Tea Fest PDX 2025

Tea Fest PDX was held on June 28th at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon.  

The festival was held a month earlier than in prior years.  The weather was beautiful and the temperature was much more comfortable.  The outdoor vendor area was fully covered this year and there was a generous amount of space between each row so attendees could move more easily from booth to booth.  

This year I prepared in advance by checking out the vendors and presenters on the official website so I could hit the ground running, visit the booths I was most looking forward to, and take time to experience everything the festival had to offer.

Oregon-grown tea plants for sale

A presentation at the British Tea Tent

Tea eggs from Red Robe Tea House

Gateway to classes and workshops

There were musical performances throughout the day and I was able enjoy a beautiful koto performance by Masumi Timson.

Heritage Teas of Việt Nam with Anna Ye (Anne Ye Teas)

Anna Ye is based in New York and has been sourcing teas from Việt Nam since 2021.  While she couldn't attend the festival in-person this year, she was able to join us by video.  Anna presented a tasting of two teas harvested in April from old growth heritage tea trees, with the assistance of festival volunteers, and sharing information about the growing regions and tea farmers. 

Wild Silver Tips (Suối Giàng, Yên Bái Province)

Misty Highland Green (Tà Xùa, Sơn La Province)

Teaware in Residence, Shigaraki Japan with Jonathan Steele (Jonathan Steele Studio)

Jonathan is a Pacific NW-based artist who has been making pottery with a focus on gongfu teaware since 2009.  For this presentation, he shared his recent experiences as an Artist-in-residence in Shigaraki, Japan.  

Much of his time during the residency was spent in Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, also known as Tougei no Mori (陶芸の森/Ceramic Forest), and working with the Anagama kiln there.

We learned about pyrometric cones, a measure of kiln heat that deforms at certain temperatures relating to the number of the cone, and the variance between the cooler 9-12 cones preferred by Shigaraki Ware artisans and the hotter 12-13 cones preferred by many Pacific Northwest artisans.  Jonathan tends to prefer firing with higher cones which produce a glassier finish.

We also saw examples of Jonathan's work from his residency and examples of Shigaraki Ware like Kohiki, a textural technique where a water-heavy white glaze overlaps a contrasting clay. 

First Teas from India's First Farmer-Owned Specialty Factory with Raj Vable (Young Mountain Tea)

Raj Vable introduced us to Kumaon tea, its people, history, and the tea factory.

Kumaon is located in the Northern Indian Himalayas. Tea was planted there by the British in the 1840s and cultivation ended in the 1940s because the nearest ports were too far away to make the venture profitable. The surviving tea plants were allowed to grow wild until the 1990s when a government program revived tea cultivation in the region. From then, it took about 30 years to prune the tea trees back down to cultivation-friendly bushes.

While Kumaon farmers own the land and the tea plants, the harvested leaf has, until recently, always been sent elsewhere for production. Many people from the region, especially the younger generation and predominantly men, left to find work in the cities.

Raj founded Young Mountain Tea in 2013 with a focus on partnering with growers from Kumaon to process the tea where it's grown, working toward a model that supports the entire chain of production. The tea factory was built with funding from a USAID grant and was completed before the program was shut down, with tea production beginning in 2021. The local farmers, approximately 90% of whom are women, have partial ownership of the factory and will eventually have 100% ownership.

During the presentation we watched videos (also available on the Young Mountain Tea website) about Kumaon Tea including a look inside the tea factory. We also enjoyed tasting two infusions each of first flush white, green, and lightly oxidized black teas harvested in April from 160-year-old tea plants and processed by the Kumaon tea factory. Tea Fest PDX was the first public tasting of these first flush teas.

Thanks so much to the volunteers, presenters, and vendors for making this a great experience!

Momijiyama Garden Teahouse

Recently, I revisited the teahouse inside Momijiyama Garden/紅葉山庭園. The garden is located in the northwest corner of Sumpu Castle Park at the heart of Shizuoka City in Shizuoka Prefecture.

While paying the small admission fee at the garden entrance, you can also purchase a ticket for your choice of tea service in the ryureiseki teahouse. At the time of my visit, the tea options were matcha and two varieties of sencha.  Once inside the garden, a brief scenic walk will bring you to the teahouse.

After presenting your ticket at the teahouse entrance you can choose your seat. All seats provide a splendid view of the garden. 

After being seated, you'll receive a complimentary cup of hojicha followed by your tea set. 

For this visit, I chose the Honyama matcha set with wagashi.  The tea bowl and sweet reflected the autumn season even though the trees and plants outside were still holding onto their summer green.

This particular matcha is the result of historical research and cultivation that began in 1986 to reproduce the matcha that was believed to be favored by Tokugawa Ieyasu after he retired to Sumpu Castle.  For this reason, Honyama matcha is generally only served at tea ceremonies and events relating to the Tokugawa clan.  You can learn more about Honyama matcha by following this link.  

All teas offered by the teahouse are also available for purchase. The hojicha was so delicious that I had to bring a bag home.

The beautiful Momijiyama Garden is a peaceful oasis in the heart of the city and I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.

Address: 

〒420-0855, 静岡県静岡市葵区駿府公園1-1
1 Sunpujōkōen, Aoi-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka-ken 420-0855

Hours:
9:00am to 4:30pm
Closed Mondays and December 29th through January 3rd

Magnolia Tea Room

Magnolia Tea Room closed for business in July 2020.

Magnolia Tea Room first opened its doors in scenic downtown Silverton in November 2018.  The tea room is located on Water Street in the historic Julius Alm Building (1908), a short walk from the Farmer's Market and just one mile from the famous Oregon Garden.

The decor is modern chic, well lit and spacious with plentiful seating and no sense of crowding.  French cafe music plays in the background, adding to the ambiance.

It's worth noting that there is no dress code for taking tea at Magnolia Tea Room.  I had a very nice conversation with the owner and she confirmed that casual dress is welcome, even if you're coming in fresh from a hike around nearby Silver Falls.  The ambiance is intended to create a positive space for the customer to feel welcome.

Magnolia Tea Room offers a nice variety of tea sets for all appetites ranging from a simple pot of tea to their multi-course Magnolia Afternoon Tea.  Everything on the menu is made from scratch.

For this visit, I enjoyed the Afternoon Tea which began with a serving of mango sorbet, followed by a bowl of broccoli lemon soup, and finished with the customary tiered stand of savories and sweets.  My tea selection was Russian Imperial.

My teacup and saucer matched the tea room's light fixtures and chairbacks which was a nice touch.

Reservations are highly recommended and required for parties of 5 or more.

At the time of this review, the tea room is temporarily closed due to COVID-19 and will re-open as soon as it is safe to do so.  Follow Magnolia Tea Room on Facebook for updates and more!

Address:
115 N Water St, Silverton, OR 97381

Hours:
11:00 am-4:00 pm Tuesday-Saturday
Closed Sunday and Monday

Stash Tea Shop

Stash Tea Shop is located at Stash Tea Company corporate headquarters in Tigard, Oregon on SW 72nd Avenue, just a short drive from Interstate 5.  The retail store has been open to the public for over 12 years and yet it remains something of an open secret among tea enthusiasts as it gets little press and rarely turns up in web searches for tea shops in the region.

While the tea shop signage may be subtle, the brightly colored Stash Tea truck parked near the entrance of the lot will almost guarantee you won't miss your turn.

Step inside to a warm and inviting space, well-lit and open with good flow.  To the right inside the door is a tea sample station where you'll have the opportunity to taste a couple varieties of loose leaf tea during your visit. 

Seating is available at window-side tables at the front of the shop and at the tea bar tucked away in the back.

On display is a wide range of loose leaf teas, matcha, and teaware available for purchase.  The ubiquitous Stash boxed tea line as well as a variety of locally sourced snacks are located near the tea bar.

Customer service and the cashier are located at the round counter in the center of the tea shop.  Staff are available to answer questions and make suggestions and touchscreen menus will help you select teas and tisanes prepared hot or cold, to enjoy in-house or to-go.  The menu also includes tea lattes, shaken iced teas, nitro teas, seasonal specials, and tea flights.   

For my first visit, I decided to go all out and requested a Tea Flight.  I was provided with an erasable Tea Flight card to list my four tea selections from the options on the menu.  When everything had been prepared, the flight was presented on a serving board with the tea bowls numbered to correspond with my card.  

My tea flight included:

1) Fern Trail Oolong - smooth, buttery, and floral
2) Scholar's Pavilion (green tea) - nutty, mellow, smooth, and buttery
3) Gold Silk (black tea) - notes of caramel, smoke, and plums
4) Creme Brulee (flavored black tea) - just like its name suggests

The person who prepared my teas was knowledgeable and kindly recommended that I begin with the green tea (#2) so the more nuanced flavor wouldn't get lost after sipping a bolder tea.  All were well-brewed and delicious!

Address:
16655 SW 72nd Ave #200, Tigard, OR 97224

Hours:
10:00am to 6:00pm

Dudley's Bookshop Cafe

Dudley's Bookshop Cafe is located on NW Minnesota Avenue between NW Bond Street and NW Wall Street and has been a fixture in downtown Bend since 2009. 

The bookshop offers new and classic literature, fiction and non-fiction, with local authors and new releases proudly displayed near the front and used books located on the second floor.  

The bookshop is well lit with tables and casual seating scattered throughout the main floor while leaving plenty of room to browse the bookshelves.

Dudley's serves a wide range of beverages including loose leaf teas from NW businesses like Jasmine Pearl Tea Company, Metolius Tea, and T's Tonics, as well as Prana Chai.  They also offer a selection of baked goods to keep the hunger away. 

It was pouring down rain when I visited and Prana Chai was just what I needed to warm up.  The chai was served in a Turkish teapot, ready to pour. 

Of course, I can't visit a bookstore and come away empty-handed, so my tea was accompanied by a new book for the collection and a decadent pecan bar.  Mouth and mind were happy and the rain had stopped by the time I finished my tea.  An ideal situation, all around!

Check out the event calendar for live music, meetups, author talks, and more!

Address:
135 NW Minnesota, Bend, Oregon 97701

Hours:
Mon: 9-5:30pm
Tue: 8:30-5:30pm
Wed: 9-5:30pm
Thu: 9-7:00pm
Fri: 9-6:00pm
Sat: 10-6:00pm
Sun: 11-5:30pm

Northwest Tea Festival 2019

The 12th annual Northwest Tea Festival was held on September 28th and 29th in Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall.  This was the festival's third year in this location and they seem to have settled in nicely with a much improved flow of traffic through the ticket lines and around vendor booths, of which there were more than ever.  Hooray!

The Northwest Tea Festival Tea Bar hosted by Charles and Laurie Dawson 

The Tea Bar offers festival attendees the opportunity to experience a brief tea tasting, typically of two teas for comparison.  Children are welcome at the tea bar and usually get something fun to take home.

During my drop-in session we tasted weirdly shaped teas: a Dian Hong Ball and  Shou Puerh Cube.

Last year, the Tea Bar introduced a Tea Tutorial Table where attendees can drop in for slower-paced tea tastings presented by festival volunteers.  This year they also introduced a Tea Guest Table where knowledgeable tea enthusiasts held scheduled tastings and demonstrations.  Though I missed out on some other great sessions, I was able to drop in for Russian tea presented by Laurie Dawson.

This year's festival was host to 59 exhibitors representing a broad range of tea-related products and services from around the world.  In addition to tea samples and unique wares that festival attendees can always look forward to, many of the vendors this year also offered seated tea tastings and demonstrations.  

[A tasting of Dark Depths shou puerh with Crimson Lotus]

[A tasting of freshly ground single-cultivar matcha to celebrate kuchikiri with LEAF Co. Ltd.  Kuchikiri is the cutting of the seal on the jars where matcha is stored after production to rest and mature until autumn.]

[Tea ceremony presented by Yabunouchi School Instructor Chiaki Ito hosted by Sugimoto Tea]

[A tasting and comparison of white and green teas with Miro Tea]

[Japanese Green Tea Company]

[Friends of Fire]

[Artist Tom Hill]

[Wendy Ann Creations]

Day One

Fu Zhuan Dark Tea - A Tea Tasting Adventure with Char Gascho (Oolong Owl)

Char Gascho is a Pacific Northwest-based tea blogger, writer, and member of The Tea Bloggers Roundtable.

Char introduced us to two examples of Fu Zhuan Cha, also known as Fu Tea or Fu Brick Tea.  Fu Zhuan is a type of heicha or dark tea produced in China's Hunan Province and is a one of the oldest post-fermented teas.  One of its most defining features is the jinhua or "golden flower", a potentially probiotic fungus called eurotium cristatum that appears on the leaves.  Though Fu Zhuan is not a deeply complex tea, it often improves with age.  Note that this is not a celiac-friendly tea as wheat flour is sometimes used to help promote the growth of jinhua.

Bitterleaf Teas 2000 Fu Zhuan Brick

2018 Fu Zhuan Brick (vendor unknown)

An Immersive Tasting of Rare and Unusual Teas, Contemporary and Classic with Kevin Gascoyne (Camellia Sinensis)

Kevin Gascoyne has over 30 years of experience in the tea industry as a tea taster and part owner of Camellia Sinensis Teahouse for 20 years, as a tea buyer in India for 26 years, and as a partner and director of the Tea Studio in India.  He is also an accomplished author, having most recently released the 3rd edition of his award-winning book, Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties.

This immersive tasting event was first introduced during World Tea Expo 2019 in Las Vegas.  While this was an abbreviated session due to the limitations of the venue, we were still able learn about and experience teas most of us may not encounter again.

For this session, we tasted 6 unique teas which were prepared using 10 grams of tea in 400 ml water, similar to the proportions used with gaiwan preparation.  As each tea was prepared and consumed first before Kevin would share the name and background, we were essentially "tasting in the dark" which allowed us to approach each tea with no preconceptions.

Wei Shan Huang Cha (Yellow Tea, China) 

This tea went out of production many years ago and the knowledge to make it was nearly lost to time.  Fortunately, the process was recently rediscovered and new tea is being produced.

Samcholing Bhutan (Green Tea, Bhutan)

This tea was grown and produced by an all-women cooperative in Samcholing village.  Tea plants were gifted to the King of Bhutan in 1950 and seeds were taken in the 1990s to start what is now a productive 43-acre tea farm.

Mi Lan Xiang (Oolong, China)

This Mi Lan Xiang Dancong oolong was produced from the leaves of a single 150 year old tree.

Nadeshiko (Dark Tea, Japan)

Yamabuki Nadeshiko is a post-fermented tea produced with Aspergillis awamori, the black koji mold also used to make Awamori rice wine.

Toufen 1963 (Oolong, Taiwan)

An oolong from Northwest Taiwan that has been aging since 1963.  Thus far, the oldest tea I've tasted.

Darjeeling Single Ghanni Jungpana EX6 (Black Tea, India) 

A Darjeeling produced from a micro lot of young leaves of AV2 clonal EX6, picked very early (ghanni/before first flush harvest).

Tea Blogger Roundtable moderated by Cinnabar Wright (Phoenix Tea)

It was an honor to once again sit on a panel with Char Gascho (Oolong Owl), Geoffrey Norman (Steep Stories of the Lazy Literatus) and Cinnabar Wright (Gongfu Girl).  Thanks to veryone who attended for your questions and the lively discussion!

Advanced Pu-erh Tasting with Linda Louie (Bana Tea Company)

Linda Louie, owner of Bana Tea Company is an experienced tea educator and student of acclaimed tea master and pu-erh expert, Vesper Chan.

Linda guided us through a tasting of four distinct pu-erh teas.  Rather than describing flavor notes, we were encouraged to experience tea more deeply, noting the texture (smoothness, thickness), mouth feel, our body's response as we drank each tea, and the gan (huigan) which is the minty sensation in the mouth after the tea is swallowed.

During the tasting session we also learned about pu-erh packed into dried mandarin shells, a practice that is hundreds of years old.  It is believed that the boiled peels are beneficial for the upper respiratory tract.  There are several varieties of citrus used for this purpose.  Small green mandarin are picked in mid-July and very citrusy.  Larger red mandarin are picked in September and among the sweetest of the citrus.  Xinhui mandarin grown in Yunnan are considered the best due to the the convergence of salt water and river water that feeds the soil where they grow.  When preparing tea stored in citrus, break it open by pressing inward to crack the shell.  The the ideal serving proportion is 2/5 citrus peel and 3/5 tea leaves.  

To prepare each teas for this session, Linda warmed the gaiwan with hot water, pouring out the water before adding the tea leaves, then covering and giving the gaiwan a gentle shake.  This last step helps to release the full aroma of the dry leaves.

2018 A Thousand Years of Anticipation Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake (Baiying Mountain, Lincang County, Yunnan Province)

Baiying Mountain is home to ancient tea trees, some of which are around 2,800 years old.  This tea by Vesper Chan was produced using leaves from 500 to 1,000 year old tea trees.  Prepared using 195° F water, this tea was very smooth and warmed all the way to the stomach.

2001 Original Aroma from Wood Dry-Stored Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake (Mengku Mountain, Lincang County, Yunnan Province)

Dry storage is a relatively new process pioneered by Vesper Chan in the early 1990's.  Until then, pu-erh in Hong Kong was aged in humid basements.  This tea was smooth, smoky, and mossy, warming in the chest and head.

1996 Wet-Stored Raw Pu-erh Loose Leaf (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan)

This tea was produced in Xishuangbanna and then wet-stored in Hong Kong.  Pu-erh storage can be customized to the desired results, sometimes starting with wet-storage to accelerate its development before moving into dry-storage.  This tea was mossy and sweet and warming all the way down.  

1990s Ripe Puerh Tea Brick (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan)

This was an older example of pu-erh aged in Hong Kong.  The taste and aroma was sweet and mossy.

Day Two

The Real Deal: Tasting "Fake" vs "Real" Iconic Teas with Rie Tulali (Tea Curious)

Rie is a tea educator and founder of Tea Curious.

In this session we had the opportunity to taste and compare several examples of teas with with prized origins, only some of which were authentic.  We learned that there is a spectrum of authenticity when it comes to tea.  The only way to be 100% sure of its authenticity is if you took the leaf to processing yourself.  Building a flavor library will help to build experience with tea.

Taiwan High Mountain Oolong

Taiwan High Mountain Oolong is one of the most faked teas.  To be considered authentic, the tea plants should grow at or above 1,200 meters.  Lower elevation teas have an up-front, simple flavor and thinner texture while higher elevation teas produce pectin to protect the plants, resulting in a more buttery body.  The demand for high mountain tea exceeds the supply, so some of the tea on the market comes from lower elevation plants or is sourced from other countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.

With Rie's guidance, we looked at three examples of High Mountain Oolong, comparing the color and shape of the dry leaf and the taste and aroma of the infusion.  Good tea will feel heavier than it looks.  Rolling extracts volatiles from the leaf and better made teas retain the oils in the leaf.

Sample #1 (front-right in the first photo, right in the second photo)

The dry leaf aroma was buttery and the leaves appeared darker, unfurling quickly in water.  The infusion had a floral and nutty aroma and taste.  This example is a low elevation tea and is sold for approximately $40/lb.  

Sample #2 (middle in both photos)

The dry leaf aroma was floral and nutty and the leaves unfurled slower than Sample #1.  The infusion had a floral, green, and nutty aroma with a nutty taste.  This example is a borderline authentic tea, grown at 1100m in Alishan and sells for approximately $160/lb.

Sample #3 (back-left in the first photo, left in the second photo)

The dry leaf aroma was light and rich with notes of spinach and nuts and the leaves unfurled much more slowly than the first two samples.  The infusion had a thick, buttery texture with notes of spice cake.  This is an authentic tea grown at 1600m and sells for $450/lb.  

Darjeeling

Darjeeling and Nepal have nearly identical terroirs and leaves from plants grown in Nepal are sometimes brought to Darjeeling for processing as Darjeeling tea.  We compared examples of white and black Darjeeling teas with white and black Nepali teas.  Many in this session felt the results were very similar.

Rie also shared a buyer's tip for looking for quality in white teas.  Boiling water expresses the flaws in tea.  The better the tea, the better it will stand up to boiling water. 

Darjeeling White Tea - Light and savory with muscatel notes

Nepal White Tea - Floral with fruity notes

Nepal Black Tea - Roasty aroma with a lightly rich and roasty taste

Darjeeling Black Tea - Light muscatel

The Book of Tea and the Beautiful Foolishness of Things with Bruce Richardson (Elmwood Inn Fine Teas)

Bruce Richardson is co-owner of Elmwood Inn and Fine Teas and Benjamin Press.  He is also an author, contributing editor for a number of respected tea magazines, and tea master for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.

Bruce is an authority on The Book of Tea and its author Okakura Kakuzo (Okakura Tenshin).  He recently released an expanded edition of The Book of Tea which includes the story of Okakura's life, how it ties in with The Book of Tea, and how he and his writings have influenced art and artists.  In this presentation, we learned about the life and influence of author, art historian, and art critic Okakura Kakuzo.

Life

As a result of the Perry Expedition, in 1853 Japan ended over 200 years of isolation and opened its ports to foreign trade.  On a separate, but related topic, by 1890 40% of tea in the United States was imported from Japan, with green tea and oolong traveling from Yokohama to the States in 18 days by steamship.  The Port of Yokohama had become a major hub for foreign trade and businesses like the silk shop owned by Okakura Kakuzo's father.  He sent his son to western school to learn English and Okakura continued on to study at Tokyo Imperial University.  It was there he became an assistant to Professor Ernest Fenollosa, acting as an interpreter for his Philosophy classes.  Fenollosa was also an art historian and collector and Okakura would take him to temples, shrines, and art galleries to study traditional Japanese art.  At this time, Japanese traditional arts were falling by the wayside in the enthusiasm to adopt western culture and artwork that was seen as old-fashioned was being tossed away or left to decay.  Fenollosa and Okakura, both strong advocates for the preservation of traditional art, began buying and shipping pieces to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which, to this day, has the largest collection of Japanese art in the United States.

Okakura Kakuzo went on to found the Tokyo School of Fine Arts before moving to Boston and becoming the first head of the Museum of Fine Arts Asian art division.  He had written two books, all in English, before releasing The Book of Tea in 1906 with a dedication to John La Farge.  This third book has never been out of print.

Influence

John La Farge, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Georgia O'Keefe, and Frank Lloyd Wright are among the many notables who were influenced by Okakura's work.

Bruce shared the heartfelt note to Okakura in the forward of John La Farge's book, An Artist's Letters From Japan and spoke of how the lasting friendship between Okakura and avid arts patron, Isabella Stewart Gardner began with a letter of introduction from La Farge.

Georgia O'Keefe was a devotee of The Book of Tea and you can see this reflected in her art and in her life. She invoked the spirit of tea ceremony in "her constant manner, her humility, her exactness, her utterly respectful exactness." (Christine Patten, author of Miss O'Keefe)

Frank Lloyd Wright first received The Book of Tea as a gift from a Japanese ambassador and Okakura's writings were said to have greatly influenced his work.  Wright was able to see  Ho-o-den (Phoenix Palace) under construction during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  This small scale replica of Hoo-do (Phoenix Hall), the main building of Byodo-in was made possible through Okakura's detailed illustrations of the famous temple located in Uji, Japan.  The structure and layout of Ho-o-den would inspire Wright to explore a new direction in his art, incorporating what he called the "elimination of the insignificant".  This influence is especially apparent in his early Prairie House designs.

[Ho-o-den - Chicago]

[Hoo-do, Uji]

[A Prairie Style House - Frank Lloyd Wright]

Sights to See

Locations that may be of interest to fans of Okakura Kazuko include Rokkakudo, Okakura's retreat in Kitaibaraki in Ibaraki Prefecture, and Tenshin-en (Garden of the Heart of Heaven), named after Okakura and located at the Boston  Museum of Fine Arts.  Rokkakudo was swept away in the 2011 tsunami and was rebuilt and open to the public only one year later.

Cooking with Matcha with Kiyomi (Sei Mee Tea)

At the Sei Mee Tea booth, Kiyomi presented several recipes that either add or substitute another ingredient with matcha.

We had the opportunity to taste samples from each recipe (Matcha Greek Spread, Matcha Smokey Almonds, Matcha Italian Dip, and Matcha Hummus) as Kiyomi explained how it was prepared and we received a copy of the recipes to take home.  All the food was delicious and I am especially impressed by how much the addition of matcha improved the flavor of hummus, which I already enjoy.

The Surprising History of India's Deep Chai Culture with Elyse Petersen (Tealet)

Elyse Petersen is a food scientist and founder of Tealet which specializes in direct trade with small farms and growers.

Cinnamara Tea Garden was one of the first tea gardens established in Assam and the first to be established by an Indian, Maniram Dewan.  All other tea plantations in India were British or European. 

Plantation tea was originally grown for export.  When the market slumped toward the end of the 19th century, the British began a marketing campaign to promote tea drinking within India.  Until then, Indians generally only used tea as an ayurvedic (holistic) medicine and certainly never considered drinking tea with milk and sugar.  The Tea Cess Committee, established in 1903 and becoming the less ambiguously named Indian Tea Market Expansion Committee in 1937, began a lengthy and successful propaganda campaign to convince Indians to drink chai.   Some of the latter propaganda ads brazenly used swadeshi which was a term popularized by Ghandi, who also spoke out strongly against chai, to promote independence through domestic production and boycott foreign (British) goods.  The term chaiwala (chai wallah), the person who makes and serves masala chai, came from the British marketing campaign.

Part of the Cinnamara Tea Garden would become the Tocklai Tea Research Institute and chai became the official national beverage of India in 2013 on the 212th birth anniversary of Maniram Dewan.

Elyse also shared some promising information about small, independent farms in India and the development of new types of tea.  Some of these growers seem to be inspired toward innovation and creating their own gongfu style of tea preparation.

Thanks to all the volunteers and everyone behind the scenes, behind the booths, and behind the microphones for making this festival a success!  I'm ready for Northwest Tea Festival 2020!