Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/716988
20 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2016 (August/September) On July 16 he re-opened the refurbished store. It is elegant and down-to-earth, and has an old-world ambiance that creates a welcome place of calm for visitors. Furnishings include beautifully carved wooden screens, traditional tables and chairs, and shelves decked with porcelain tea wares and a full range of high quality speciality teas. The word 'Lock' means happiness, enjoyment and fortune, and the spirit of the place isn't so much about tea perfection but about creating a harmony of essentials such as tea philosophy, tea rituals, tea drinking, peace, and ease of communication. Lock Cha Tea Shop sells teas sourced directly from tea farmers. The concept of unblended, pure, single-har- vest, estate teas has gained favor with customers since the store opened in 1991. Chinese music is performed on Saturdays and Sundays, and the tearoom is listed by American Express Essentials in its guide: World's Best Vegetarian Restaurants. could practice their recipes and skills. The winners, after six rounds and a final brew-off, were Philip Blake of Waterloo Tea in first place, Andrew Tolley of Taylor Street Baristas, in second, and Will Pitts of Origin Coffee in third. Sponsors of the event included Waterloo Tea, Canton Tea Company, Postcard Teas, Suki Tea, Rishi Tea, Good & Proper Tea, Solaris, Marco Beverage Systems, Hario, and BWT (Best Water Technology). See complete list of winners: waterlootea.com European Tea Society Following a presentation to the winners of the World Tea Brewer's Cup in Dublin, the UK Tea Academy an- nounced plans to establish and launch the European Tea Society, which will be a not-for profit organization open to anyone interested or involved in tea. The aim is to create a forum and focus for events, competitions, and the dissemina- tion of information and passion for specialty tea. Discussions are currently underway to decide structure, member- ship, aims and objectives, funding, formation of a committee, etc. Learn more: info@ukteaacademy.co.uk JAPAN Hongyi Academy's Kyoto Tour Until recently, the study of tea in China has focused on specific tea producing regions within the country. But there is now a new trend to study the tea cultures of other countries. And so in August, Hongyi Academy, the Private Life Esthetics Training Department at the Yunnan Hongruijunyi Culture Industry Investment Co., Ltd., is organizing a nine-day Tea Aesthetics Study Tour to Kyoto, Japan. The tour sold out very quickly. Kyoto has an ancient tea history and is the ideal place to experience and study three classical Japanese arts of refine- ment - Koudo (the art of appreciating Japanese incense), Ikebana (arranging flowers), and the Tea Ceremony and Zen Buddhism. Hongyi Tea Aesthetics, China's leading on-line life Aesthetics Service platform, and Hongyi Academy, both of which are located in Kunming, Yunnan, are dedicated to the promotion of traditional Chinese culture to the world. But, said the organizer from Hongyi, "We'd like to explore the world's diverse tea culture and learn from them." IRELAND World Tea Brewers Cup After the success of the UK Tea Brewers Cup in 2015, organized in Cardiff by Kas Ali of Waterloo Tea, the first ever World Tea Brewers Cup was held in Dublin as part of the World of Coffee in June 2016. Organized again by Kas Ali with the UK Tea Academy the contest attracted 17 participants from the UK, the US, and Holland. Each was challenged with brewing three teas (not seen prior to the competition) inside 45 minutes. The judges, Jennifer Wood of Canton Tea, Tim d'Offay of Postcard Teas and Kas Ali of Waterloo Tea, tasted all the teas blind, basing their decisions on the appearance, aroma, flavor, tactile qualities, and harmony. Three finalists went through to Day 2 and had to brew six teas that they had been given the evening before - so they Tea Brewers Cup winners in Dublin Chinese tea students visit Kyoto NGOs introduce digital payment system RWANDA Digital Pay for Tea Farmers Internet provider Tigo Rwanda has partnered with credit cooperatives (SACCOs), Access to Finance Rwanda (AFR), the Wood Foundation, and the TradeMark East Africa Challenge (TRAC) Fund to offer a digital payment program to pay tea farmers. More than 10,000 farmers at the Mulindi Tea Factory in Gicumbi and at the Shagasha Tea Factory in Rusizi District will now be able to collect their pay via their phones. Payments to tea farmers have traditionally been very slow but now, once the crop they have harvested has been weighed, it will take only 15 to 20 days for the money to reach them. This will make farmers' lives easier and more efficient since they will no longer have to actually go to the credit cooperatives to collect their money and will be able to concentrate more on their tea cultivation activities. Tigo's longer