It’s Almost Expo Time

Hi all,

I’m so excited about the World Tea Expo this year. I feel like a kid going to Disneyland in 3 days. Today is my day off and for once I am not doing tea things today. I have a million things to do to get ready to leave-mow the yard, laundry, etc. So I’m not doing tea things today. Yeah-right! What am I doing now? Anyway,  I decided to make a cup of tea and write my blog.  But when I went to make my tea this morning, I discovered I was out of almost everything-except Zhen Qu.  I thought, no that’s for special occasions.  Then I realized, I don’t have anything else so this must be the special occasion.  I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t refilled my stock of tea at home. So Zhen Qu it is!  I love this tea. It’s a black Yunnan tea but a very special one.  My tea broker, Devan Shaw has it specially made. He pays a special group of tea makers money to drive to a certain area in China a few hundred miles away to process the tea in their style.  The result is fantastic!  It’s a Yunnan but has interesting floral notes. It’s such a pretty tea as well. It’s very fluffy and almost fuzzy with golden tips.  I discovered it right before the expo last year.

I can’t wait to see all of his teas this year.  His booth is one of my favorites. I always make a point to sit and listen to James Norwood Pratt conduct his tea tasting and talk at Devan’s booth. Last year I also met Rajah Banerjee at his booth who owns the oldest tea estate in Darjeeling. He was fascinating!

So who knows what the Expo holds for me this year!  I know I will be super busy with 2 booths, teaching and judging but I definitely plan on learning more about tea!

Stay tuned for more tea talk!