World Tea Expo

This post is dedicated to the World Tea Expo. It was, as usual, fantastic. Here are a few highlights from my week in Vegas, from the Expo and otherwise:

Seeing so many tea people -- I love learning about what everyone is up to, talking tea and connecting with people and ideas in the industry. Connections took the forms of chatting between classes, touring the show floor, interviewing like mad, holding a TweetUp, sending the obligatory "where are you now" texts to find fellow attendees... I only wish I'd had more time to spend with everyone!

Trying new teas -- ITO EN's new shincha (sold out already), Hawaii-grown teas from Sherri Miller, oolongs from Teas, Etc. and much more... Along with the people, this is one of my favorite things about the Expo each year!

Interviews -- I held about two dozen interviews over the course of the Expo. Some were informal talks, some were sit-down-with-a-recorder interviews and some were video interviews. The videos were with notables like James Norwood Pratt, Jane Pettigrew, Bruce Richardson, Kevin Rose and Steve Schwartz. They'll start showing up on World Tea News soon.

Classes -- My favorite class was Rona Tison's Japanese green tea cupping course. Tasty! A few of my other favorites were with Charles Cain (TeaGschwendner USA), Michale Cramer (Adagio) and Elisabeth Knottingham (The Teacup in Seattle, WA), who held a fantastic class on hiring and keeping great employees.

Leaving the Strip -- Sometimes Vegas is just so... Vegas-y. This year, I got off the strip on a few occasions. Downtown Vegas' First Friday with my husband, my World Tea News boss and her husband (and his beautiful flower shop, set to open soon) was fantastic. Red Rock Canyon was gorgeous! And tapas with the Gamila Teastick crew was was tastier (and cheaper) than most of the strip fare.

What was your favorite part of the Expo? What are you looking forward to about next year?

Tea Cocktails

Today is your last chance to vote for Vee Tea for the Top Tea Cocktail contest at the World Tea Expo! Vote Oolong Champagne and help me be a finalist!

Also, you can check out another tea cocktail I created on Samovar's blog for St. Patrick's Day. I'm happy to announce that I'm now posting on their blog along with noted tea writers James Norwood Pratt and Jennifer Leigh Sauer. Exciting!

Last Day in SF

Sadly, today was my last day in SF. I spent most of it at The Academy of Sciences, which was fantastic. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet with James Norwood Pratt as planned, but I hope to see him the next time I visit. Tonight, I'm checking out the bar scene at The Alembic Bar -- I hear they have a fantastic whiskey selection, and I saw on their website that they make an intriguing tea cocktail.




Delicious hand-pulled noodles at the Berkeley Imperial Tea Court last night









Jellyfish at The Academy of Sciences









Me and my friends Natalia and Pat at The Academy of Sciences