Toronto Tea Festival!

Hope the new year's been treating you well so far.  I was out in Vancouver at Christmas time and checked out the tea scene as usual - including a visit to Kitsilano's O5 RareTea Bar for one of their 2 Alchemists + 2 Tea Hunters's Tea, Cocktails & Tapas event!  I finally got to taste some of O5's teas and Kale+Nori's tea inspired cocktails and tapas first hand...and it was delicious!  I'll be steeping a post on the event in the near future, stay tuned!

2013 has been very busy so far.  The Toronto Tea Festival will take place next Saturday, February 2nd at the Appel Salon of the Reference Library.  Yes, Toronto will host its first ever tea festival!  I've had the honour of being part of the organizing committee and helping out with marketing, from flyer distribution (great way to get to know the neighbourhoods in town) to social media efforts, ticket sales and planning.   

 The Toronto Tea Festival will be a great opportunity for people of all ages, newbies and aficionados to gather and learn more about tea and tea cultures. 

The already nearly sold out event will feature some big name speakers from the world of tea such as Camellia Sinensis's Kevin Gascoyne from Montreal, Seven Cups' Austin Hodge from Tuscan, and Shabnam Weber of Toronto's own The Tea Emporium and more.   Lectures will cover topics such as "An Introduction to Tea", "Tea and Health", "The Myths of Chinese Tea Culture", "Tea Mixology 101: Preparing Tea Cocktails",  "Cooking with Tea", and "A Consumer's Guide to Blended Teas and Herbal Infusions".

Tea is a full sensory experience.

There will be Korean and Chinese Gongfu tea ceremonies and tea tastings will be presented and offered throughout the day.  There will be artworks on display created by local artisans and a traditional musical performance by a prodigy trained in China.

With at least thirty confirmed vendors and Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day just around the corner, the vendors area is a must!  

If you don't have your ticket yet, a limited number of tickets will be available at the door for $15.  

Tea is the second most popular drink in the world after water.  

Come to the inaugural Toronto Tea Festival next Saturday and be part of history!  

See you there!