An interview with Olivier Scala, President of the French Tea Committee and member of Cannon (https://www.envouthe.com/blog/).
Who are you?
Olivier Scala, a tea taster and the 5th generation of a family of importers. I have been working at Cannon on a permanent contract since 1978, having previously held various 'odd jobs' there. On the associative side, I have been President of the French Tea Committee since 1988! I served as President of our tea trade union (STEPI) in 1998 and 1999, and President of the European Tea Committee in 1998 and 1999.
What is your first memory of tea?
Visiting my father's warehouses (he was then Director of the Compagnie Coloniale and Purchasing Director for Thés de l'Éléphant); there was tea, coffee, cocoa, vanilla — the incredible blend of scents that would seize you in the street, long before you crossed the cobblestone courtyard of a Parisian building.
I also remember, naturally, my first visit, a few years later, to 18 rue du Docteur Roux in Paris, the founding address of Ets George Cannon; meeting George Cannon's grandson, who lived in the same building; that is where I had my first tastings with my father, 'for pleasure,' since I was only there to replace a sick delivery driver…
And tasting tea as a very young child with my family on Sundays — the impression of a happiness that nothing could ever tarnish.
If you were a tea, what would you be?
A multi-centennial tea tree… otherwise, undoubtedly a wulong.
What are some of your favourite teas?
There are so many!…: The one I can share, the one I can introduce to others, or — if I am alone — the one that will keep me company for a moment: Darjeeling from any season, a Japanese Gyokuro, a lightly or more heavily oxidised wulong, green Tai Ping Hou Kui from the good years or other great crus from China, white Bai Mu Dan, yellow Yin Zhen, oxidised teas from Assam or Ceylon — strictly the classics, then. Among recent discoveries: a white tea from Rwanda or Nepal, an Indonesian wulong… plus all those I am forgetting. What I love most about tea is precisely the choice, the diversity that only wine, beer (or cheese, in another domain) can rival; telling yourself at any moment that a good tea is possible and choosing, according to the mood of the moment, from among a thousand possibilities (because one has to draw the line somewhere!).
For you, what is tea in three words?
Sen no Rikyu said 'harmony, respect, purity, serenity' — four words, then, but everything was said. More modestly, I would say art of living, pleasure, sharing, fulfilment, peace… one could add hospitality, but I must have forgotten how to count!
When do you most like to drink your tea?
That moment — a very frequent one — when I say to myself, 'right, I'm going to make a tea,' or 'right, I'm going to prepare a tea, share it, introduce someone to it'… it can happen at any time. 'Tea, at any moment, in any weather': a slogan we had fun creating one holiday, as a family, with my three children, while happily drinking an excellent tea.
What is your favourite teacup or tea-related object?
I am very fond of two antique travel tea caddies — one came from my father, the other was a gift. Antique tea tins and chests are objects of art; most tea accessories are quite beautiful.
What is your favourite tea room?
L'Essence du Thé George Cannon, without a doubt!
What would you like to say to tea lovers? And to those just discovering the pleasures of tea?
Be curious, taste, appreciate, and give yourself this simple pleasure that can be endlessly renewed. Tea is a source of life and pleasure without end.
Source: https://www.envouthe.com/blog/les-envouthes/dans-la-theiere-de/dans-la-theiere-dolivier-scala/
