BRUCE RICHARDSON INTERVIEW
Family: Shelley (wife) and Ben (son)
Title: Owner of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and Benjamin Press
Newest books: “Tea & Etiquette” (Benjamin Press June 2009) and “The New Tea Companion: A Guide to the World’s Great Teas” (National Trust of England, April, 2008)
How did you get started in the tea business?
Elmwood Inn had been a well-known regional restaurant until it closed in 1989. Shelley and I restored Elmwood in 1990 as our home with a couple of bed and breakfast suites. We loved to drink tea so we decided to include a small tea room where area guests could continue to enjoy the historic mansion. The tea room quickly became popular as America’s tea renaissance began. We closed the B & B in 1995 to make room for more seating and to expand our gift shop areas. We wrote our first tea book, “A Year of Teas at the Elmwood Inn” in 1994 and began importing, blending and packaging tea under the name Elmwood Inn Fine Teas.
How many years did you have the tea room?
We opened the tea room in 1990 with 20 seats. By the time we closed the tea room in 2004, we were able to seat 46 people in three rooms. Guests came from all over the country to enjoy our four-course afternoon teas. We had 500 people on the waiting list the last month we were open. We had to close the food service to concentrate on our tea and publishing businesses.
Proper title of the company now?
Elmwood Inn Fine Teas, our publishing division is Benjamin Press
Explain the business now. I know its wholesale, but what else is involved?
Our business has three main facets: teas, books and education. Elmwood inn Fine Teas is Kentucky’s only tea importer and blender. We supply bulk and packaged teas to tea rooms and gourmet stores in every state. We import teas directly from gardens in India, China, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Some teas are then blended or flavored before packaging.
Many of our teas are single-estate teas. These select teas are chosen for their unique taste – much like single barrel bourbons. Many of the Darjeeling teas I buy were picked and processed in one day on one estate in the foothills of the Himalayas. The samples come to me by air courier and I select the teas I want for my customers. The wooden chests of tea arrive by air into our Perryville warehouse within five days.
Benjamin Press was started several years ago when we began writing the first of our six books on tea. The editorial and production offices for the publishing company have just moved into Elmwood Inn. We write, photograph and design our books in Perryville. They are printed in either Hong Kong or Manitoba. We have six new books in production.
We host professional tea seminars for aspiring tea entrepreneurs. Our TEA 101 weekends have drawn over 250 students from across the United States and Canada.
When you research tea rooms around the world, what are you looking for?
I like tea rooms that pay attention to tea. I can’t tell you how many tea rooms don’t know how to make good tea – both in Britain and the United States. I don’t linger if the staff can’t make a proper cup of loose tea and a real scone. That’s my first test. Second, I look for a tea room that has personality. This is often brought about by the shop owner. I meet hundreds of tea room owners each year. Most have a fascinating story and a great love for what they do. If the tea room doesn’t leave a memory, then I don’t want to write about it.
When you travel to research teas, how do you choose a destination? What are you looking for?
Shelley and I once toured the home of artist Georgia O’Keefe, outside of Santa Fe, NM. In her pantry were two mason jars. One was labeled “Tea;” the other said “Good Tea.” The enlightening moment for any true tea lover is when they realize that, in the world of specialty teas, there are “teas” and there are “good teas.” I decided long ago that I would devote my life to searching out those “good teas” that are waiting to be discovered. At the Indian tea auctions, I’ve watched the buyers for Lipton and Tetley buy thousands of tons of the cheapest tea offered for their tea bags. I like to wait with the German and Japanese buyers to see the “good teas” go under the gavel.
I’ve been to Sri Lanka and the Indian states of Darjeeling and Assam. They are home to some of the most beautiful tea gardens in the world.
Where’s the best place to get a good cup of tea?
I am often asked to recommend my favorite tea room in England or the United States. My favorite London afternoon tea destination is The Dorchester Hotel. My favorite Parisian tea room is Mariage Freres. My favorite American afternoon tea will be found at The St Regis Hotel in New York. We have photographed and produced a series of tea guide books: “Tea in the City: New York;” “Tea in the City: Paris;” and “Tea in the City: London.”
How do you relax?
Shelley and I are both musicians. We like to relax by making music or having guests over for an impromptu concert in our living room. We are fortunate that our vocation takes us to some of the most interesting places in the world. Travel can be relaxing for us, too.
What do you drink other than tea?
I am a fan of single-malt Scotch and Kentucky bourbon. If I’m not tracking down rare teas, I’m researching Scottish distillers or talking to my neighboring distillers making fine boubons just down the road from my home here in Kentucky.
What is your favorite blend of tea?
I created a classic blend of Ceylon, Darjeeling and Assam teas several years ago that we market as “Mayor’s Cup.” I was the volunteer mayor of the little village of Perryville for seven years. It's the politically correct tea to drink in this town.
Do you cook at home?
Shelley and I have always loved cooking at home for guests. I prepared a gourmet dinner for her on our second date 30 years ago. We sometimes spend an entire day together in the kitchen preparing a dinner party. We love to try new recipes. Shelley has an amazing notebook of recipes from Saveur, Gourmet, Southern Living or magazines we pick up while traveling. We even have many recipes that involve cooking with tea. I have a great recipe for Lapsang Souchong Chicken on my website.
Do you have a favorite cookbook?
My favorite “cook” book is not a recipe book. It is “The Art of Eating” by M.F.K. Fisher. My favorite chapter is “How to Boil Water.” You become a great cook when you view food as art. The most creative cooks I know are the ones who don’t always have a recipe in front of them. Like a skilled musician, they are at ease improvising their culinary composition with the resources set before them. Their creative juices begin to flow when they visit the market and spy perfect scallops, crisp green asparagus, or dark ripe blueberries. They orchestrate a meal like a symphony. I like to share a table with people who understand that you taste first with your eyes!
How did you get interested in tea?
Like most Americans, I was introduced to hot tea in Great Britain while there as a tourist. Shelley and I began incorporating hot tea into our lives in 1979.
Why should people drink tea?
Two main reasons: Properly prepared tea makes us slow down and enjoy the people around us. There is no more common communal cup of hospitality in the world than tea.
Second, it is a healthy beverage.
Why has drinking tea become so popular in this country?
See my article “Why tea in a hectic world.”
What is the importance of etiquette and drinking tea?
One of our recent books is Children’s Tea and Etiquette. We have worked closely with Dorothea Johnson, founder of The Protocol School of Washington for many years. We think that teatime is the perfect setting for teaching basic etiquette skills to both young and old. Tea makes us all feel a bit more civilized.
How many times a day do you drink tea?
Three to four times for hot tea, plus iced tea at lunch.
What types of teas would we find in your kitchen right now?
First Flush Darjeeling, Tippy Assam, white teas from three coutries, rare oolongs, and a variety of Ceylon single estate black teas. The goood thing about being a tea importer is that people are sending me fresh samples constantly! We often have guests for a dinner party. I love to do a tea tasting at the end of the meal. I will brew three or four exotic teas from around the world and then compare them. Guests love it! I’m often asked to bring teas when I am invited to dinner.
How do British and American tea drinkers differ?
The British are a bit conservative in their tea drinking. They tend to drink the same tea their mothers and grandmothers drank. These are often brewed from inexpensive tea bags. Americans are always looking for new teas. More and more Americans are turning to fresh gourmet loose teas and they are not stymied by the prices. They have finally learned that they can make a proper pot of tea without a bag and they are happy to have a bit of affordable luxury in their lives.
What pairs best with a cup of tea?
That’s like asking “what pairs best with a glass of wine?” Which wine? You have to ask “which tea?” With over 2000 teas in the world, the combinations are endless. There are books being written now on the subject of pairing tea and food.
I like rich dark Assams in the morning, Darjeelings in the afternoon, and green or white tea in the evening.
The perfect tea to pair with most formal afternoon tea meals is Darjeeling. It is light with a muscatel aroma. It compliments both sweets and savories.
There has been a lot of press about green tea. What’s next?
White tea is a fast growing segment of the gourmet tea market. Sales were up 17% in the US in 2003. Every cosmetic line is using white tea as a skin restorative. You can either drink it or soak in it to stay young! It’s still rare and expensive.
When you are creating a blend, what steps do you go through?
I like to know as much as possible about the person or venue I'm working with. Are they classic? Colorful? Cutting edge? Organic? I ask them about their choices in music or art. I might even ask them where they like to vacation.
Do you always follow the same routine?
I was trained as a musical conductor so I sometimes approach a blend as I would prepare a concert program. I like to vary my musical programs with something familiar and something unexpected for my audience. I often do the same with tea blends. Many times I use a Ceylon OP1 for the base and then add more intense flavors for the highlights. Or, I might find take a common Sencha and add a few herbs to attract a flavorful audience that is interested in drinking something for good health.
I do follow a standard routine when doing the physical trial blends. By the time someone commissions a blend, I know 80% of what the ingredients will be. I work primarily by combining the dry leaves first and then brewing. I know some blenders prefer to work by combing liquors but I rely a great deal on the physical beauty of the dry leaf blend.
If you are assessing (for example) a Darjeeling, what do you look for/expect/want to find?
For Darjeelings, I judge the leaf color and continuity first and then I want the muscatel aroma to greet my nose long before the cup reaches my lips.
I've bought a couple of teas based on beauty of the leaf. I have a great fondness for tippy black teas
Do you approach each tea with a totally open mind or do you have expectations/ pre-conceived notions etc before you start?
I approach each tea with high hopes. I know how the tea should taste and I only hope that it lives up to my expectations. If it meets my expectations, I am happy; if it exceeds my expectations, I am elated! |
