Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491356
20 STiR tea & coffee industry international tea. Gaba teas are specially processed to increase their level of GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid), an amino acid that occurs naturally in the human body and thought to reduce blood pressure, help burn fat, eliminate cellulite, improve energy levels, skin elasticity, memory, bone mass, endurance, mental alertness, etc. Email: riverho2001@gmail.com CANADA Tea Council Conference The Tea Council of Canada has opened registration for the 5th Annual North American Tea Conference, to take place Sept. 16-18 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The Tea Council has also recently made its Tea Sommelier education program available online. The online courses cover the same ground included in courses offered in adult education colleges across the country and involve videos, weekly online session with the instructor, student online chat sessions, cupping of teas sent out in advance by course organisers, and a certification examination. Lear more: www.tea.ca AUSTRALIA Williames Mechanical Harvesters Geoff Williames reports that reliability trials on the Williames Mechanical Tea Harvester have been successfully completed and the machines are now available commercially. They are currently being demonstrated in Assam, Malawi, and Southern India and will shortly be on show in Kenya. Industry leaders, who have seen the machines selectively pluck on the tea estates, repeatedly tell Williames that the entire tea industry will be using the selec- tive pluckers within the next 10 years. Says Williames, "We have moved forwards with a very user-friendly, two-man, selective plucker and have also launched a new, unique, self-leveling tool carrier fitted with a 1500 mm wide selective plucker for Assam (6 foot track spacing), and a 2000mm wide selective plucker for Kenya (8 ft track spacing)." Learn more: http://www.williames. com or email: geoffwill@bigpond.com each a champion of their own region." Snow Orchid, a winter Phoenix dan- cong, has a very sweet floral fragrance and a round complex body of velvety tactility; and from Taiwan, Eternal Spring is a greener oolong with an archetypical bouquet and a soft sweet body. Kwan also sells authentic Dong- ding Classic, and two EU certified organic teas - a lightly toasted Paochong and Upekkha Spring, a special green tea made from a wulong cultivar. Learn more: www.teahong.com FAO United Nations Tea Heritage The United Nations Food and Agricul- ture Organisation (FAO) is closely involved with tea. The FAO manages the registration of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) which was created in 2002 to support traditional small scale farms. By mid 2013, 25 such GIAHS were listed including two specifically focused on tea. One, listed in 2012 in Puerh county, Yunnan province, China, protects the traditional tea agro system of ancient Puerh tea tree cultivation; and in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka, Japan, the Chagusaba system, listed in 2013, where the grasslands surrounding the tea fields protect, mulch and nourish the tea bushes. The 21st plenary session of the FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea is expected to be convened by Indonesia in October/November 2014. BELGIUM Rare Teas in Brussels Following the increase of interest in specialty loose leaf teas in Europe, Source de Lumière tea shop has recently opened in Brussels. Focusing on health and well-being, the store is owned by Chinese tea lover Jing He who believes in tea's spiritual powers and its natural ability to calm both body and mind. The rare, high altitude and other unusual teas offered include Jomolangma (Mount Everest), a 'sacred' tea from Tibet cultivated at 2250 meters, raw puerh teas dating back to the 1920s, a black tea dating back to 1820, a Wuyi Rock Oolong from 1960, a 35-year-old Taiwanese Oriental Beauty, a 1960s Dragon Pearl tea, and GABA oolong CHINA Hong Kong Winter Oolongs Leo Kwan of Tea Hong has just added two winter oolongs to his tea offering. "Winter oolongs have the most seduc- tive natural fragrance," said Kwan. "We have selected two extraordinary batches, FAO listed GIAHS, Yunnan, China Eternal Spring oolong Tea Report Jane Pettigrew