Tuesday, October 5, 2010

NW Tea Festival


The third NW Tea Festival in Seattle, Washington took place this past weekend.
It was my first opportunity to attend.
I was checking it out with the possibility of exhibiting next year.
There were 23 tea related vendors and I had fun visiting each of their booths.
What I enjoyed the most were the speakers and also reconnecting with tea friends.
The top picture was taken in the first tea tasting I attended, which was given by
the owners of Silk Road tea company.  We had the opportunity to taste 3 Rare
Chinese teas, white, green, and oolong.
The second picture was a tasting of the same oolong tea, but the one on the left
was picked in winter and the right was picked in spring.  Can you see the difference in color?
In all I attended five different tastings and realized I gravitated toward oolongs from
Taiwan, which I love.


For those of you that are not heavily into tea, you will not know the people in the above pictures; so I will try to tell you a little about these lovely people.
The keynote speaker was James Norwood Pratt, the one in the bottom middle holding the book.
Norwood is a dear man who I have had the opportunity to meet many times.
He has written some of the best tea educational books in the market.
To his right is Babette Donaldson, she has written a series of Emma Lea tea books for children.
Finishing off the bottom row to the left of Norwood is Earlene Grey and husband.
Earlene writes lovely tea poetry and has published several books.
To the far left on the bottom is Robert Wemischner, the author of Cooking with Tea.
Top left is Bill Waddington, owner of Tea Source in Michigan on sells online.  He was leading a tea tasting on Dark tea, which is new to the US and I had not heard of.
In the upper middle is Lindsey Goodwin, a food writer who often writes about tea.
With Lindsey is Michael Coffey, the Tea Geek, a tea blogger and speaker at the festival. The final picture I am sorry to say his name has not stuck with me, but I know I will be hearing and seeing him more.
He presented the last tea tasting I attended and James Norwood Pratt assisted him in sharing his
wonderful Jade Oolong and Phoenix Oolong.  He has developed a new teapot for oolongs that actually decants the tea at the proper time (you can see the top of the pot in the picture).  He is a tea grower in China and Taiwan and has recently written a book
on oolong tea.

For those of you that just drink a cup of tea and don't really think much about it, there is a whole world out there of amazing tea development, growing, and sipping.  And amazing people that have a passion for tea.
Did you know, tea is the second most drunk liquid next to water in the world?

17 comments:

LisaKnowsTea said...

How Wonderful! Wish I could have been there. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa

Kathy Walker said...

What a nice event!

Rosemary said...

Looks like a fantastic gathering! Thanks for sharing, Marilyn.
Nancy

Bernideen said...

Glad you had this great experience!

Jeanne said...

Fabulous
Thanks for sharing

Love Jeanne♥

Tea Geek said...

The person in the top right is Jason C.S. Chen of C.C. Fine Teas.

Marilyn Miller said...

Thanks Tea Geek!

Steph said...

I feel so lucky to have gone on this trip with you and the other Portland crew!

parTea lady said...

That looks like a great tea event -lots of good tea and interesting people.

koralee said...

Oh I would of loved to have been there...I am such a tea lover. I am now in the habit of having a after dinner cup every evening.

My favourite is Murchies...have you ever had that brand?

Grandma Sue said...

Oh Marilyn I'm delight to see Mr Pratt's photo. James Norwood Pratt looks as delightful as the books he writes about tea. I've read them all. It looks like a very nice event. I am glad you were able to attend hear all these knowledgeable speakers. 2nd most drunk liquid in the world interesting stat.

SE'LAH... said...

In the Caribbean, our day starts and ends with tea. I remember years ago, it wasn't so big where I lived in the US but with the risen awareness of the benefits, especially organically grown, I've seen a big change in consumption.

one love.

Tracy said...

Oh, such fun! I've always wanted to go to such an event... we don't have them here. Coffee is the favored drink, not tea sadly...*sigh*... Thanks for this glimpse, Marilyn--so enjoyed! Happy Days ((HUGS))

Jeanie said...

This looks like such a ton of fun! Loving tea, meeting these people, sampling all different types, all that -- well, it just sounds fabulous!

Angela McRae said...

Excellent report, Marilyn! Thank you! (Now I know to be on the lookout for "dark tea" and a few other things new to me.)

Rosemary said...

Marilyn,
Do you know if this tea gathering is always held the first weekend of October? I'm trying to talk Linda of KY into joining me for the fun next year!
Nancy

Donna and Miss Spenser said...

Looks like you had a great time...I would love to attend an event like this some day!