Aspects about learning and art

First the Story:

I recently discovered that the word Momotaro means “Peach Boy” and has a beautiful story according to the present form of the tale (dating to the Edo period), Momotarō came to Earth inside a giant peach, which was found floating down a river by an old, childless woman who was washing clothes there. The woman and her husband discovered the child when they tried to open the peach to eat it. The child explained that he had been sent by Heaven to be their son. The couple named him Momotarō, from momo (peach) and tarō (eldest son in the family). [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotar%C5%8D

Connect facts with pleasure by being intrigued and search for meanings:

Without the excellent aroma emulated by drinking a cup of Peach Momotaro tea, I would have not known the story about Momotaro . Teavana named one of their blooming tea product Peach Momotaro therefore being intrigued by the name I had the opportunity to search for meaning.

Process:

There are two processes that might seem disconnected and yet can become the lesson that connects us to Lean Six Sigma, art and learning. To make each blossom ball, the flowers and buds are dried before being weighted and assembled together. The flower is placed in the middle while each person has a scale in front to weigh each ball. The assembly of each ball is done by using needle to the bottom of the flowers, then bind tea and flower together before carefully neatening the Silver Needle tea buds. Some tiny air is left in between such that when brewed the flower can rise from the inside while the petals open. Each person makes about 2.5 kg of blossom flowers per day that weight between 6-10 gr (416 per person/55 per hr in 7.5 hrs work or about 1 min per flower). Being curious, I weighted the several blooming flowers that I bought. The weight from the lot that I purchased were consistently around 7 gr. I could not have dreamed to have such a consistency when considering that all that we have are flowers buds and petals.

Health benefits:

People who work in these small manufacturing settings are not exposed to any chemicals since the entire process is natural and organic. We, the consumers have the pleasure to experience the different tastes while watching how the flower opens that represents art. There is a combination of visual experience with aroma and beauty of a blossoming flower. The tea has different aromas and flavors that can delight any taste. Polyphenols contained in tea produce benefic health results by helping to reduce the occurrence of cancer, inflammatory issues and coronary heart disease. Most studies involved green tea. Results from studies showed that tea consumption protects against lung, fore stomach, esophagus, duodenum, pancreas, liver, breast, colon, and skin cancers induced by chemical carcinogens. Other studies showed the preventive effect of green tea consumption against atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, high blood cholesterol concentrations, and high blood pressure. [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10837321

The business of blossom tea has the characteristics of a healthy business since nature is transformed through the use of art into quality products that are enjoyed around the world.