World Tea Expo

Welcome to the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The picture is of a gentleman from Taiwan giving a demonstration on rolling oolong tea. He kept working the tea, rolling it in the cloth until there was moisture in the tea, then he wrapped it in the same cloth until it was a very tight ball.

I was looking forward to meeting Lin Ceramics people from Taiwan, as I have a small tea set from their company. This was their first time at the tea expo. Their ceramics are very beautiful and on another day I will share what I came away with from their booth.

This was also the first year for The Whole Leaf to have a booth at the tea expo. If there was a vote on the most peaceful booth, it would be theirs. They served lovely oolong teas. The gentleman in the green tee shirt sat their for 3 afternoons just serving tea to small groups. I enjoyed a lovely Jade Oolong here.

This is Jane at Tea Beyond. She had the most beautiful flower teas. This was her first time at the tea expo also. I hope in the future to carry some of her flower teas on Marmalady's website.

Tomorrow I will show a few more pictures from the tea expo. I only took pictures of my favorites.

Overall, I enjoyed the tea expo. Attendance and vendor participation was definitely down. The attendees that I chatted with were trying to stay optimistic in a poor economy and many said they were willing to hang in there. The first day I enjoyed a class with Norwood Pratt called Romancing the Leaf. Norwood is a great story teller and he didn't disappoint us. He encouraged us to tell the myths and stories about tea because he said that is what people will remember. The second day I took a couple business related classes. The final day I took a class on publishing tea books from Babette Donaldson, Emma Lea books, and Amy Laurence, An Afternoon to Remember. Those of us that had attended three or more tea expos were honored this year with a lovely luncheon, free massage, and other small perks. John Harney shared his story with us in the luncheon. John is always entertaining.

There also was a tea master from Japan giving short tea ceremonies for small groups. I am not a big matcha fan, but getting to share tea with a tea master and sip tea out of 4oo year bowls was a real treat. If and when I figure out how to take pictures off my phone, I will share them.

The World Tea Expo for me is always a wonderful time of reconnecting with some tea friends and getting reinspired to share tea with others. More tomorrow.