NYC Coffee and Tea Festival - March 2016
- katweb79
- Mar 31, 2016
- 5 min read
In a couple weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending the Coffee and Tea Festival in Brooklyn, NY. The experience was amazingly engaging to my newly developed tea palate. The day started at 10am with the VIP ticket I pad extra for and by 1pm I was completely "tea drunk". After tasting every single tea booth sample and sniffing every tea container my senses were a bit dizzy and overwhelmed. I was one of those people to ask a million questions about the product and more often than not I received more information than I could ever dream from each booth. I even found myself lingering and listen to other peoples conversations and questions about the tea, guess I am a shadow learner. Below is my review on just a few of the amazing booths I visited. I received a lot of samples and purchased a lot of products onsite so more individual tea and product reviews are sure to follow in the next few weeks. Unfortunately I had to limit what I purchased onsite because I was trying to stick with a carry-on back (which didn't work anyway). Next time I will bring a suitcase big enough to bring home more products because yes there will be a next time.
Teatulia - amazing company with amazing tea. They are a single garden direct sourcing tea company that helped cultivate a tea garden in Northern Bangladesh. Beyond all the good they are doing for the Bangladesh community their teas are absolutely amazing. Onsite I sampled the Oolong which tasted like a lightly roasted tea with sweet notes of roasted pitted fruit and barley. It reminded me of a apricot oatmeal cookie not that I have ever had one but I want to make one now.
Harney & Sons - purchased the Florence which is a chocolate flavored black tea. The smell of the dry leaves reminds me of a fancy chocolate shop from France. In my VIP bag they gave me a few sample sachets to try and so far I have tried the Paris and it reminds me of a classic earl gray with a nice citrus backdrop. I can see myself adding this tea to my collection.
Camellia-Sinensis- The is was an amazing group of gentlemen. The booth was always packed and they were bouncing from person to person having as in-depth conversations as one can when there are 10-15 people crowded around half waiting to ask you questions or just talk about tea and half reaching their arms in for some of the amazing samples. At times I would just sit back and take in all the information they were giving even if they were not talking to me. I found myself drawn to each one on of them because they really engaging when they were talking about their subjects of expertise. I even had the pleasure of taking one of the break out seminars with Kevin Gascoyne who have an amazing presentation about Aged Tea. I do a post regarding that session separately there was way to much information to put here.
Tea Sparrow - I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Menashy at the booth and he was a wonderful and calming soul. They were handing out samples of a White Tea Champagne from Tea Desire onsite and my palette danced with sparkling fruity notes. If they sold that tea onsite I would have purchased the biggest bag they had available. They provide an amazing subscription in which they collect teas from 100's of companies worldwide and share their favorites with people like me in a monthly box delivered directly to my door. This method really exposes me to lots of tea companies around the globe. I forgot to circle back around to the booth before leaving to sign up for the subscription but made sure to sign up as soon as I returned home. I can not wait to receive my 1st box and provide you with a review. Michael if you are reading this I will be contacting you soon about how I can help increase the subscription base in Florida.
ATEAZ - The gentlemen at this booth were a very energetic group. They we so informative about their tea and encouraged you to compare flavors and even described the differences and similarities between similar blends. They inquired about my personal favorite flavor profiles and provided some excellent recommendations. They only reason I did not purchase any tea on the spot is because my carry-on bag only has so much extra room and they offer free deliver but I was sold. I wish I had the time while in NYC to visit one of their stores and I hope they take me up on my invitation to bring their amazing brand to South Florida. My offer still stands that I would visit their store very often.
MissTEA - purchased the Fuji-San Mug which is a Glass mug, infuser and lid. This mug is perfect for my loose leaf infusion at work. The top serves as a coaster for the mugs filter leaving me with a very attractive mug to carry when strolling through the office. I already had multiple coworkers ask what's in my cup because they can see the beautiful colors of my tea brews. The whole this is made of glass also so it allow easy cleaning. I will provide a full review of this product after I have used it for a few weeks.
Joseph Wesley Tea - Not only did I have the pleasure of meeting the man behind the brand but I purchased his book and received his autograph in the book. because I have been following this company on social media I felt like I was meeting a celebrity. Mr. Wesley was an amazing man with bountiful of information about his hand selected teas and the source of each one. He was handing out samples of his #2 which is an Assam from India and it was bold and robust as you would expect from teas from the Northeastern part of India. The astringency was mild and the earthy malty flavor had a slight backdrop of sweetness as the finishing sensation. Mr. Wesley was so engaging I had no chose but to purchase a few things I had my eye on before I even arrived.
In summary, the event was outstanding for any level tea enthusiast and extremely educational for a future tea sommelier like myself. Beyond the booths, the VIP bag included additional sample items not found on the floor and further exited me about the event when I returned to my hotel room.
See you again soon NYC.
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