I am quite involved in the tea industry,
especially on the promotions and social media side. Although I don't have
a tea shop per se, I have managed social media for tea companies. I organize
and handle social media for the Toronto Tea Festival, I've written tea
articles, most recently for World Tea News, and currently I am the PR chair for
the Tea Guild of Canada. Now, what is the Tea Guild of Canada, you ask?
Tea Guild Of Canada is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to fostering excellence in the world of specialty tea. The mandate is as follows (from the website):
Tea Guild Of Canada is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to fostering excellence in the world of specialty tea. The mandate is as follows (from the website):
We are committed to
Educating members and the public;
Exchange of ideas and sharing of resources;
The creation of programs and events.
Educating members and the public;
Exchange of ideas and sharing of resources;
The creation of programs and events.
Ever
since my tea sommelier classes finished, I have missed getting together with
other tea sommelier/students and tea lovers to taste teas and advance my tea
education. That's where the Tea Guild has filled the gap.
Members are tea
sommeliers, tea sommelier students and ethusiastic tea lovers in and around the
Toronto area. We've brought in some awesome guest speakers for our members,
e.g. Kevin Gascoyne of Camellia Sinensis, Raelene Gagnon of Tea and All Its Splendour, podcaster/blogger TJ Williamson
of the World Tea Podcast and the latest, David Campbell of Tillerman Tea.
David
first contacted me through Facebook to ask for some tea shop recommendations to
check out while he was in town from California. A Taiwanese Tea specialist,
he's been in the tea business since 2007 and before that was in the wine
industry for some 30 years...tea and wine, Taiwanese teas... I put them all
together and my mind went bing! We should have him join us for a meeting!
I suggested this and he was game!
A
"Teas of Taiwan" evening was created!
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| I was there too! That's Linda Gaylard beside me! (Photo:Raelene Gagnon) |
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| Map of Taiwan's Tea Producing Area |
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| Tea Anyone? |
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| Wenshan Baozhong (a lightly oxidized oolong, heavenly aroma) |
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| Alishan (Meishan District) |
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| Chinglin Gaoshan (Jade oolong) |
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| Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) highly oxidized and roasted oolong |
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| Notice the fuzzy white tip |
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| Loved this one! Fruity, malty like darjeeling |
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| True Bai Hao has this fuzzy pekoe white tip attached the the leaf, look for this when you are buying Bai Hao |
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| David also generously gave the Guild the Powerpoint presentation of his talk, you can view it here. Thank you David! |
If you'd like a
chance to (tea) geek out:
Join us This
Thursday, June 1st at 6:30 p.m.
at The Chef's House
(George Brown College).
Our guest speaker for this coming Tea Guild meeting will be fellow Certified Tea Sommelier, Michelle Pierce Hamilton of the new Tea Lounge and BeTeas of London, Ontario.
Her topic will be Tea and Health.
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