Darjeeling: The India Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget

Darjeeling: The India Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget 

Indian tea is largely a story of black tea, green leaves processes to make strong black brews. 

This Darjeeling tea game is for tea drinkers, people who want to more about India, and food and beverage workers who would like to advance their career. 

The objectives of this Darjeeling Tea Game include: 

1-Knowing the principal tea growing regions of India 

2-Knowing the characteristics of the different Darjeeling harvests 

3-Knowing the processing steps that create Indian black teas 

4-Knowing the grades of Indian black tea 

5-Knowing the main Indian tea types 

6-Reward 

The materials needed to play this game include: 

-The book Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-index cards – large and small

-notebook paper 

-pen 

-Darjeeling tea to use as a reward 

Game 1: Indian Tea Growing Regions 

Note the four regions below on the front of four index cards. On the back of the index cards, note their location and 5 to 10 facts about the region to quiz yourself on. 

These are the tea growing regions or terroirs to learn about: 

-The Darjeeling Region 

-The Assam Region 

-The Nilgiri Hills 

-The Sikkim Region 

Game 2: Darjeeling Harvest Characteristics  

Note: There are more than 30 cultivars or cultivated varieties of tea in India, but T78, AV2, and P312 are the most prevalent. 

The cultivar plus the growing conditions of the tea create different flavor profiles. There are 3 main harvest seasons in Darjelling that affect the tea flavor and quality. 

Write the following 3 harvest seasons on the front of an index card. On the back of the index card, not 5 to 10 characteristics of the harvest and quiz yourself on them: 

-First Flush 

-Second Flush 

-Autumn Flush 

Game 3: Know the Processing Steps that Create Indian Black Teas

There are two main methods for processing Indian black teas: The Orthodox Method and the CTC Method. 

For this game, write the Orthodox Method on the front of notepaper. On the back of the notepaper, note the following process steps with 5 to 10 characteristics. When this is done, quiz yourself until you know all the steps in the Orthodox Method. 

The Orthodox Method Process Steps to describe follow:  

-withering 

-rolling

-oxidation 

-drying 

-sorting 

Use the same game style to describe the CTC Method on notebook paper and quiz yourself.  

Game 4: Know the Grades of Indian Black Tea 

"This grading system to grades of whole-leaf tea. The most important aspect is the number of buds (pekoes). The more buds a tea contains, the more letters in the appellation,” Tea by Gascone et al. 

On index cards, note the following abbreviations on the front of the index card and what they mean on the back. Then, quiz yourself with the cards for following acronyms:

-SFTGFOP 

-FTGFOP 

-TGFOP

-GFOP 

-FOP 

-OP 

 -Tippy 

-Golden 

-Flowery 

-Orange 

-Pekoe 

-1 

-S 

Game 5: Main Indian Tea Types 

For the main Indian tea types listed in Tea by Gascoyne et al., note the tea type on the front of an index card. 

On the back of the index card, note the following information:  

-tea family (usually black for Indian teas) 

-production areas 

-harvest season 

-cultivar 

There are 8 main tea types listed in Tea by Gascoyne et al. 

Game 6: Reward 

Once you have mastered all facts in this Darjeeling Tea Game, make some Darjeeling or Assam tea and enjoy a cup. 

For more information on Indian food and culture, the following books may be of interest: 

-Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and The Future of American Power by Robert D. Kaplan 

-Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni 

-Classic Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Julie Sahni 

I have written about two Hindu festivals that my family has participated in on my blog. Links to these blogs follow: 

-Ganesh Puja in Carmel, California 

Ganesh Puja Holiday

-Diwali in Monterey, California and Norfolk, Virginia 

Diwali Festival

Happy Tea Sipping! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France -

Yunnan: The Chinese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget

Yunnan: The Chinese Tea Game Created by Ruth Paget 

This is a game for tea drinkers, people who would like to learn more about China, and food and beverage industry workers who would like to advance in their careers.

Items Needed to Organize Yunnan: 

-The book Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, François Marchand, Jasmin Desharnais, and Hugo Américi 

-Index cards – large and small 

-notebook paper 

-pens 

-boxes of Chinese tea to be used as a prize for mastering all information 

Yunnan Game Objectives: 

1-Know the families of different teas and their characteristics 

2-Know the main cultivars or cultivated varieties of tea grown in China 

3-Know the process steps for the tea families that give them their final characteristics 

4-Know the terroirs where tea is grown in China and be able to locate the region on a map 

5-Know the most famous teas from the different regions 

Game 1 – Tea Families Definition 

All tea begins as a green leaf, but different processing methods produce teas with specific characteristic for flavor and medicinal value. 

For this game, you will place the tea family name on the front of an index card and the definition of the tea family written in your own words on the back. 

If you are unsure of a word’s pronunciation, use Google’s pronunciation feature (type the word followed by the word “pronunciation” in the Google search bar. A speaker icon will appear that you can tap to hear the pronunciation.) 

Use the tea book mentioned in the materials section to look up the following tea families:  

-white teas

 -green teas 

-yellow teas 

-wulong teas 

-black teas 

-aged teas (learn the names of the specific teas they list as examples) 

Game 2: China’s Main Cultivars or Cultivated Varieties of Tea Leaf 

Cultivars or cultivated varieties are similar to varietals or grape varieties in wine making. 

There are four main cultivars or tea varieties grown in China. For these cultivars, write the name on the front of an index card and 5 to 10 facts on the back to memorize about it, especially the terroirs or areas where it is grown in China. 

The following four cultivars are the main ones grown in China: 

-Fuding Da Bai 

-Long Jing 43 

-Tie Guan Yin 

-Zhu Ye 

Game 3: Know the Process Steps that Create the Different Tea Families 

This game will require notebook paper to play.

First, note the tea family on the front of the notebook paper. Use the tea book in the materials section to note the number of process steps for each tea family. The number of steps differs to create the characteristics of each tea family.  

Memorize the tea family and the number of process steps to make it. Then, use the tea book to list the tea family name of the front of a sheet of notebook paper. Next, list each process step name and a description of the process in your own words. 

Finally, memorize the tea family name and the definition of each step used to make it. 

Game 4: Know China’s Main Tea Terroirs 

Use the map on page 42 of the print edition of the Tea book in the materials section to locate China’s main tea terroirs. Write the following regions down on index cards. On the back, note the main province and large cities in each region: 

-Southwest Region 

-Southeast Region 

-South of the Yangzi Jiang River Region 

-North of the Yangzi Jiang River Region 

Game 5: Chinese Tea Types 

Tea types are similar to different kinds of wine like Burgundy and Bordeaux. 

For this game, you will need large index cards and a pen. On the front of the index card, note the tea type and on the back note the characteristics listed in the tea book. Learn a tea type and one characteristic at a time. Learn three tea types as a group before moving on to the next three. 

Note the following characteristics for each tea type:  

-tea family 

-name translation 

-alternative names 

-harvest season 

-cultivar 

There are 12 tea types listed with 5 pieces of information for each tea. 5 x 12 makes 60 pieces of information to learn. 

Game 6: Reward Drink some Chinese tea for mastering this game. 

For cultural information, the following books provide a good introduction to Chinese food: 

-Tea: History Terroirs Varieties by Kevin Gascoyne, Francois Marchand, Jasmin Deshaun’s, and Hugo Americi

-The Food of China by E.N. Anderson 

-Invitation to a Banquet by Fuchsia Dunlop 

-Complete Chinese Cookbook by Ken Hom 

I have written three blogs on Hong Kong’s tea lunch or dim sum that show one way that tea is used in Chinese culture: 

Chicago Dim Sum

Chicago Dim Sum 

Millbrae Dim Sum (San Francisco Suburb) Dim Sum 

Millbrae Dim Sum

Salinas, California Dim Sum 

Salinas Dim Sum

Have fun learning about Chinese culture! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Cabbage Harvest: More than Sauerkraut by Ruth Paget

Cabbage Harvest:  More than Sauerkraut by Ruth Paget

I would drive my family bonkers every winter when we lived in Wisconsin by making brats loaded with warm sauerkraut and brown German mustard for dinner on University of Wisconsin football game days and walk around wearing my UW cheesehead.

Laurent and Florence opted for Culver’s cheeseburgers.

If you really want to make sauerkraut at home, this video show the two-ingredient method with cabbage and salt.  I would store sauerkraut in the refrigerator, but this video presents conditions where you can store sauerkraut out of the refrigerator:

Sauerkraut Video

There is actually a lot you can do with cabbage that is not sour like Dijon roast pork with apples and cabbage.  

I wrote a blog on cabbage that details great recipes and cookbook resources for cabbage noted below:

Cabbage Recipes for Winter

Cabbage is full of Vitamin C, a great antioxidant.  That fact makes me like it even with brats.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Art at the Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Art at the Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

On my family’s weekly outing to buy pie (strawberry - rhubarb this time) at The Farm in Salinas, California, I focused on finding country art.

The garden furniture art at The Farm is welcoming and rather regal with its armrests:

The large painting of squash and flowers on the entrance sliding door almost qualifies as a mural: To enlarge the image, place your fingers on the image and spread them apart.

Artist Diane Grindol, who has studied art in France, sells notecards at The Farm with samples of her artwork on them.  I love notecards with artwork.  I have some notecards by Big Sur artist Erin Gafill that I have sent to my family in Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Georgia.  Notecards help with cash flow and publicity.  Grindol’s notecard we bought follows:

A trip to the farm would not be complete without food decorative art like the squash beauties below:

The goats have the art of leisure down as they lazily wake up in the morning sun:

My daughter Florence Paget, husband Laurent Paget, and I  enjoyed our morning at The Farm and came home with heirloom tomatoes and a strawberry-rhubarb pie (rhubarb has a large amount of Vitamin K, which is important for healing wounds and blood clotting).

The Farm is a local country outing that young families might enjoy as well.

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Reading Steinbeck for Banned Books Week October 5 - 11, 2025 posted by Ruth Paget

For Banned Books Week 2025, my family went to the John Steinbeck House Gift Shop and purchased several books including Grapes of Wrath, which has been banned at different times of history as well as Of Mice and Men.

The store has Penguin versions of the books as well as collector first editions of our local Nobel Prize winner.

You can combine a book shopping outing with lunch upstairs in Steinbeck’s home.  The restaurant menu features seasonal  

Free parking is available on the street on a first come-first served basis.  I have  listed their website below:

https://steinbeckhouse.com/

Back in the 2000s, I reviewed the Steinbeck House Restaurant for the Monterey County Weekly (Curculation: 200,000).

https://ruthpaget.blogspot.com/2018/02/lunching-at-steinbecks-childhood-home.html?m=1

The National Steinbeck Center houses a museum devoted to the works of John Steinbeck.  There is a large parking garage next to the Steinbeck Center. For information, their website follows:

https://steinbeck.org/

Agata Popcada at the Monterey County Weekly wrote a nice online article about Henry Miller, a Big Sur resident, whose books have also been banned:

https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_personal/199d0945fb6cbee9

Information about the Henry Miller Library and its events follows:

https://www.henrymiller.org/ https://www.henrymiller.org/

Carmel Valley author Jane Smiley has had her book A Thousand Acres banned in several school districts despite being a Pulitzer Prize winner.  Book information about A Thousand Acres follows:

A Thousand Acres Book Information

Information about Banned Book Week follows:

https://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Breton Crepes for a few days by Ruth Paget

The magic mix of eggs, milk, flour, salt, and oil makes delicious crepes you can fill with butter and cheese or a salad with chèvre goat cheese.  This little pile will last for two or three days.

My husband Laurent made these beauties! A bottle of homeopathic Elderberry gummies full of Vitamin C sits by the crepes.

My recipe for crepes follows:

California Crepes Recipe

Text and photo by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Squash Harvest is in at The Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Squash Harvest is in The Farm in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Now is the time to buy squash for decorating and eating, bringing children out to jump on haystacks and ride mini tractors, and buy a homemade pie.

Look at the squash beauties below!  Orange colored squash has vitamin A, which is important for vision.

Even the too cool to care goats were checking out the squash.

My husband Laurent and I bought a berry pie. Starting in November, the bakery will be the only department open at The Farm till spring.

Another fun marketing day in Salinas, California.

Photos and text by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France