Happy Mother's Day!

Hello!  It has been a while since my last blog post. 

I shared this lovely green tea with my mom today.  Hope all the mothers had a wonderful day with their loved ones.  

I've been busy as you can see...yes, I am expecting!  I'm five months along now.  

Around the same time as the Toronto Tea Festival  this February I was busy with planning and volunteering to help make the second annual two day festival a great one.  I thought I was starting to get sick, perhaps the flu.  It had been a really rough winter with the Polar Vortex and all.  Found out later that I was expecting! What a amazing surprise!

Morning sickness and fatigue took over all of my first trimester.  Morning sickness can last all day, not just morning by the way...  Still working full time in my day job so I haven't made a post in a long time.  My experience thus far has given me a new appreciation of some of the things mothers go through, and it's only the half way point.

I had read and heard from others that the second trimester gets better.  I was waiting patiently and I'm happy to report that it's true!  

My taste buds and sense of smell are heightened.  A lot of the foods I normally enjoy, I can't stomach anymore.  Unfortunately tea is often one of them.  I have to be careful of my caffeine intake for the baby's sake. Now and then I'm allowed a cup or two but the tannins and any slight imperfections are now magnified and quite disagreeable to me. Lighter brews are more palatable.  

It's now after the Spring tea harvest.  One of the top Chinese tea shops in town, Tao Tea Leaf was holding their annual Spring Tea Tasting event.  Over the last couple of weeks, I carefully sipped little Chinese cup samples of the Spring teas.  

I was so happy to be able to taste and enjoy great quality teas again and catch up with many of my tea friends that I hadn't seen in months!  

I still can't drink as much as as I used to, so I only bought one tea.  Hey, that took control and effort on my part!  I decided to pick up some Tai Ping Hou Kui, since I didn't have any of this beautiful long leafed premium green tea left in my stash.  

Fresh, smooth and sweet finish.

Lots of changes ahead, stay tuned for more blog posts to come!

Time (and Rita) Flies!

My, how time flies! Can you believe October is coming to an end already?!  I've been busy traveling, attending food shows, tea events, taking tea workshops and visiting tea shops since my last post.  I've been to Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal and now getting ready to go to Vancouver again for the inaugural Vancouver Tea Festival this Saturday!  And after that, who knows, maybe Ottawa for their tea festival too!

I'm also busy sorting through my Spring China Tea Tour photos looking for worthy candidates to submit for the Tea & Art section for next year's Toronto Tea Festival.

I thought I'd share some of my photos from the travels with you here.

 

 

You might recognize some of the people in these! More details and pictures to come!

Where's Waldo, um, I mean Rita, this weekend?

Here are a couple of cool food and tea events in Toronto this weekend:

Saturday, June 22nd, 2 - 3:30pm - Spring Tea Tasting event at Tao Tea Leaf (934 Yonge Street)
       Come taste some of the finest and freshest Chinese teas that Certified Tea Sommelier, Tao Wu,  brought back from China.  A special award winning guest will be performing a Chinese tea ceremony.  There will  snacks as well. If you miss this, they hold frequent tea workshops.
         

Tao on the right

Tao hosted the China Spring Tea Tour.  It was a fantastic experience.  I got to taste lots of teas, learn a lot about what the leaf goes through from bush to cup.  (Looking forward to sorting more photos and continuing to blog about it!)


Sunday, June 23, Noon - 6pm - EatUpTO! at 99 Sudbury St.  
          I'll be there helping out fellow Certified Tea Sommelier Donna Sikora steep and serve tea from her tea company, My Tea Brew at EatupTO! This innovative food and marketing event is a mix of farmers market and tech conference and is being presented by Now Magazine.  There'll be food industry speakers, close to 30 food and drink vendors and food trucks!  Who doesn't love food trucks!?

Click here for tickets and more information.  A portion of the proceeds will go towards Covenant House Toronto, and their Cooking For Life program.

Come out, drop by the stand and say hi!

Now back to the task at hand...those travel photos...

Photo: Tao Wu

This is kind of how I feel with sorting my photos right now...

Off to China for Tea

I can hardly wait!  In a couple of days, I will be on a 14.5 hour flight to Shanghai to join Tao Tea Leaf's Spring Tea Tour.  A small group consisting of five fellow travellers led by Tao Wu, co-owner of Tao Tea Leaf  on a journey to discover, taste and, of course, buy the freshest this year's crop has to offer.  You can click here for the itinerary.

We're going to learn first hand how tea is made from bush to cup.

Looking at these samples of yixing clay teapots, I am so excited to meet Yixing pottery masters and learn the ancient art of making these tiny precious teapots.

I wonder how many I can stuff in my suitcase...?

Toronto's Very First Tea Festival!

The inaugural Toronto Tea Festival took place last Saturday (February 2nd), at the Appel Salon of the Toronto Reference Library.  With a capacity of slightly more than 500, in excess of 1150 attended over the course of the day!  This doesn't even take into account the media that came to cover the event, the 8 awesome guest speakers, 32 vendors, 2 amazing tea ceremony masters, members of the organizing committee (including yours truly), and dozens and dozens of volunteers!

It was sold out by noon!  Die hard tea fans waited in line for the second round of tickets to be released later in the afternoon.

 Once inside an amazing winter cornucopia of tea awaited! 

Tim steeping tea for Tao Tea Leaf

Robert and Ian of Majesteas

Raelene of Tea and All Its Splendours

(Photo; Ingrid Folkers)

Lecturer, Kevin Gascoyne of Camellia Sinensis   

(Photo: Raymonde Drolet)

Mingzhu Gao, Co-founder of Tao Tea Leaf, performing Chinese Gongfu Tea Ceremony

 (Photo: Raymonde Drolet)

 

(Photo: Ingrid Folkers)

Tao Wu, Co-founder of Tao Tea Leaf.  Tao Tea Leaf is a co-organizer and sponsor of the Toronto Tea Festival.

(Photo: Raymonde Drolet)

Bill Kamula of the Tea Guild of Canada with guest.  The Tea Guild of Canada is co-organizer and sponsor of the Toronto Tea Festival.  Bill is also the Tea Sommelier Program instructor at George Brown College.

 

Sun Choi, Korean Tea Ceremony and Mingzhu Gao, Chinese Gongfu Tea Ceremony

Art works by Katherine Bellman    

Laura , Co-chair of the Tea Guild

Tea Guild's special blend

Upcoming Tea Guild event, "Tea and Tales"

The gents from Flo Trading

Karen Hartwick of Stratford Tea Leaves

 Daniel of T by Daniel

Me and Kimi of KIMICHA

(Photo: Raymonde Drolet)

(Photo: Raymonde Drolet)

Fellow Certified Tea Sommeliers came to sample some tea (guest, Judy, Michaelle and Donna)

Miss Quan playing the Guzheng

(Photo: Raymonde Drolet)

Sifu Justin Ngui of Ngui Family Style Qigong and Gongfu performing the powers of qigong.  Kids, don't do this at home or anywhere else, for that matter!  Leave this kind of kung fu to the pros!

Louise and Adi of Tea Association of Canada 

(Photo:Raymonde Drolet)

Joel of Capital Tea  

 One of the many tea demonstrations

Bare English & Co. (tea infused organic lip balms)

Korean tea samples and sweets

Tea and Handmade Jam Pairings by KIMICHA and michaelsdolce

It was a fantastic day for tea lovers old and young!  There were many babies and young kids in the crowd...the next generation of tea drinkers. 

I feel very honoured to have been a part of the organizing committee of this awesome first ever tea festival in Toronto!  I look forward to being a part of this great event again!  Next year will be even bigger and better!