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For those of you who haven't met me, a few words about my background, and the why of this blog.
Ever wonder why you like foods that other people dislike and vice versa?
That's a question that troubled me since my earliest days, when "try it, you'll like it" was to me an invitation to stroll through a minefield.
That's why it took all the persuasive powers of the English ladies around me to get me to try my first tea.
We (my family and I) were returning from a long summer and fall in Europe visiting our English and Dutch family for the first time after World War II. We were sailing home on what was probably the least luxurious of Cunard's liners, the Media. She and her sister ship the Parthia were mixed cargo and passenger ships (mostly cargo). Unlike grander ships, she only had one small "grand salon" where the passengers congregated and tea was served almost constantly. The English ladies on board made a bee-line for me, probably because I was one of just two little girls on that extra long and extra boring trans-Atlantic trip—no fancy entertainment like on cruises nowadays (The other little girl was my sister, who was very young and very afraid of strangers, so glued to our mother).
Learning that I had never tasted tea, the ladies concentrated on the task of getting me to taste it, adding sugar and milk and lemon in various combinations to make it less bitter. Their task was made somewhat easier by the fact that I believed tea was a grown-up drink, so it was exciting to be allowed, nay, told to drink it. I kinda liked it, thought it was better with just lemon (those were the days when I could happily suck on a lemon till it was dry, and I didn't like milk very much).
Postcard picture of the Media—the passenger area was the white part above the black hull. For more about the Media, go to http://www.liverpoolships.org/media_and_parthia_cunard_line.html
That was the last of tea for me for many many years. My family were exclusive coffee drinkers, which—when I think about it—is surprising, given my Dutch and especially my English and Irish heritage.
Fast forward through a French baccalauréat, an undergraduate degree in physics, a medical degree, board certification in pediatrics, and a postdoctoral stint at Rockefeller University in immunology, all of which led me to join the faculty at Cornell University.
After starting in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, I ended up in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. The focus of the Division is mainly on diet and what foods do to you metabolically, and on how to get enough food (food security), so it took me a while before I got around to my burning question: why do people differ in their liking of food?
Why this question? Because I am one of those people with an extensive catalog of flavors that I absolutely love (for example anything spinach or black licorice) and an equally extensive catalog of flavors I absolutely hate (such as green beans and fresh corn). Couldn't help wondering all my life why so many people hate the flavors I love, and love the flavors I hate. And why some people love everything provided its well prepared, and some people don't care much about flavors to begin with and are indifferent toward food.
Don't worry, we'll be getting back to tea soon, because this burning question led me to carry out research on flavor sensitivity at the biggest food service show in the world, the National Restaurant Association's annual show.
Why the National Restaurant Asssociation? Well, it attracts thousands of people with an interest in food, and it has 6+ miles of booths. People's feet get tired, so a booth with chairs is always attractive, and while you are resting your feet you can complete a survey and do a taste test, please.
That way we got enormous amount of data which will take me another lifetime to sort through, from people's choices of where to sit in a restaurant to where they work in a restaurant, and all related to flavor sensitivity.
In 2007, a person came to my booth, took part in the study, and then on leaving said I would hear from him. Didn't think much of it. But this was Scott Svihula, tea master. Two years later he contacted me, invited me to World Tea Expo 2010 and lured me into the world of tea.
Now to the question: "why this blog?"
Several World Tea Expos later—in other words, this past year—I started maintaining a Facebook page in earnest, posting nearly every day. As I began to delve into chemistry of tea and the biology of flavor, the posts got longer and longer, and the pearls of tea and flavor knowledge I was sharing got lost—Facebook doesn't have an index, and it isn't easy to go back to past posts. Friends of the Facebook page suggested that I start a blog, so here I am!
Looking forward to communicating with you and hearing your thoughts!!
Will be posting several times a week. Will be announcing the posts and other important stuff on http://www.facebook.com/pairteas
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