Teacal Fall 2011

Final Projects in the Teacal

We had our final Teacal class of the semester!  The final project was an open-ended reflection and creative interpretation of the class on the whole.  We had a myriad of projects that ranged from artistic to culinary to scientific.

Several people made treats for the class to share: We had Jonathan's Chai Butter Cookies, Jeanette's Chai Cookies, Hayley's Green Tea Cookies with Green Tea Syrup, Elyse's Green Tea Shortbread, Wilson's Jasmine Green Tea Cookies and Torrin's Lemon Chamomile Shortbread as well as her Chai Gingerbread Bars.  Amazing!  Richard made us some Milk Tea with Green Tea, mint, lime zest, and honey to gulp down with the baked goods.  Also, Tianhui brought us Chinese herbs to taste.

Chris, who's into bar tending, made a Green Tea reduction syrup to mix into drinks, like a Daqiuri.

Chris' Green Tea leaves from his syrup.

Duncan made a composition about the experience of drinking tea.  He made it for a woodwind quintet, I believe, and acted it out for the class.

Duncan during his music performance

James, who is an MCB major, did a presentation on the molecular structures of caffeine and other compounds in tea!

Grace crocheted a Tea Cozy for a Gaiwan!

Theresa and her Tea Tree, made with real tea leaves. Shaina, Natalie, Andrew, and Erin also did artistic renderings of tea in collage, sketch, and scrapbook form. 

Other projects included Jessica's Genmaicha powerpoint presentation, Aaron and Frank's poems, and Anna's papermache teacup! 

Thanks, Teacal, for a wonderful class!

Shout out to Numi Tea

Numi Tea, based in Oakland, California, provided us with some great tea choices in the Teacal this semester.  My fellow Berkeley students and I were really excited to taste them.  We tasted a White Bai Mu Dan, a classically delicious Green Dragonwell, and Numi's Aged Earl Grey Tea, among others.

Numi also gave us some of their Flowering Teas.  They are intricately hand-tied tea leaves that open up into a beautiful flower bouquet when steeped.  The class enjoyed observing these when we tasted one during Black Tea week!

Thanks Numi!