First I want to congratulate Lynda and her team, both days of the festival were sold out!

I remember the first year of the festival and it’s come a long way from the lean early days.

I also want to recognize some of the original participants and sponsors, one in particular,  Tavalon Tea, whose company  has grown within the industry and continues to grow by providing unique tea offerings to the marketplace.

Ok, enough sentiment.

There was so much to see at the festival this year, many new offerings and products. I was unable to “work the show” as well as I would have liked, many of the popular vendors had long lines and there were many people making purchases.

I attended two presentations on Saturday which were filled with great information.

Green Teas of China, Korea and Japan

Presenter : Tea Specialist and Certified Tea Master Yoon Hee Kim

Ellen Easton’s Master Class

The Artistry of Afternoon Tea, sandwiches and savories

I only wish there had been more time to interact with the speakers.

I ran into many of my tea blogger friends/associates and met a new one Julia from Jane Austin Teas.

Congratulations to Darlene, The Tea Enthusiasts Scrapbook. She aced the last portion of her STI tea certification. May your future be as lovely and bright as you are.

The Tea Bloggers tweetup went well, although we only had two attendees, a few others ran late and we had a very short window in which to connect.

Thank you Lynda for giving us the opportunity to meet at the location it worked fabulously.

Attending our morning get together were Jobina of @TeaMagTweets and Nicole of Tea For Me Please.  We discussed our backgrounds and love of tea exchanging information about new venues, industry trends.

 

 

The tea Earl Grey, generously supplied by Tavalon Tea. On the limited menu were scones, english devonshire cream, blueberry preserves and matcha cake. In my morning rush I forgot the macarons, but not to worry they were enjoyed during my families OSCAR gathering with a cup of tea.

Noteworthy:

At Tavalon, besides the wonderful tea offerings, there were cute timers, and matcha whisks along with other accessories. I picked up a whisk that I needed and tasted a few of the tea offerings. Kudos to Jon Paul and Chris, the person who assisted me was both pleasant and knowledgeable about the company and product.

At Capital Teas, my tea friend admired  this pretty tea pot they were selling

unfortunately when I went back, they had sold out of the orange color she wanted.

 

 

Numi Tea Pu-erh Series

Ok readers, you know I am not a tea bag advocate nor do I prefer floral tea.  Well, when I looked at the samples that I had brought home I noticed a tea I was not familiar with, Magnolia Pu-erh by Numi.  I debated trying it  but had to see what was up with the bagged floral pu-erh. I was so surprised. There was a lovely scent of magnolia upon brewing this green and when sipped I could clearly identify the pu-erh. I was so taken aback I cut open the bag to see the leaves. The contents revealed bits of tea leaf but larger that the usual dust. I went to their website and found they offer the loose leaf version of this floral infusion and I am anxious to try it. In speaking to a representative I was told that the leaves are from 500 year old trees, and they use no additives only organic ingredients and are fair trade. They have a few additional pu-erh offerings and have most recently added a Carmel, Basil and Ginger to the originals Emperor’s (pure pu-erh), Magnolia, Mint and Chocolate. I am not advocating this as a replacement to fine pu-erh, that’s not what this is. As an introduction to pu-erh this may work just fine.

Sara’s Tea Caddie

I had been introduced to Sara a few years ago by a mutual friend. She is an importer and distributor of fine Japanese teas and her Sencha is one of my favorites. I picked up two more of her offerings, Kukicha, green twig tea, and Tama (Ryoku) Cha, round (green) tea. Saving these for my weekend tea treat.

 

 

Tea Magazine

At tea magazine was teatra.der Tea Pages, author of The Tea Reader. It is always a pleasure to be in her company she is so vibrant, with a humble sincerity rarely found in my part of the world.

At the booth was also Tea Magazines’ new editor Dan Bolton. The Tea Magazine is chock full of interesting tea related articles and recipes with many well known contributing authors. With Dan as the new editor and I am certain there are lots more exciting reading to come.

Hancha Tea

Hancha Tea, a division of TeaClassics, teas and tisanes from Korea.  The owner and founder of TeaClassics, Yoon Hee Kim, recognized and appointed as Korea’s Tea Ambassador, educates tea enthusiasts around the world in the rich offerings and tea traditions from Korea, one of the earliest origins of tea.

 

Honest Tea

Heavenly Lemon Tulsi

A flavor I had never tried and with my recent introduction to Tulsi I sampled this offering and enjoyed the fresh, slightly sweet flavor of this tisane.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I was unable to work the entire show and many things I missed will probably be covered by a few other bloggers. I am excited that Coffee & Tea Festival will have a second showing upcoming in Atlantic City. I am looking to make arrangements now for a fun tea weekend. 

Coffee & Tea Festival, Atlantic City will be held Nov. 3-4 at Bally’s in Atlantic City