World-Renowned Chefs and Mixologists Are Reinventing the Sensory Palate Experience Through the Forgotten Sense: Aroma. Their Secret Ingredient? Tea.

The tea brand of choice for five-star hotels and Michelin chefs worldwide, TEALEAVES, in collaboration with Microsoft Design and 14 Luxury Hotels, launched an online sensory experience that showcases the importance of aroma as an ingredient for a heightened food and drink experience, as well as a vehicle for self discovery and connection.

Taking TEALEAVES' newly redesigned Classic Teabags as the muse, and the accompanying color selected by PANTONE, the exploration profiles the aroma and mood-inspired works of 17 world-renowned culinary, pastry and mixology artists. The exploration also includes a documentary, Language of Aroma, which features scent-branding experts, the inventor of a scent organ capable of helping depressed people, language creator from Game of Thrones and head coach of Bocuse D'Or Team USA.

"Aroma is a powerful trigger of memory; a brief whiff can create vivid, potent images in our mind, associated with a confluence of recollections," says Lana Sutherland, CEO of TEALEAVES. "This collaboration and online experience arose from our desire to create an elevated experience for our consumers, using our blending principles to connect on a deeper and much more emotional level.

"For this collaboration, we explored communicating this elusive sense through exploring the relationship between aroma and mood, connecting the personality, traditions and rituals inherent in each of our blends to a scent memory."

Intensifying flavor with tea-infused food and cocktail recipes.

"Aroma is the soul of any dish - eating without aroma is like eating without soul, it doesn't make sense," says Executive Chef, Srijith Gopinath, of Taj Campton Place.

Culinary and mixology artists have used TEALEAVES' teas in their repertoire of secret ingredients for more than two decades. At the world's most prestigious culinary competition, Bocuse D'Or teams have used TEALEAVES' teas to amplify the intensity of their creations. Why? Because according to Robert Sulatycky, Head Coach of Bocuse D'Or Team USA, "It is aroma that is the difference between silver and gold."

TEALEAVES challenged chefs and mixologists to each create a recipe inspired by the mood, PANTONE color and aroma of one of TEALEAVES' newly redesigned Classic Teabags. The goal was for the dish to evoke the aromatic experience of drinking the tea, through a dish. The final product? Each creation was served as its PANTONE color, derived naturally from the ingredients alone, and featured a signature aromatic expression from smoke, to mist, to "tea air" - a feast inclusive to all of the senses.

"We thought this challenge would shed light on the difficulty of designing for a sense that cannot be seen - how might an expert in the world of palate communicate the aroma of our blend?" Ms. Sutherland asks.

To embark on this sensory exploration visit, LanguageOfAroma.com

This exploration is the second in a three part series by TEALEAVES entitled "PALATE," which explores the three main design elements of tea blending: Color, Aroma and Taste. Language Of Aroma builds upon TEALEAVES' first exhibit on color, in collaboration with PANTONE: Palate for Your Palette, which was featured at SxSW 2017.

Language of Aroma Events:

SXSW 2019: Sunday March 10th
Language of Aroma was selected for a panel at SXSW 2019 in Austin Texas, which brought together several experts featured in the film over a panel session to discuss inclusive design and the language of aroma.
Location: JW Marriott, Austin TX,
Time: 11:00am-12:00pm local time

NYCxDesign: Thursday May 16, 2019
Events:
Language of Aroma Part I: Making Sense of Scents: Experiencing Aroma
Language of Aroma Part II: Making Sense of Scents: Explorations in Aroma with Cooper Hewitt, Microsoft & TEALEAVES
Location: Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum 2 E 91st St, New York
Time: Museum Hours, 10 am - 6 pm

Los Angeles Design Festival: June 20-23
Time & Date: TBA
Location: Row DTLA

San Francisco Design Week: June 26
Time & Date: June 26, Time TBA
Location: The Battery

Seattle Design Festival: August 16-25, 2019
Time & Location: TBA

Participating Hotels and Restaurants:

United States
ARIA Resort & Casino - Las Vegas
Rivea, Delano Las Vegas - Las Vegas
The St. Regis San Francisco - San Francisco
Palace Hotel San Francisco - San Francisco
Andaz West Hollywood - Los Angeles
Calistoga Ranch - Napa Valley
Monarch Beach Resort - Dana Point
Taj Campton Place - San Francisco
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills - Los Angeles

Canada
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar - Vancouver
Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler - Whistler
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort - Tofino

Hong Kong
Four Seasons Hong Kong - Hong Kong

Philippines
Grand Hyatt Manila - Manila

Singapore
Regent Singapore - Singapore

About TEALEAVES

Established in 1994, TEALEAVES is one of the very few tea blenders in the world, known for crafting the highest quality teas in small batches by hand. TEALEAVES strives for perfection, driven by the never-ending quest to make the perfect cup of tea. With the philosophy of inspiring creativity and connections through the art of blending, TEALEAVES has gripped the hearts and minds of five-star hotels and Michelin Star chefs, worldwide, as their tea brand of choice for over two decades. Sourcing ingredients from over 90 countries and keeping only 1% of the tea leaves presented to them from the world's highest grade gardens, TEALEAVES hopes to stay people's "cup of tea" for generations to come, whether in a five-star environment or in the luxury of one's home. More information is available at TEALEAVES.com.

About Microsoft

Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft Design is the pioneer of Inclusive Design in the technology industry.

Aroma adds colour to your world. #LanguageOfAroma

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