Tea for Two … Years (and Counting)!

Ever wonder what’s the difference between black, green, and white teas? Or maybe how to properly prepare them? Or perhaps what’s involved with the etiquette of tea, be it tea time in jolly ol’ England or a traditional tea ceremony in Korea or Japan? This past weekend (October 3 & 4, 2009) featured the Second Annual Northwest Tea Festival at Seattle Center. Now, as a self-proclaimed “teaophile” who is not unfamiliar with tea festivals – I have attended the Victoria Tea Festival, for example, which promotes itself as the largest public tea exhibition in North America (50+ vendors and 3000+ attendees) – I was excited to attend Seattle’s version of tea products, tastings, and educational seminars.

Unlike Victoria’s focus on the event as a fundraiser for Camosun College Child Care Services, the focus of Seattle’s Northwest Tea Festival is entirely on education and is made possible by the Puget Sound Tea Education Association (PSTEA) – founded in 2006 – and a slew of local sponsors.  Although an event modest in size – only a dozen sponsor and vendor booths in all – the presentation schedule for the three stages was packed for the full two days and many of the scheduled tea tastings (free with admission) were well-attended, tasty, and informative, with many booked up in advance.  Well-worth the free admission (with a suggested donation of only $5.00) for those interested in trying some of the numerous teas available worldwide.

“The reason for this event is to provide education, information and an opportunity for attendees to experience tea in ways they may culturally never have before,” explained Julee Rosanoff of Perennial Tea Room and Chair of the Planning Committee for this annual event.

You may recall Heed the Hedonist’s tongue-in-cheek claim that folks in the U.S. are not as interested in tea as their neighbors to the North; well, this Seattle-based tea festival event hopes to change that, one cup of tea at a time. And it looks like they’re succeeding, slowly but surely: at last year’s event they had over 1000 attendees; this year they easily broke the 1000-attendee mark again.

Hooray for tea for two … years, that is. And counting. Well worth marking this event on your calendars for next year. Don’t want to wait a whole year? In the meantime, there’s always Victoria. I recommend attending both – regardless of whether you’re a true teaophile, or merely an aspiring one.