicultural Australia of the 21st century.

Cheryl Teo, our next guest, is a Melbourne local and is a certified tea sommelier. Cheryl is the founder of Flag & Spear, which offers tea workshops and tea education. We chat with Cheryl in this episode about her meaning of a "tea hunter", what she has experienced while doing her word in tea pairing, tea education and training, as well as her advice on how to enjoy loose leaf tea from China and India.

In our 3rd episode of the TeaGRAM, we speak with Michael Zaborowski of Seattle, in the USA. We first met Michael at the World Tea Expo a few years back. He was then, a brand ambassador and operations manager in the tea industry, in Seattle.  Michael has a major in history, he has toured China extensively, and we have enjoyed his company at our Aideobarie and Rangajan tea estates in Assam. He loves how tea brings people together and shares his knowledge on how to bring the end consumer closer to the tea producers. Listen in for some fascinating tea insights over a cuppa.

In Episode 2, we speak with Daniela Titiun, who is a certified Tea Sommelier by the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada and a blogger at Tea Cachai. She's lived in 5 different countries and has a background in Business and Fashion. Her love for tea has inspired her to share this passion with others through her blog and social media and she focuses on creating recipes using tea as an ingredient.

I am joined by Raj in a no-holds-barred chat, where he talks about the commodification of the Assam tea industry, and why and how he has responded.  Come join us and listen in to, what we hope, will be an interesting twenty minutes. Just enough time to brew your favourite cup of tea and enjoy this podcast.

What’s better than a great a cup of tea?! Maybe a tête-à-tête with a friend over a cuppa! Rujani Tea brings to you The TeaGRAM podcast - a chat about all things tea, including tea legends, recipes, stories, and tea secrets from near and far. Folks from the tea world are well read, well travelled and amongst the most interesting, we think. So we decided to do this series with tea friends from around the world. Every episode of the TeaGRAM pod features a guest who's definitely a tea lover, maybe an old tea planter, a blogger, a sommelier, a retailer or even someone who's tasted more teas than we can count! What this means for you, our listeners, is new perspectives, of course, but hopefully a greater appreciation of that cuppa. So put the kettle on and join us, and don’t forget to subscribe to The TeaGRAM.