What's your job? Lana Tobin, tea sommelier, Shangri-La Hotel

There’s nothing simple about the simple tea leaf, as Lana Tobin is beginning to fully understand.

Tobin, 30, has spent a 12-year career in the food and beverage industry in Canada and abroad. She recently joined the team at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto.

But she’s set to embark on an exciting new endeavour that will see her take on the prestigious title as the hotel’s only certified tea sommelier, when she completes her studies in the subject at George Brown College.

The chance to steep her mind in the intricacies of the world’s most popular drink is one Tobin’s waited her whole life to undertake.

Once considered a second-class citizen to coffee, tea is now a multi-billion-dollar industry with the likes of Starbucks and David`s Tea helping to make the taste of the mighty tea leaf as trendy, and in some cases as costly, as a latte.

Earlier this year Oprah Winfrey joined in the tea party, gushing about her “looooove” of the brew at a Seattle media event staged to showcase her endorsement of a special chai blend sold by Teavana, the tea company purchased by Starbucks’s CEO Howard Schultz in 2012 for a reported $620 million.

As sommelier at the Shangri-La, it’ll be Tobin’s job to know more than just how to prepare the perfect cup. The certification course teaches everything from the origins of the drink and the essential characteristics of various teas to proper tea-service etiquette and the influence of the drink on regions around the world.

Tea, after all, is the stuff of legend. It dates to back thousands of years and stretches across cultures. It’s sparked revolutions and used to bind marriages.

That’s a lot of authority for one little leaf.

We asked Tobin why she loves the stuff, and how tea became a professional passion.

You are training to be a tea sommelier. What does it take?

Well, it`s pretty intensive. Right now I am working with the organizer who actually created the entire eight-month program at George Brown College. She’s been coming to the hotel and doing some training with me just to try and get me up to speed. From there it will be workshops, classroom instruction, blind taste tests.

What is your personal connection to tea? Are you of that British heritage, someone who loves her cup ‘o tea?

I do. I remember when I was young and going for high tea with my grandma in London, Ont. We’d get all dressed up. It was such a lovely occasion.

I still think the whole act of having afternoon tea and getting together with family and friends is truly special.

It must be kind of mind-blowing to see the hundreds of different teas that are available.

Absolutely. We have 74 different teas here (at the Shangri-La). I instantly fell in love.

We have whites, greens, blacks, herbals and Oolongs, which is interesting in itself. We also offer exclusive brands, and our hand-picked flowering teas, superior grades and a kuware (a formal tea-pouring ceremony) for guests who require that.

Tell me more about the tea ceremony. What does that entail?

Let’s say there is a couple sitting having afternoon tea and they order the kuware. We bring out different china and what it is presented on a kind of plastic sheet that is almost all water based. We time it to ensure that the tea is steeped for the right amount of time. Ideally we sit it for about four minutes. It is very similar to wine. This tea gets better with age. All the flavours come out and everything is a little bit more enhanced.

Who might have a ceremony like this?

Couples who are getting married, especially in Asia. There is quite a bit of tradition that you have to learn, too, not just the different teas.

What you have learned about tea so far that is surprising?

Some of the herbal teas aren’t even tea. For instance, if you were to get some herbal apple tea, it could be made from almonds and apples, rather than, say, our superior green tea, which is made from hand-picked leaves from 500-year-old tea trees.

I’m not an herbal tea drinker. I find it sacrilege to not have caffeine in my tea. But they are popular. Why is that?

You can get them in all sorts of different flavours from an apple crumble to lime gelato. I think people are pretty intrigued with all the different flavours they have come out with, but I agree with you. I am there for the caffeine.

Tea has come a long way. Coffee really has had a lot of people’s attention over the last few decades, at least in North America, but now tea is really moving in. Are we tapping into the history of tea or is it a health aspect?

I think it is a little bit of both. There is certainly a health benefit. Tea could be used if you have indigestion or a cold, for instance. But, there is also an elegance in taking the time to enjoy a pot of tea. It feels like more of an indulgent experience because of the leisure that allows. I think in pop culture, we think of coffee as a necessity. Your morning fix, if you will. Tea is something that can be enjoyed throughout the day.

What is the most popular tea that is ordered among the different varieties offered by the Shangri-La?

That’s an easy one. It’s Royal Cream of Earl Grey. It’s tradition.

Does it make you cringe when you go into another store that offers tea and you see the baristas pouring hot water from a tap into a paper cup?

Absolutely. I am so used to the loose leaf and all the interesting things we do here. I won’t go into Starbucks anymore and order a bag of tea.

Okay, let’s get down to what people really want to know. Can you tell me how to make the perfect cup of tea?

First, let me ask you, do you use tea bags or loose leaves?

Tea bags. I fear I’ve been doing it wrong all my life.

I think that is a personal preference, but I am a big fan of the loose-leaf tea. I think you get a way bigger flavour from it. With black tea, I don’t like it too, too strong, personally, but you should be steeping it to your personal preference. I do it for about 40 seconds, but for others it’s two minutes.

Your tea water should never be boiling hot. You should let your kettle boil, unplug it and let it sit for a minute in the kettle before you pour it. Sometimes it can burn the tea leaves.

Any advice on whether we should be pouring milk or cream on our tea?

With the Royal Cream of Earl Grey, for instance, it has such a rich flavour, I always suggest not and, I think, with some of the herbals teas, definitely not. I think a lot of it is personal preference

How about sugar?

I never suggest white sugar. I always suggest raw sugar.

Do you have to buy a premium tea, or can you get a decent cup out of a commercial brand like Tetley or Red Rose?

I am a little bit spoiled now, but, absolutely. I think a lot of it is all your own taste and personal preference. I know people who don’t drink loose-leaf tea because they are used to the bags. Every morning they have a cup of Red Rose and that is something they love. But, as far as quality, I think loose leaf is the way to go.