Eugene Tea Festival 2026

A well-timed visit with family in Oregon gave me the opportunity to attend the Eugene Tea Festival for the first time.  The festival is in its fourth year, kicking off in 2023 and preceded by virtual tea tastings and local events.  This year's festival took place on on May 31st at the Farmer's Market Pavilion in Eugene, Oregon's downtown arts district.  The Pavilion and the adjoining plaza were lined with booths for tea, artisan, and food vendors.

The tea festival is free to attend, though donations are welcome and come with a tasting cup to enjoy all the tea samples available at the vendor booths.  

At a table inside the Pavilion, Josh Brock (The Empty Tea Cup) and Laurie Dawson (Whatcom Tea) prepared tea throughout the day, providing a welcoming space to decompress and meet new tea friends.

The vendor booths had an impressive range of teas and tisanes from around the world, as well as handcrafted teaware, art, and decor.

Thanks to everyone who worked to bring this festival to the local community.  It was a wonderful event!

The next Eugene Tea Festival will take place on May 30, 2027.

Skywater Tea House

While in town for Tea Fest PDX, we had afternoon tea at Skywater Tea House.  Owners Hans Ramos and Neil Thompson opened the doors to the afternoon tea room in downtown Hillsboro in August 2022, shortly after opening Skywater Fine Wines.

 

Inside the entrance, tea and teaware are on display and available for purchase.

The dining area is well-lit with plentiful seating.  Tables are spaced well to prevent a sense of crowding when seats are filled, as most were shortly after our arrival.

Our table setting was lovely with matching dinnerware, tea cups, and saucers.  Even the wainscoting seemed to be a part of the table display.

The tea menu includes white, green, oolong, black, and puerh teas, flavored blends, chai, and tisanes.  Each guest receives their own pot of tea.

My tea selection for this visit was an earthy Shu-cha Pu-erh and the meal began with a refreshing Golden Pomelo Vanilla Panna Cotta.  Everything was delicious and the service was excellent.  I'm looking forward to a return visit!

Online reservations are required in advance.  Note that they do not offer alternatives for dietary restrictions with the exception of vegetarian and pescatarian diets which can be accommodated with advance notice.

Address:
1601B SE River Rd, Hillsboro, Oregon

Hours:
Thursday-Sunday 11:00am to 2:30pm
Closed Monday-Wednesday

Northwest Tea Festival 2025

The 15th Northwest Tea Festival was held on September 27th and 28th in Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall.

With well over 50 vendors, festival attendees had an abundance of tea, teaware, food, and gifts to discover and take home.  Festival admission includes a porcelain tasting cup and most booths had freshly brewed tea ready to sample.  Several vendors also offered tea tastings and demonstrations at their booths.

A puerh tea tasting with Glen Bowers (Crimson Lotus)

A tea ceremony presentation hosted by Sugimoto Tea

Presentations were on two stages with topics ranging from the health benefits, science, and economics of the tea industry to the history, cultural traditions, and production methods of tea growing regions. 

Workshops returned this year and were welcomed back with great enthusiasm as online tickets sold out quickly.

The always popular Tea Bar had a rotating schedule of hosts providing tea tastings throughout the weekend. 

Sam Culwell, Diarmuid Fahy, and Colton Meyers serve tea at the Tea Bar

Josh Brock (The Empty Cup) serves tea at the Tea Bar

Thanks so much to everyone who made this event possible!

Be sure to mark your calendars for Northwest Tea Festival 2026 which will be held on September 26th and 27th.  

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!

Tea Review: White Peony (Perennial Tea Room)

White Peony

Perennial Tea Room
Type: White
Origin: China, Fujian Province
Product Description:

White Tea from Fujian is defined by its picking standard—the bud-to-leaf ratio of a harvest. The most exclusive grade is Bai Hao Yin Zhen, aka Silver Needle, which is just the youngest, budding leaf of the plant. The next grade is Bai Mudan, aka White Peony, which has a bud and the next two young leaves. The origin of its name has long been lost to time, and very few White Peony teas actually smell like peony flowers.

 

This tea definitely changes over the course of infusions. In early infusions, or in a western-style cup, it reminds us of an early spring morning, bright and refreshing, and the aroma of fresh-cut hay. The aroma of the wet leaves is a little salty and bready, almost like a sourdough. Later infusions lead further into dried hay and persimmon, and a slight hint of fig.

Temperature: 185° F

Amount: 3 grams
Steeping Time: 2 minutes

The dry leaf aroma is sweet with notes of dried wood and pepper.

The golden peach infusion has a sweet and savory aroma with notes of fruit and vine beans.  The taste is almost juicy with sunflower seed-like notes and something that reminds me of stone fruit just before it ripens.

This was a lovely white tea with a light flavor and aroma that changed noticeably with each infusion.  By the third infusion, I was tasting dried fig.  The mouthfeel of the first sip was like biting into a juicy piece of fruit.

This tea review was purchased by me.

Portal Tea Sellwood

While in town for Tea Fest PDX, we visited Portal Tea's Sellwood caboose tea room. I previously reviewed this tea room in 2019 when they were operating as Tea Chai Te, before their 2023 rebrand.

The interior hasn't changed much since my last visit, though everything still looks fresh and bright.

We sat near the enclosed courtyard and enjoyed the natural lighting. While the courtyard is pet-friendly, our timing sadly wasn't aligned to spot any furry guests.  My tea for this visit was the delicious Chocolate Chipotle Chai paired with macarons.

Address:7983 SE 13th Ave, Portland, OR 97202

Hours:
9:00am to 9:00pm

Tea Fest PDX 2024

Tea Fest PDX 2024 was held on July 13th at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon.  For those who couldn't attend in person, there was also a festival-in-a-box option that included tea samples, a tasting cup, and a tea pet to accompany virtual tea tastings and classes on July 20th.  It's been fantastic to see an increase in accessible alternatives like this where everyone in the tea community can participate.

As in previous years, educational sessions were held in Miller Hall, the David Douglas Room, and outside at the British Tea Tent.  Vendors were located in the large outdoor space at the top of the stairs just past the ticket booths, in the grassy area toward the back, and in Cheatham Hall.  The outdoor vendor space was fully covered this year with widened walkways between rows of booths.  

Though I wasn't able to get tickets to any of the classes this year, I did get to enjoy some of the wonderful tea tasting sessions hosted by the vendors at their booths.

Tao of Tea Tangerine Shou Puerh

Tao of Tea Tangerine Shou Puerh

Tao of Tea Tangerine Shou Puerh

Sugimoto Tea Mizuki Matcha

Minto Island Tea Company

Nara Tea

In addition to the annual festival, Tea Fest PDX also promotes local and virtual tea events throughout the year.  Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to learn more.