Sergey Kahn, Tea Infusionist

The idea to do something with tea in Saigon has been festering in my head for the past two years.  Of course I have dreams of opening my own tea house, but needless to say, at 25 years old, I've yet to have that kind of financial flexibility.  I decided to start small and last Friday I led my first Tea Workshop at Soham Yoga Studio and Boutique.


A white guy trying to teach people how to drink tea in Asia.  The situation presents some challenges but not the ones I had initially expected.  Although a lot of tea is grown in Vietnam the quality is nothing when compared to the teas of China, Japan or India.  In the South, tea is usually served with ice in restaurants and food stalls only to prove to patrons that the water has been boiled and is safe to drink.  Finding good teas and teaware in Saigon?  Like finding a good steak in India.  I only found one tea house in the city and it only sold Vietnamese teas and some imported teaware that was overpriced. 

Friends and travel, that's how I get my tea.  The Lapsang Souchong and White Peony that I used at my tasting was brought back from Singapore last time Daphne was there.  The Dragonwell I had picked up myself last time I was in Singapore.  The Ti Kuan Yin was given to Daphne by one of her Taiwanese yoga students.  The Gyokuro was from Teavana brand that was a gift from my brother and his wife when I last visited them in Maryland.  The glass tea pot and matcha whisk (chasen) were from Essencha Tea House in Cincinnati, OH, which is also where I received most of my knowledge and training in tea for a year before coming to Vietnam.  The Matcha I purchased at a portrait studio in Zen Plaza from a Japanese woman in a wedding dress who my friend Emi had put me in contact with.  That was the only tea I could buy locally, if that even counted.

When I had helped Tracy do Tea Workshops at Essencha she would do all the entertaining and talking while I just had to focus on preparing the teas.  For my Tea Workshop, I had to do the presentation and the preparation at the same time.  To measure tea amount, temperature and set the timer while also keeping my guests entertained was a multitasking challenge.  Daphne assisted me but I definitely asked less of her than I could have or probably should have.  In the end however, the guests' cups were full their questions were answered and fun was had.  The Tea Workshop was packaged with a Sivananda yoga class before hand and a Tratak meditation after. 

The Workshop wasn't just a learning experience for me but a success!  I can't wait until I get back from my trip and can do more...