I almost didn't send this message and also thought carefully about
dropping out of RFDT, which would be a big loss for me - I enjoy the
group and am learning so much. I have decided to address the
underlying issue very directly: Space Cowboy. The second part of this
posting is a firm effort to rescue the group from him. I do not intend
to discuss it/him or respond to him; as I stated after his last and
silly attack on me, no reply is needed or merited. But, something
needs to be done and I hope I can help RFDT in this regard.

Message Part 1

I have an interesting and, hope, fun challenge for you, my colleagues
in the delightful exploration of the inexhaustible pleasure of teas. I
am a pygmy in the field and neither knowledgeable nor an industry
expert, but I do have some visibility in the business and academic
fields, where a few people are finding out about my interest in tea
and my forthcoming book. This is resulting in some intriguing new
contacts and opportunities. This message is about one of them, where I
would love your insights and opinions.

Up in New York City, just next to Fifth Avenue, where taking one's
wife shopping can cost about a thousand dollars a block, there is a
hotel with a famous name that has contacted me about putting on some
little showcase events around tea. I meet with the Banqueting Manager
next week. Here's my thinking (By the way, I don't expect to make any
money on this, though should he insist on stuffing hundred dollar
bills into my pocket, I will assuredly not resist him; I am doing this
because it's fun and it will help sell my book; which will earn me
maybe $1.20 a copy. Samuel Johnson famously said that no one but a
blockhead ever wrote except for money - hi, call me Blockhead.)

So, here is the challenge. You have an audience of newbies, You - I -
want them to leave elated and converts. What would you serve them? I
will have the chance to serve them any teas, with plenty of staff in
the black jackets and white gloves. It's a one-time opportunity so I
need to get it right. Again, what would YOU offer?

I've decided to keep it simple and offer just two blacks, two oolong,
two greens, two whites plus a couple of "theatricals."

Here's my current choices, with a few comments as to why:

Black teas:
1. A Darjeeling, obviously, and one that is fragrant and full and
contrasts with any hint of the English Breakfast most of the people
will probably associate with "tea." I'm leaning to either an Ambootia
second flush or Poobong first flush.
2. A Taiwan Lapsong because I simply love it and also because most of
my newbie friends are very struck by how different it is from any tea
they know. I converted my CPA yesterday to whole leaf tea rfom
Celestial Whatevers, when she came to my house to tut-tut about my
record-keeping through a steaming, glow in the dark Lapsang. She
phoned me today to say she stopped at Wegman's on her way home and
bought an Ingenui infuser. So, when my kids ask "Dad, what did you do
to help save the planet?" I can say, I rescued Susan from drinking
lawnmower effusions.
Both my choices are traditional and safe. I thought of a Guranse or
big Assam, instead. I want something that makes the audience forget
about Earl Greys and English Breakfasts. I've excluded Ceylon estate
teas, much as I love them, for that reason.

Oolongs:
3. Iron Goddess, again obviously; safe and good.
4. Golden Lily, mainly for its vibrant appearance and how it expands
in the infuser.
I didn't want anything too light, which led me reluctantly not to
exclude Spring Pouchong. I also wanted to avoid anything too expensive
- a major theme in my book is how inexpensive great teas really are --
so no aged oolong.
I love oolongs, which are the tea most unfamiliar to newbies -- 1% of
total US tea sales? I'm not excited by my choices. Any ideas on some
Wham!!!!! alternatives?

Greens:
5. Gyokuro: the toughest choice of all. I screw up two out of three
attempts to make it and don't know how to ensure a reliable and fresh
supply. No Matcha, for the same reasons. I thought of Houjicha, and
even Genmaicha for its novelty value. Obviously, I need a Japanese
green in the show, especially to wean people off Korean supermarket
sawdust and Indonesian cement powder.
6. Pi Lo Chun: I stayed away from Dragonwell only because I've found
that most of my newbie friends are very disappointed by it - too light
and too grassy. Plus, too many quality/grade problems, and the high
cost of Imperial Dragonwell. Pi Lo Chun seems an "easy" tea to get to
know.

Whites:
7. White Peony: again, easy to enjoy and savor. I kept away from
Silver Needles and Adam's Peak because these are in my opinion teas
that you come to once you have explored the fuller and stronger ones.
8. White Darjeeling, from Poobong. I love this stuff and it's a good
way to end the tasting - where we began, in Darjeeling.

Now, for theatricals. Yixing teapots (I get to take them home; I love
them.). Adagio Ingenui infusers to get across the point that whole
leaf tea is as convenient and easy to use as tea bags. I am clueless
about Japanese teaware but obviously the Gyokuro needs its own special
equipment. I'd welcome recommendations.

A flowery white and a pu-erh for the finale. I don't like most
flavored teas but a Numi Lavender Dream, Pearl Jasmine or the like
sure looks great as its little floret or teaspoon becomes a glass
teapot underwater forest. Then, an affordable pu-ehr - in big cake
form. Master of ceremonies (me) hands cake and knife to nice lady or
gentleman and asks her/him to cut off a slice. Nice l/g fails so out
comes the hammer and chisel. Smash!

So, that's the menu. In addition, I need a good speaker from Fair
Trade/Eco Exchange or the like to talk about the social issues of tea,
an expert with good photos to show about hoofing it up in the
mountains to get great tea, and an industry specialist to talk about
the future of great teas in the U.S. If you know of candidates, I'm
interested. Obviously, I will add to the agenda something about the
Yunnan earthquake and provide an opportunity for the audience to make
a donation; I need advice/contacts on how to do this.

So, that's the idea. If it is of interest to you, I'd love to hear
your own views. I will give full acknowledgement to contributors. If
it does turn out that I make some money out of this, I will ensure
that contributors/speakers get a share of it.

I hope that the group will totally change my agenda and generate a
more interesting list of teas.


Message Part 2

Now, one other point. Always lurking, anonymously and cowardly, with
no profile published even after many years on RFDT, is the paranoid
and very cruel Space Cowboy, whose itchy fingertips are probably ready
to launch yet more vitriol in response to this message. SC is in fact
P--- A---, a Colorado Rockies fan, lover of soccer, superbly
knowledgeable about tea, who has made over the years a few visits to
such sites as alt.sex.movies. P---, what were you thinking of -- snuff
films and ******* powder room kiss scenes and half-open blouse
cleavage!!!!???? His violence of language appears to have begun around
2004, according to the two professional mental health counselors I
asked - legally - to look at his diatribes. I'm the founder of a
little agency that helps victims of domestic violence, so I know the
scary pattern of escalating threats leading to potential real damage;
my advisers think that Space Cowboy is more a danger to himself than
to others but one of them comments that once the threats from a
sociopath start - his verbal symptoms appear to be what is termed
secondary sociopathy - then worry. I have a personal concern here, in
that my web site got hijacked a year ago by a P-- type expert and I
had to put up with hundreds of Space Cowboy equivalent logomania
assaults. I have, on the advice of my website genius, taken my site
down for a week or so, to Cowboy proof it. So, Paul, don't even think
about it. Oh, and be careful on the threats. The last one, about
contacting my publisher to drive me out of "here", crosses the line
between bluster and danger. If I'd sent you my publisher's e-mail
address as you demanded and you'd actually followed through, you would
have committed a Federal crime. To quote approximately from memory one
of my neighbors, who works in a relevant government agency (when you
live 30 miles outside DC, as I do, you have a lot of helpful pals who
work for Fed alphabet soup names to talk to) and to whom I've shown a
few of your rants: "Another Master of the Universe, who thinks he is
the law. We see a hundred ot them, a week. They don't know what they
are doing till an agent turns up on their doorstep." Oh, and please do
read Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code before you tell me what I
can't quote and cite from RFTD archives.

After discussions with a number of members of RFDT, I've decided to
make public my findings and concerns because they damage our group,
individually and as a community. There are only 600 or so members and
activity is "medium." It should and could be 1,600 and "heavy." How
many newbies are scared off by what they see? How many really good
contributors withdraw from RFDT? The first Space Cowboy slash and burn
attack that I came across was his vicious and truly weird assault on
the publishers of the Art of Tea magazine, in April as I recall. I
note that they haven't come back. Please do, Guys, it's for me a great
publication, typos and all.

Anyway, back to the NYC event. I would love to hear your
recommendations, will make sure I do not misuse any information/ideas
you give me, and hope that at least a few of you will be my guest at
it. It's not guaranteed to happen, of course, but the probability is
in the 90% range. Should be kinda fun. And it will be fun just to see
if there is any consensus on what to serve newbies.