Tea expert and Blake alum David Duckler ’05 returned to the familiar walls of the the Blake upper school this past week to share his knowledge with India-Pakistan and China-Japan students. Surprisingly enough, the history of tea–specifically black tea and chai–are closely related in the aforementioned countries’ histories. Who would have known that a soothing drink we enjoy today in our local Starbucks caused political and social conflict years ago. Not a tea drinker myself, I was blown away by the delicious black and chai teas that Duckler and colleague Brandon Lovejoy shared with the class. If you don’t consider yourself a tea drinker, perhaps you will reconsider after tasting Duckler’s, “I never had liked chai but that was delish” Hannah Randolph ’13 reported after taking a sip of  Verdant’s original chai. For more information on Duckler’s company, Verdant Tea, and to try some tea yourself, please visit www.verdanttea.com.