tea tastings: private, semi-private, public

[Sydney]

I've been thinking more and more about hosting some tea tastings in the Spring.

The basic idea for a private tasting so far is to obtain a temporary space for several hours, recruit a couple of helpers, and set up a few serving stations distributed around the room. Snacks and seating would be distributed more or less evenly through the room. Pre-printed papers with names of tea with a place to mark what sippers like, don't like, etc. provided. Donation jar(s) for people who want to pitch in on expenses.

I've done wine tastings following a similar model before, and all went quite well.

Now that a few people I know have become addicted, I think I have the helpers part nearly covered.

Now I'm beginning to contemplate variations for semi-private and public tastings....

[Wesli]

Strippers.

[scruffmcgruff]

Space and Fencer both have some experience with this, let's see what they have to say.

P.S. Definitely strippers.

[Ed]

Strippers FTW.

[Space Samurai]

I have more experience with tea demos in a store setting, ie: hundreds of customers that sort of swarm by you, but I did just teach a smaller tea class about two weeks back.

I had three tables of 4-5 people, and I put a gaiwan and a fair cup on each table and gongfu-ed the tea seperately for each table. I liked doing it that way and will use the same set up nex time, but I do recommend having helpers if you can get it.

My wife took the class, and she composed a list of notes on how to improve the class nextime--you know how helpful wives can be. I'll post them here. Maybe there is something there that could help you out.

"Here are the notes we discussed to help improve the next class:

• Compare bagged tea to full leaf by cutting open a bag and showing the
dry leaf difference.

• Show and tell of leaves before brewing. Discuss what each one is,
let participants smell the dry leaf and look at it.

• After brewing, show what a wet, fully-unfurled leaf looks like.

• Have a handout listing names of tea you are preparing, what type it
is (white, green), the brand and origin, and suggested brewing times.

• Have a handout of talking points and important information, so that
the participants have a reference. Some suggestions: difference
between white, green and black in caffeine content, why one would
choose gaiwan over cup preparation.

• Teach the cooking school staff how to pour a gaiwan, so that you
don't have to run back and forth.

• Have a handout of glossary of tea terms: astringent, tisane, gong fu,
gaiwan, keemun, genmaicha, etc.
http://www.tealand.com/Glossary.htm
http://www.hungrymonster.com/Foodfacts/Tea_Glossary.cfm

• Mention the teaware and what makes it special. Talk about the art of
it.

• Choose fewer teas, so that you have more time to talk. Perhaps one
white, one green, one black and one puerh, 2 infusions each. Or, two
teas of each, but only one infusion. I think the participants wanted
more talking and less time brewing. They seemed to want more basic
preparation information, like the brewing times, etc."

[Chip]

WOW, I think we should consider Space's wife for ITD, that is awsome.

But also your sharing your experience is helpful to all Space. I have often wondered how you do it. And your willingness to share your wife's comments is commendable.

Great idea Padre, keep us informed so we can learn and maybe give it a go too.

[Sydney]

Well, it's something of a natural progression for me. I already make tea for other people, so the idea of extending the tasting to a larger group doesn't seem too strange. Plus, I have done wine and food tastings before, so I have a frame of reference.

In wine tastings, for instance, one common practice is to provide bite-sized fruits, cheeses, breads, etc. While these serve just fine as snacks during the tasting process, one of the real reasons to do it is so that people get to experience the wine and food flavors working together.

Can do the same thing with tea.

Also, there are benefits to narrowing the range of teas, likely around a theme. In wine tastings, you might have 3 different sauvignon blancs from Spy Valley, or one of each of the 6 main varietals that Andrea Immer focuses on in some of her basic books and TV shows. Or whatever.

In tea, you could have a tasting focusing on a variety of greens, or several different of one varietal, etc. Or have one in which teaware is the main focus: gaiwan vs yixing vs kyuusu, vs IngenuiTEA, etc. focusing on comparison/contrast and appropriateness for various teas.

Then there's the question of how much talking is going to go on. Will someone be talking about the tea, warez, prep, etc. while someone else prepares the tea for the session? Will instructional videos be playing on a 'puter off to the side as people gather and shoot the breeze?

A bit of planning can ensure a lot more fun and satisfaction.