Gongfucha in Grenoble

Sheesh, France.

It's all so...

...I don't know, French.

I'm an unusual Englishman...

...because not only can I tolerate the French, but I actually like the French.

Don't ask me why. My friends call it an affliction.

A view from the hotel room

It's just there's something decidedly pleasant about France. It's all a bit foreign and French, obviously, but I rather like it. In small doses. I don't think my waistline, kidneys, or arteries would really appreciate longer exposure to French culture.

Plus my high-school French language ability is a touch out-of-practice, to say the least.

I did find a rather nice teashop, however, which fed the ol' urge for gongfucha...

In the middle of charming Grenoble, an old city whose population is over one-third university students and researchers, Cha Yuan [tea garden] is an oasis between cafes and restaurants.

It's nice to get away, even on business, but it's even nicer to be home. A good journey helps you to understand just how much you love your own home.

Returning home, sat at my tea-table, it all felt a touch unfamiliar - the feeling of my old teapot, my tetsubin, the pouring of the water.

Regarding the Yunnan Sourcing tasting event: I understand that samples are beginning to arrive with people. Please have a crack at them. I'll put some pages up in around a week's time so that we can begin to compare notes. We'll be working through them in alphabetical order (alpha ... epsilon), so you might like to tackle them accordingly. In response to e-mails on the subject: please feel free to write about them if you have a tea-blog; I only ask that you copy your observations into the articles here so that we can collate opinions and start a discussion.

Sante!