Jan Subchartanan, Bangkok, Thailand

Hotel management graduate, Jan Subchartanan, took a strong interest in tea while pursuing her degree. While tea was always part of the daily rituals of her family life, it took on another dimension after learning about afternoon tea at school. Subchartanan pursued the TAC Tea Sommelier certification to complement her studies and expand her personal knowledge on the subject. However, today she finds herself hunting for the right tea to import via a Thai import/export company she works for. “Even though I have not pursued a career in tea industry, I enjoy and appreciate every sip of tea I take and had fun learning about it” shares Jan.

Q+A with Jan Subchartanan

What is your earliest memory of tea?   Since I was young, tea was a part of my daily life. I watched my grandparents and relatives drink tea as well as serving tea to guests who visited.

Favourite TAC Tea Sommelier module? Tea 107: Menu Design, Food Pairing Cooking with Tea. I was amazed how one item can change the flavour of a food item and make both things taste even better.

If you could drink two teas what would you drink? Oolong and green tea

Where in the world has tea played a role in your travels? I do quite a bit of travelling and no matter where I go, I always make a point of visiting at least one cafe to try their tea. I really enjoyed afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria (Canada) and at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto, Canada. The Peace Oriental Tea House and the Drawing Room at the St. Regis Hotel in Bangkok also have great teas.

What is next for you? I am looking for a tea brand to import into Thailand.

Have you always worked in the tea industry? No, I did not. I used to work in a hotel industry. Currently, I am working in an import-export industry as a member of a management team. Tea is always an item I would like to add to our product line.

In what capacity are you currently working in the tea industry? I am working to bridge the tea industry and my current work.

There are so many different elements that affect the flavours of tea – soil, sunlight, precipitation, temperature, altitude.  These elements are what we refer to as ‘terroir’ – borrowed from the world of wine: “the characteristic taste and flavour imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced”.

I can’t say that any one of these elements are more important than the others, but I thought I would take a moment to explain the affect of one of these elements – one that I think makes tea leaves a lot like people: altitude.

The higher the altitude the tea is grown at, the more complex the flavours become. When we are at high altitudes, as I discovered on my trip to Darjeeling, we struggle as well.  Our breathing is shallower and we tend to slow down. The tea leaf reacts in very much the same way – it’s growth slows down and it struggles. That struggle is what produces complexity and interest. Much like us. Each and every one of us has our own story. We struggle, we go on and we survive. And we all come out the other end more interesting than when we went in.

Remember that the next time you sit with a cup of tea. Think of the struggle that leaf went through to produce the delicious flavours in your cup. And when you do that, think of the person who has tested your patience, driven you mad, and provoked your anger today. And then remember that they have a story, a complex story with struggles…you just don’t know their story.

Jennifer Commins, Toronto, Canada {Pluck Tea}

TAC Tea Sommelier, Jennifer Commins, can’t remember a time in her life when she didn’t love tea. After a career selling furniture, Jennifer shifted gears into the tea industry and today is at the helm of a growing specialty tea company in Toronto. “This certification was critical to my success in the industry” states Commins.  “Learning to evaluate teas properly, and to understand the subtle nuances that can be coaxed from each terroir and processing style are skills I use daily in my interactions with suppliers and customers.”  With over 40 teas in her product line, Jennifer designs tea offerings to suit restaurant client menus and is committed to working with local, Canadian grown and sourced ingredients for her tea.

Q+A with Jennifer Commins

What is your earliest memory of tea? I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love tea. My dad grew up in the UK, and tea was part of our house.  At age 9, he taught me how to make a ‘proper’ cup of tea: Preheating the cups and pot, using his favourite brand, waiting five minutes, then adding milk to adjust the colour of the tea to his perfect Pantone beige.  If anything ever happened in the family, the first thing to do was boil the kettle for tea.  I learned early that there was no situation in life that a cup of tea could not improve.  I grew up with the knowledge that there were some people in the family who ‘could not be trusted’ to make tea, such as an aunt who would save her soggy used teabags on the edge of the sink.

Favourite TAC Tea Sommelier module? I really enjoyed the sustainability aspect of the education in Tea 105 From Bush to Cup.  Debating the merits of the various tea certification bodies that are competing to be the ‘gold standard’ was fascinating, and sometimes quite troubling.  This module taught me to ask good questions to my suppliers, and to make informed decisions in terms of what I deem ’sustainable’.  The tastings were always a joy – and the day we created our own ‘English Breakfast’ blend was a highlight.

If you could drink two teas what would you drink? A fine lightly oxidized Taiwanese Oolong, and Pluck’s CTRL+ALT+DEL blend.  (Lemon and ginger notes, perfect pre-bedtime)

Where in the world has tea played a role in your travels? In 2012 I visited South Africa where the highlight was watching a herd of wild elephants while drinking a fresh mug of rooibos tea on safari. A close second would be waking up in a tent in Peru and being handed a hot cup of coca leaf tea on a frosty morning en route to Machu Picchu.

What is next for you? As Pluck Tea grows, so too will our commitment to sourcing Canadian ingredients. I am currently looking at planting several more acres of mint in Ontario this spring, procuring ingredients from new aboriginal partners, and creating innovative new blends.

Have you always worked in the tea industry? Before Pluck I sold office furniture.  Becoming a Tea Sommelier was the obvious next step.

In what capacity are you currently working in the tea industry? I am the CEO of an emerging specialty tea company called Pluck Tea in Toronto.  We hand blend over 40 varieties with locally grown and sourced ingredients, and serve restaurants primarily.

What role did the TAC certification play in your career?  This certification was critical to my success in the industry.  Learning to evaluate teas properly, and to understand the subtle nuances that can be coaxed from each terroir and processing style are skills I use daily in my interactions with suppliers and customers alike.  The industry was foreign to me when I started out, and the TAC certification helped me build a road map to success and quickly build rapport with my new colleagues.

What are some of the highlights and challenges presented with working in the tea industry today? Working with tea allows for endless creativity, and I love working alongside our restaurant clients to help them design their tea offering to suit their unique and varied menus.  However, tea remains an afterthought for the vast majority of potential foodservice customers out there.  This in my view is a missed opportunity for restaurants to delight their customers at the end of the meal – right before they decide whether they are coming back, how much to tip, and if they are going to have dessert.  Good tea is good business.

What current trends in the tea industry excite you the most? The opportunities that the specialty tea industry has opened up for the tea world as a whole are really thrilling.  People are excited about trying new teas all the time, and are willing to pay a fair price.  This means that companies such as mine are able to source ethical and sustainably produced teas and pay farmers a fair price for that tea.  Driving the cost per cup a few cents northward is the best thing that can be done for the quality of life of people working on the tea estates.  Also, the integration of tea and food, whether by pairing or by adding tea to foods or mixed drinks as an ingredient is really exciting.