Tea Tasting with Friends

After the tea classes and World Tea Expo, I tried to synthesize what I had learned and gathered friends for tea tasting. For my first tea tasting I invited friends I’ve known for years and asked for their honest opinions. I got lots of great feedback – “this iced tea is refreshing,” “jasmine tea is best with Chinese food,” “chamomile is blah by itself,” etc. I also learned that everyone has their own taste palate and what tested great to one person was another’s least favorite tea. I also learned to limited the number of teas for a tasting and to not serve a full lunch at the same time.

For my second tasting, I called it a Tea Party and asked friends to bring a sweet or savory item to taste with the tea. When they arrived, they were giddy to be at a “tea party” and took lots of pictures of each other and the table filled with teapots and lovely food. I didn’t serve as many teas and I was able to enjoy the tea and goodies as well. Again, I got some great feedback on the teas I served, and the excitement and interest from both tastings spurred me to continue my tea exploration.