Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Here's Hawai'i | July/August 2003

Here's Hawai'i

Tea Cognoscenti

Nobody knows tea like Byron and Satomi Goo-at their tea "shop," The Tea Chest, they offer more than 100 varieties of tea and can describe the qualities of each

There is a kind of green tea that is hand-tied in chrysanthemum-shaped bundles that, when steeped just right, unfurl identically in every cup and resemble peonies or sea anemones. There is another kind of tea that is hand-rolled in caper-size orbs that blossom into spidery, phoenixlike tendrils when water-heated just so-is added. These are called Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls, says Byron Goo, created for the Chinese imperial court during the Sung Dynasty, A.D. 960-1279. These days, it is very much in vogue to "drink pearls."

Specialty teas, commonly known as whole-leaf tea, says Goo, are taking off like sushi after Shogun, bringing new levels of cultural richness to the culinary world. New health benefits of Camellia sinensis surface by the day to heat up the revolution. Exotic estate-grown teas from India, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan and Japan bring new elements of lineage, texture, body, acidity and integrity to a simple cup of tea.

"It has to do with the care and attention needed to preserve the integrity of the leaf," explains Goo, a tea connoisseur and owner, with his wife, Satomi, of The Tea Chest
(www.teachest.com). "We trace where the tea is grown, who the grower is, how it's made and where."

Cognoscenti like Goo know that tea is more than a beverage. It is lifestyle and art, accompanied by specific protocols of preparation and drinking, such as prescribing special pots for brewing certain teas and specifically shaped cups for drinking them.

Tea esoterica is vast. The leaves of Camellia sinensis become green, black, oolong or white, depending on how they're processed. While green tea is popular now, Goo predicts that oolong and white, a type high in antioxidants due to the silvery white down on the young tea leaf, will soon be making waves in the epicurean world.

The Tea Chest carries more than 100 different teas that are imported or specially blended. Although they recently closed their tea bar in downtown Honolulu, the Goos operate out of their warehouse in Iwilei, on their Web site, and at events like the annual Made in Hawai'i Festival, held this year at the Blaisdell Center Aug. 15 through 17. Restaurants such as Alan Wong's Pineapple Room, where we met over steaming cups of Dragon Phoenix Pearls and luxurious Huiming, carry custom blends made by the Goos.

Huiming is one of the Goos' stellar Chinese teas, named after a temple located halfway up Mount Cuimu in southern Zhejiang province. Its value ($30 to $40 for 3 ounces!) is based not only on flavor, lineage and demand, but also on fine points such as the artistry of the chef as he rolls the leaves by hand. "It's like putting the leaves into a wok and hand-pressing them, with distinctive movements in the rolling," Goo explained. "And then to get the leaf to unfurl in a certain way-it's an art." Sure enough, as he spoke, the Huiming leaves unfolded into delicate three-leaved compositions that danced in the cup and released a heavenly aroma.

"They were drinking tea in Hunan Province 4,000 years ago," said Goo. "It was an aboriginal practice served in a three-course process. First was a bitter cup of tea to recognize the hardship in your life, the pains of growing up. Second was a sweet tea, to recognize your productive years, when you're on top of the world. And third was for enlightened consciousness, with a lingering aftertaste of fruit and flowers. This reflects upon the memories you have in your twilight years, of all the good things that have happened in your life."

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