A Conversation with Mia Atienza, MA 

How did your love of tea start? What is your favorite type?

I was born and raised in Lipa City, Batangas, a town in the Philippines that is known for coffee, called locally as Kapeng Barako. As a Lipeña, I have an emergency stash of Barako coffee in my freezer! This type of coffee is traditionally cooked, not brewed with machines. My paternal grandfather’s coffee plantation is still being managed by my extended family in the Philippines and they would always give us the latest harvest to bring back here.

When I went to college, I wanted an alternative to coffee, and I was introduced to black tea. I was not too keen that black tea still has high caffeine, so started looking into other teas, which is how I found Tea Cozy, a local tea shop in downtown Sacramento. I’ve been on my tea journey since 2007. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite! Right now, I would say the Asatsuyu sencha from Blue Willow in Berkeley is my most brewed.

Tell us about your recent trip to Asia.

My main goal for this trip (and really, for all my trips!) was to explore tea plantations and local farms. My other goal was to visit Cameron Highlands in Malaysia to explore the many different types of tropical fruits. I tried their golden phoenix mango, which is about 11 inches long, and was blown away by the flavor. I love fruits, and I was happy that Malaysia had so many new fruits for me to try.

I had a great time visiting Malaysia – the people are nice, and the food was amazing. One of my favorite memories of my time there was trying a new dish called Sayur Lodeh, which is a vegetarian coconut soup with lots of vegetables. It was delicious and I’ve never had anything like it before.

I also visited Taiwan, and I love that for such a small place, there is always something to do. There was a lot of focus on using local ingredients that are in season and eating food that is appropriate for the season. It was autumn when I visited, so I tried a lot of soups. I also enjoyed the rice dish that is wrapped in leaves with vegetables inside. Besides traveling for tea, I also travel for food.

 

 

 

You’ve traveled to other countries as well, particularly to explore tea and its cultural significance. Which countries have you visited, and where do you plan to go next?

I initially started doing tea-themed travel in 2019, and my first destination was Chiang Rai, Thailand. I chose it after watching a documentary about the city. I stayed in a local BnB, and it was situated next to the Boon Rawd Farm/Singha tea plantation. Every morning, Nee (Bnb host) and I would walk around the plantation to areas that were not open to the public.

Other places I visited were: South Korea for their 5-flavors tea, Hong Kong for their Tie Guanyin tea, and Europe to learn about tea storage and exports.

I am planning to go to Jeju Island in South Korea and Ella in Sri Lanka.

What do you love most about your job?

I love seeing a learner progress from being a newbie all the way to their graduation, which is such a rewarding experience. Being part of the HPM Fellowship is amazing because of the interdisciplinary connections and relationships of our team. I love working in the DPM because of how collaborative everyone is, and our group’s cohesiveness.

You have an MA in Education and have extensive experience in higher education. What drew you to this particular field?

I went to Sacramento State for undergrad and graduate school as a first-generation student. Although I worked for the Educational Opportunity Program as a Student Administrative Assistant, my first assignment for the job was to give campus tours to prospective EOP students. That experience of working with students who are like me in many ways left me with a profound desire to be part of the educational equity community and I initially wanted to be in career counseling because of this job.

In pursuing a graduate degree, I chose the MA in Education with a focus on gender equity studies, and my thesis examined the prevalence of Filipinas in children’s literature. Because of my love for books and a great interest for my topic, I finished writing my thesis 6 months ahead of the timeline. I continued to work for EOP and did an Education/Outreach internship with PBS KVIE while waiting for my thesis to be approved.

When I graduated, I was hired as a lecturer for the College of Education. After one semester, I saw a job posting for a position at Touro University of California’s Clinical Education Department and I realized that I wanted to work in Student Affairs again. At the time, their major educational partner in the Central Valley was UCSF Fresno. I knew that I wanted to be at UCSF, so I applied to the Department of Pediatrics when a position opened. I was with the Peds Residency Program for almost 4 years and time really does fly when you love what you do.

You’re an avid reader. What genre of books do you like to read? Are you a fan of e-readers or physical books?

I tend to always gravitate toward Asian American women's literature. I’m a big fan of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and have read most of her books as well as her poems while in college.  My favorites are Oleander Girl, Sister of My Heart, The Mistress of Spices, and Leaving Yuba City. I also love authors Jhumpa Lahiri, Lisa See, Ming Mei Yip, Anchee Min, Jessica Hagedorn, and Haruki Murakami. IQ84 is my favorite Murakami novel, and I have read it at least 10 times.

I am a fan of physical books! I love the experience of holding a physical copy of the book and using personalized bookmarks.

I’ve heard you mention here and there about your in-home rower. What made you get one? Tell us more.

I was an avid runner since college, but I had to stop after I injured my knee. I had to look for an alternative exercise form that is easier on the knees and I really enjoyed using the rowing machine as a full-body workout during the pandemic. My rowing machine is the RowErg from Concept D2, and I didn’t realize at the time that’s what rowing athletes used. I got it because I didn’t want a machine that is dependent on a Wi-Fi connection! I really want to row on the water sometime, but most places require that I know how to swim, which is another goal of mine.

If you could learn anything, what would it be?

Rock-climbing! But, maybe I’ll start with swimming first.