Summit might alter views on tea
“I don’t like green tea.”
It’s something Mary Kuney and Marji Thompson have heard quite a few times since starting Summit Tea Co. last year. Their answer: “You haven’t had good green tea,” Thompson says.
Adds Kuney: “You haven’t had our tea.”
The genesis of Summit Tea was Thompson’s two-year stint living in China while her husband worked there for Agilent Technologies. She had always been a tea drinker, but the ceremony and quality of tea in China captured her imagination.
When she moved back to the Spokane area she brought some of her favorite teas with her. And each time she knew someone was traveling to China, she’d ask them to bring more tea for her.
Last April, Thompson introduced Kuney to the tastes she had discovered with a trip to Beijing. (The women became friends more than 15 years ago when they met working on Junior League projects.)
Together they visited outdoor malls filled with baskets of tea leaves and they picked Dragon Well leaves from 300-year-old tea bushes in the Long Jing Valley, near Hangzhou, that were once served only to the emperor. Dragon Well, China’s most popular tea, is hand picked and roasted in large electric woks. It’s known for its nutty flavor.
Now the duo imports an assortment of fine teas and custom blends from China and France. Their list of products includes white, green, black, oolong, herbal blends and blended black teas (including a delicious Sweet Grey Brulee, a Darjeeling based tea that tastes of crème brûlée). They’re headed back to China again in April to do some more scouting for teas and suppliers.
Summit Tea Co. has a Web site with detailed descriptions of the teas they sell and more information about brewing and enjoying various teas: www.summittea.com. The tea can also be purchased online. Miaz on the first level of River Park Square carries some of the Summit Tea Co.’s imports, as does Char Zyskowski of Apple Charlotte Cooking Co.
Kuney and Thompson will host a tasting of teas at Miaz on Friday from 1 to 3 p.m. Summit Tea Co. can be reached by calling 535-2331 or toll-free (866) 936-7832.
Kosher dinner tickets on sale
Feast in the food and culture of the Temple Beth Shalom at its 65th Annual Kosher Dinner on March 12 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Each year, the temple serves more than 1,200 pounds of beef brisket, 3,000 potato knishes and 360 pounds of carrots to the 2,200 people who come to dinner. The traditional kosher meal includes roast brisket of beef, potato knishes, carrot tzimmes, challah bread, Mediterranean spiced apples and apricot kuchen. Homemade baked goods are also sold at the dinner.
Tickets are $12.50 for adults and $6 for children younger than 11. They often sell out early, and can be purchased at Huppin’s Hi-Fi, 419 W. Main Ave.; Manito Ship and Copy, 2920 S. Grand Boulevard; Pawn One North and Valley, 8014 N. Division St. and 11812 E. Sprague Ave. or online at www.pgiinc.com. Click on the Kosher Dinner Tickets banner.