meet Jess
When Jess was 19 years old, she was fortunate enough to be able to take a trip to China. While in Jinan (a smaller city four hours, by train, outside of Beijing) she and her friends attended a private tea ceremony, where she was fully introduced to the importance of tea and its myriad complexities.
In short, her eyes were opened to tea.
When she returned to the United States, she began slowly building a collection of tea. She started out with teabags, but quickly switched to loose leaf after picking up some Mutan White tea and a metal mesh ball infuser at a local Chinese supermarket.
It wasn’t until she met Derek, though, that things started to get really serious. She learned about proper brewing techniques — such as brewing time and temperature — and began to taste just how great a cup of tea could be.
Jess’s favorite teas are oolongs and flavored whites and greens, mostly with floral or fruit flavors. Her current top pick is Teavana’s Six Summits Oolong. She also enjoys the occasional cup of a flavored black tea, but she tends to stay away from rooibos, honeybush, pu erh and anything coconut or vanilla flavored.