Greetings Tri-State Tea Chatters!
Really exciting news! I am organizing a new Tea Tasting Club based in New York City. Want to know the best part? It's going to be hosted at the Tea Gallery!!! I have been in contact with Winnie at the Gallery and we have already worked out the initial framework for a monthly club. The details are as follows:
- One meeting per month (for now) at the Tea Gallery- currently operating out of Michael and Winnie's lovely midtown Manhattan apartment. For now, the meetings will take place Friday evenings.
- 6 people per meeting maximum. The limit is just a space issue.
- $50 flat rate for each meeting. This breaks down to $8.50 per person if we have 6 people! $10 per person if 5, etc. An amazing deal either way! A regular private tasting at the Gallery usually runs about $28 per person.
- The fee includes three tastings from their amazing collection, and we are also welcome to bring our own teas in as well.
- Of course, Michael, Winnie or Dae will always be there to serve as master of ceremonies too.
This is a great chance to expand our tea knowledge and learn from some of the most knowledgeable folks in the country. (Not to mention our very own members TIM and Brandon have signed up for the fun too!)Our first meeting will take place on Friday, September 4th at 6pm. All six spots have been spoken for, but please PM me if you are interested in future meetings. All are welcome to attend, but we are hoping to have a relatively steady cast of members. So, if you are really into excellent teas (especially oolongs and puerhs), or less-experienced but committed to trying to expand your passion for great teas, teaware, and culture, then this club is for you. Once per month isn't much of a commitment, so please inquire only if you are really jazzed about this idea.
Depending on how much interest I get from this thread, there is a possibility of starting a second club too. It could be run exactly like the first club, OR, one idea I have been kicking around would be to host a separate, less fancy monthly meeting at my apartment in Inwood (north Manhattan). This would be less structured, the tea selections would be more diverse, participants would supply all the teas, and it would be completely free, aside from bringing one tea sample for the group to try. Please PM me if you would be interested in this type of meeting too, and we can go from there.
I'm really excited to be organizing what promises to be some really educational, experiential, and, most importantly, fun times with good like-minded folks. Thanks for reading, and I hope to be meeting many of my fellow NYC tea lovers soon! Best Wishes, Mike
