A Tea Festival

The tea world is growing in the US and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

Probably the first tea festival in the US started 11 years ago in Seattle, WA.

Now I haven't made it to all of them, but probably most of them.

I do believe this year at the NW Tea Festival it was the best one yet.

The gathering place is the Seattle Center and if you were there by mistake or wanting

to learn about tea, it could be overwhelming.

From gorgeous handmade teaware to very rare teas, it had it all.

I loved this samovar and thought you might like seeing it.

This booth always entices me to look with their steampunk atmosphere.

The Plum Deluxe Tea is a favorite of some of my friends.

They love the blends they make.

Harney & Sons comes all the way from New York.

They always have good teas to taste.

I picked up their catalog this time and it is beautiful.

Denong has some terrific Puerh teas.

That's Jeffrey serving tea for them.

Another favorite is Floating Leaves.

They have amazing oolongs.

I buy my Yunnan Gold from them too.

"Girly" teawear was fun to see.

The little hats were made of paper.

I brought home 3 special teas from Raj at Young Mountain.

They are all delicious.

The guy in the beard is Nigel Melican of Teacraft.

He has been very instrumental on tutoring tea growers

and came all the way from England.

This hat just because!

Isn't that clever?

Then the red head below is Jane Pettigrew, also from England.

She was there promoting her gorgeous tea book.

Above is James Norwood Pratt and his wife Valerie.

Norwood is quite the debonair spokesman for the world of tea

and has written some wonderful tea books.

I always love getting my annual hug from Norwood.

This year I got two hugs since he was also at the TeaFestPDX here in Portland.

Blurry picture, but it gives you an idea of the festival floor in one direction.

It was as full if I had turned the other direction too.

For me, I was there sharing our WuWo Tea Ceremony with attendees.

The day was perfect for sharing tea outdoors.

It was a pure delight.

I was happy to be a part of this special day.

If you want to travel to tea festivals this is a good one

and next year will be the last weekend in September.