Ignorance is not a big deal in general - one can't know it all. But ignorance about things you declare your specialty is a big deal. The following is a blazing example of even worse type - published ignorant statement about tea... by a tea boutique owner! They sell "select" tea in wine bottles. Interestingly enough, I was not the one who discovered these guys, although they are local (Tahoe City is a 30 min drive from my house). They were pointed out to me by my Russian friends
Enjoy:
............................."What many people don't realize, Clay contends, is that the packaged tea people think they are drinking is actually herbal infusions. Straight tea is from the tea leaf and becomes different types of tea depending on how long it is brewed.
"All teas start off as green tea, unless you pick it earlier, than it is white," Pacheco teaches. "You brew it and cook it and it becomes oolong tea. You brew it a little more and it becomes pu-erh tea. If you ferment a pu-reh, it becomes a black tea. When you ferment it, it looses some caffeine. The pu-erh is the strongest tea." Pacheco also offers the best way to drink their fine teas:
"I think the best way is over ice. You get more flavor when it's cold - the flavor comes out." ............................................
If you think I made this up - I am flattered. Unfortunately I lack that kind of imagination :
I love every and each passage of this blasphemy. But the best part is that they state in the article that they (I quote) "We want to educate people [about tea],". And people think Rumsfield is clueless.
Sasha.