Mr. Tea
Meet Sebastian Beckwith, top-shelf tea importer and cocktail aficionado
Tastemaker: Sebastian Beckwith, 43, founder of In Pursuit of Tea, a Brooklyn-based tea importer.
Background: After working as a photo scout for Annie Leibovitz and an art handler in New York, Beckwith fell in love with the exotic teas he encountered while leading tours in Bhutan and Darjeeling, India. In 1999, he launched his business to introduce American Lipton-drinkers to new and unusual teas.
Philosophy: Beckwith eschews romantic packaging and flowery descriptions for resealable, opaque bags and no-nonsense tasting notes. “Fancy tin containers or decorative boxes usually can′t protect tea for more than one month,” he says.
Daily Regimen: “Darjeeling or dark tea with breakfast; oolong throughout the day.”
Extra Curriculars: When he′s not traveling to remote parts of Asia in search of matcha and pu-erh, Beckwith drinks tea-infused cocktails in New York′s best cocktail parlors. His favorites: Pegu Club′s Earl Grey Marteani (made with Earl Grey-infused gin); the Flatiron Lounge′s Beijing Peach (with jasmine tea-infused vodka); and PDT′s Reverend Palmer (black tea-infused bourbon).
Cupping Advice: “Experiment with three factors: amount of tea; temperature of water; length of steeping time. If the tea′s too strong, add a little more water—not strong enough, let it steep longer. Then slurp. Treat it like wine: The more oxygen you get in there, the more you′ll taste the tea.″
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