Hey, I'm Mel!
I'm a tea sommelier, an adventurer, a language lover, and a photographer! I love finding new ways of seeing the world. Chasing an unconventional life inspires me.
In my writing here I'm pursuing to be as raw and honest as possible. I'm goofy, sarcastic, and straightforward. I want to make you feel comfortable so you can sit down with a cup of tea and chat like we're family. Welcome to my corner of the internet.
Category: Travel
Japan
July 3, 2018
How French entrepreneurs hope to save Japanese matcha blends
As I’m living in Japan and getting more and more acquainted with Japanese tea cultivars, and styles of matcha, I’m also sliding deeper and deeper down the Japanese tea rabbit hole.
Here in the ra...
Japan
June 22, 2018
This is what happens inside a Japanese tea factory
Most of us only see one phase of tea, the dried leaves that end up in our cup. If you’re drinking tea from a tea bag, you might actually never see your tea at all. Between the bush and cup tea takes a...
Japan
June 20, 2018
I’m living on a Japanese tea farm!
You might know by now that for the past month and a half I’ve been living on a Japanese tea farm in the Kyoto countryside. The place I’m staying at is called Obubu Tea Farms and is a really amazing m...
Japan
June 18, 2018
Sencha do, the other Japanese tea ceremony
Kaoru Nakai welcomes us into her family's home. It's more than 130 years old and cool in the summer.
"And also in winter," she jokes. Nakai speaks Japanese but between my small knowledge of the langu...
Canada
June 1, 2018
An Insider’s Guide to Halifax
This post is brought to you by Expedia Canada. All opinions, as always, are my own.
Halifax is my city and my playground. It’s the seaside capital of Nova Scotia, an eastern coastal province about an...
Travel
May 9, 2018
A Playlist for Solo Female Travelers
I'm sitting in a pool of sun by Gate 22 on the upper level of the Halifax Stanfield Interational Airport in my hometown. It's Wednesday. 9:30 a.m. I'm back by the departures gate less than 24 hours af...
Tea
February 27, 2018
6 Great Places to Drink Tea in Portland, Oregon
Although Portland is known as a popular pilgrimage place for coffee enthusiasts, this weird, Bigfoot and alien-loving, farm-to-table, artisan-friendly, rose-growing paradise also houses some very fine...
