Selling Tea at the MCES Show

booth #910

What a weekend. What a week leading up to the weekend of November 8/9.  We are still officially… exhausted. Thank goodness for Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Salon and hot stone massages which is where I was on Monday, after the show.

As many of you already know, we had a booth (#910) at the Washington DC Metro Food & Entertaining Show on November 8th and 9th. I was also a key speaker on tea. With less than two weeks to prepare, we scrambled to try to get our booth together. The average nights sleep? 3 hours. Was it worth it? Absolutely. We met some many great people!

me on the floor during setup

We arrived on Friday afternoon to begin set up. What we encountered was a fabulously placed booth (across from Beer, Wine & Spirits) with way too much pink decor. The entire show was outfitted in pink and white. Ordinarily I like pink, but for our booth it just didn’t work with our colors: orange, white and black. Something had to be done. Luckily, I had black fabric that we ended up draping over as much of the pink as we could. It took us about 4 hours to get everything set up and we still needed to return early in the morning to put the finishing touches on the booth.

timmy and david

We had 4 people in the booth: Tim, Timmy, David and myself. David represented Smith & Hawken, our sponsor for the show and for an upcoming Tea Tasting and Seminar called: “Tea in the Garden: Understanding Orchids and Orchid Oolong Tea.” We all were focused and completely TeaCentric. Timmy, who is 15, was our number one tea salesman. He was working that booth like a pro! Saturday began at 8am for us with the show opening at 10am. Crowds and crowds of people rushed through the convention center doors to sample gourmet foods, wine, spirits and of course, TEA. It was nonstop until the doors closed at 7pm. We had waves of people at our booth clamoring for our loose leaf tea. By 2pm we were sold out of our newest creativiTEA blend: Counting Sheep. We had people ordering off the website which was on back order as of Sunday. Luckily a new shipment arrived late today! Seemed that Chai Chai Christy (a rooibos based chai) was a big hit as well. Actually most of our rooibos based teas were moving along quite well.

17oz damask iPot

We almost completely sold out of our new tea pots! The 24 oz versions seem to be a favorite size. The hot colors for this fall seem to be: Eggplant, Damask, Scarlet, Ocean Blue, Pistachio and Ballet Pink! We came home with only a few colors: cocoa and gray! Our London Pottery Globe Tea pots were a big hit too and many Brits found there way to our booth and scoooped up all but 3 of these authentic English style pots. Our famous tea pillow cases caused quite a stir with people buying 2 and 3 packs at a time. I just knew this little japanese invention would be worthwhile. I dont leave home without my tea pillow cases!

Orchid Oolong Tea Tasting

Smith & Hawken Team: Cathy, Ian (Manager), David (Assistant Manager), Cheryl

We’ll… we just finished up our tea tasting at Smith & Hawken in Chevy, Chase Maryland. What fun! I learned a lot about the care of orchids and how to get them to bloom more than once. Lots of information floating around as we served Orchid Oolong tea. It was such a success, they asked us to come back. I believe we may have an ongoing gig to do a tea tasting every other Friday at the store. Thanks Smith & Hawken for your support!

If you have never had an Orchid Oolong Tea, you are missing quite a wonderful experience. The aroma is classic green oolong. The liquor is a golden yellow and there is a hint of something unusual. If you didn’t know it was orchid, it would remain a mystery. Our Oolong is a high mountain green Oolong from Taiwan which is shipped to Fujian Province China to be scented with fresh orchid flowers.Yulan, the type of orchid we use is a much larger flower and much more aromatic than a jasmine. The danger can be that the tea absorbs too much moisture or becomes over scented and the crucial balance between tea and orchid taste is lost. This year’s crop represents the zenith of the art of scenting.

If you havent read the wonderful article in the Washington Post on Oolongs you must do so! How wonderful that Oolongs are becoming more known.

Seven Cups Tea House (Denver)

pam sipping tea

I visit Denver often. At least 3-4 times a year because most of my family lives out there. Each time I go, I try to have tea with my sister-in-law Roseanne and my nieces, Christy and Lauren. It’s always a good time. On this particular trip, I ended up having tea with my dear friend Pam who actually now lives in Boulder with her husband Tim. She made the trip to Denver to meet me at Seven Cups Tea House so that I could sample their stash. Pam and I have known each other for almost 10 years now having met randomly on Waikiki Beach during a surf lesson. In all the years I lived in Hawaii, I had never tried to surf, so when I went back for a months vacation, just a year after moving to Washington DC, I thought I should give it a try. Having failed miserably, I swam back to shore only to see Pam actually riding a wave. We’ve been friends ever since. Anyway…

Seven Cups Tea House resides in a quiet part of Denver on South Pearl Street. Coincidence? I think not. Asian culture values the word “pearl” as something elegant, of value, perfect and pure. Hence the name of our very own tea company: Pearl Fine Teas.

Upon entrance into the tea house, you are faced with jars of loose leaf tea to the right of the shop. The back area has tables for sitting, tasting and sharing an traditional Asian treat.

We met on a quiet Saturday morning and lined up the different teas that we (or rather I) wanted to sample. After reviewing the tea filled jars, I decide to try two teas I’ve never had, along with two that I am familiar with – treasures blend and an oolong. An Alishan to be exact. I had asked them if they had anything close to a “Milk Taste” oolong and they said the Alishan was the closest. To me it tasted nothing like a “Milk Taste” Oolong.

Pam had never really been to an Asian tea house, so she allowed me to lead the tasting. She was open to suggestion and it was so fun to pick and choose teas for us both to try.

We were the only two in there that morning so we had the full attention of the shop manager. We began the tasting with a Meng Ding Huang Ya (Yellow Buds) Yellow Tea 2007 which I found a bit too light for my liking, although I think Pam was partial to that one. After, we sipped a Mo Gan Huang Ya (Yellow tea) Yellow Tea (Organic) 2008 which again, a bit too light for my liking but the flavor was interesting. After, I moved to a Seven Treasure tea blend and the Alishan Tong Fang Mei Ren (Oriental Beauty) Taiwan Oolong 2007. You can see from the photo to the left that the liquor color of the Alishan (4th from the left) is quite light. We had multiple infusions of each tea and I remember thinking that I liked the 2nd infusions of almost all of them. I was also very interested in their 7 Treasures Blend. I’ve had something similar here in Washington at Ching Ching Cha, but their version is called 8 Treasures and quite frankly, its a fantastic. It’s one of the tastiest tea blends they offer. Each infusion gets sweeter and sweeter. I was expecting the same from the 7 Treasures, but alas, it was not.

In addition to the teas, we tried a few treats – most made with some sort of bean paste. They were “ok” but I thought that the flavor was lacking probably because they had just come out of the fridge. My expectation was that they would have been prepared that day and not quite so… cold.

Would I venture back to Seven Cups Tea House in Denver? Probably. Mostly because I feel strongly about supporting others in tea (that alone would be a reason to visit again) but also because I think there is an interesting selection. I would however eat before going.  Admittedly, my favorite spot so far in Denver is the Brown Palace. They do afternoon tea better than most!

So what does Seven Cups of Tea mean? Somehow I vaguely remember reading that seven cups of tea were important to ones over all health. I have no idea where I read this and when I did a google search, it was no where to be found. On the Seven Cups web site, it refers to a poem called:  ‘The Seven Cups of Tea’…

‘Seven Cups’ is named after a very famous ancient poem about tea. Poetry, history and legend all have an important role to play in Chinese tea culture, and the Seven Cups poem is one of the traditional verses that is still recited today. It was written by Lu Tong (798-835AD) during the years of the Tang dynasty, and the theory of seven cups of tea still bears Lu Tong’s name. It was written as a response to his friend Mong, a Tang court adviser, who had sent him a parcel of tea.

The first cup caresses my dry lips and throat.
The second shatters the walls of my lonely sadness.
The third searches the dry rivulets of my soul to find the stories of five thousand scrolls.
With the fourth the pain of life’s grievances evaporates through my pores.
The fifth relaxes my muscles and bones become light.
With the sixth I find the path that leads to the immortal ancestors.
Oh the seventh cup! Better not take it! If I had it the only feeling
Is the fresh wind blowing through my wings,
As I make my way to Penglai.
-Lu Tong, Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907)

Presidential Tea Race Results: Obama Wins!

The people have spoken. “Drink For Change” won by a landslide (90%) while “Extra-Mavericky” fell behind (10%). Were you one of the lucky ones to order a Presidential Tea Blend? Hope so.

Here is to a future full of antioxidants!

Smith and Hawken, Pearl Fine Teas & Orchid Oolong

The Big News for today, November 4th is… well, who will be our next President. It’s pretty hard to trump that, but given that we are totally TeaCentric (and have already voted) we have some Big News of our own to share with our fellow TeaPeeps and followers:

I have been invited to speak and show at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show right here in Washington DC at the new Convention Center! We are selling our fabulous loose leaf tea along with some amazing tea ware.  Our booth is #910 (right across from Beer, Wine and Spirits) so if you live close, stop by and introduce yourself. I am a featured speaker on Tea on Sunday, November 9th from 12:30-1:00pm. Very exciting.

The even BIGGER NEWS is that Smith & Hawken has signed on to support us! They have asked us to create a holiday event exclusively for their Chevy Chase, MD store. The seminar is called: “Tea in the Garden: Understanding Orchids and Orchid Oolong Tea.” Pretty fabulous! They will also be present at our booth and are outfitting our space with orchids galore and furniture from the store which should be just fantastic. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to not only speak at the Metro Cooking & Entertaining Show, but to help with this exclusive holiday event for Smith & Hawken. Anyone that knows me can tell you that it is truly one of my favorite stores. What an opportunity!

Orchid Oolong Tea. The Garden. What could be better? Check out the press release that went out today.

If you are not familiar with Orchid Oolong, you may be missing out on a spectacular experience. Here is a brief description of the one we carry at Pearl Fine Teas:

orchid oolong

High mountain green oolong from Taiwan which is shipped to Fujian Province China to be scented with fresh orchid flowers. Yulan, the type of orchid we use is a much larger flower and much more aromatic than a jasmine. The danger can be that the tea absorbs too much moisture or becomes over scented and the crucial balance between tea and orchid taste is lost. This year’s crop represents the zenith of the art of scenting.

How can you not be enticed?

Remember: Please Vote! (and sip tea, we did!). There’s still time!

Thank you, Tea Guy Speaks

When I woke up this morning and opened my email box (actually its always open and the computer is always on), I clicked my Google Alert email. I do this every morning as I sip some new tea or an old favorite. In case you are wondering, this morning I was sipping PG Tips. Yes I know, not my own but you can’t argue with a PG Tip and I don’t mind saying so. Plus, we love the PG Tips Monkey! Anyway…

I click on my Google Alert and scan, and scan, all the way down to Blogs. And I’m reading, and reading and I notice this article on Presidential Teas and I think, “Wow, someone else came up with the idea too? How odd.” Then I realized I was reading about my very own little tea company: Pearl Fine Teas.

Tea Guy Speaks posted a lovely bit about us on his fabulous blog and rather than thank him via comment to the post, I decided to thank you in a more grand way: by blogging right back.

Many of you probably already know about his blog and how amazing the info is about the tea world. I often look to it for things I wouldn’t ordinarily find. Like the fact that there was a Tea Drinking Gorilla who recently passed away at age 48 or that World Tea News wrote about us and I didn’t even know it.  You can read the bit called: “Politics Inspires Tea Blends“ on their site.

When I posed the question on Twitter a few weeks ago, I had no idea people would be so interested. Seems its spreading like wild fire. It’s looking like California is taking the lead with blend orders. Thank you TeaPeeps of California! And thank you Tea Guy Speaks for the nod.

Remember to Vote. And drink tea.

Presidential Tea Illustrations

Tea Illustration by Jack Cheng (www.jackcheng.com)

So, Social Media does work. While on Twitter last week when I posted the now infamous “If Obama or McCain were a tea, what would they be” question, we were approached by Jack Cheng, a tea enthusiast, to help us with the packaging of the Presidential Blends. As you can see, they are seriously fabulous!

You can find Jack at: www.jackcheng.com

You buy a tea blend at : www.pearlteas.com

Obama v. McCain Tea Tweets on Twitter

Chocolate Tea?

chocolate in my tea?

As a self proclaimed “tea snob” sometimes its hard to wrap my hands around a trendy blend.  Especially some that are just… the oddest of concoctions. I’ll refrain from mentioning anything specific, but one that comes to mind is a tea with so much strawberry in it I dumped it out immediately. It wasnt tea, it was Strawberry Quick!

We don’t sell “crazy blends.”  I like a blended tea that keeps with the integrity and mission of the company which is to: source and sell the best leaf with the best flavor. Quite simply: I like quality. Recently, a fellow TeaPeep & tea merchant strongly recommended I give chocolate tea a try. Here is what happened:

I loved it.

With just a touch of local honey (buy local!) to boost the chocolate flavor – you’ve got yourself one of the best secrets out there! Rich, smooth and creamy it reminded me of sitting fireside in Vail … watching everyone ski and snowboard into each other.

Do you have a chocolate addiction? Consider yourself a choco-holic? Like a chocolate-y snack around midnight? Try chocolate tea to satisfy the craving. I highly recommend this wonderful, surpising tea as a way of enjoying chocolate and tea without… consequence. (ie: calories).

*** If you contact me directly (info@pearlteas.com),  I’ll send the first 10 TeaPeeps a sample of our newest member to the tea family: “TeaChocolatte”.

In the subject line put: “TeaChocolatte, please!”  and let me know if you found us via Twitter or the TeaLove Blog! and don’t forget your mailing address!

Happy (TeaChocolatte) sipping!

Top Selling Teas

An article put out September 15, 2008 by World Tea News discussed the state of the economy for the tea industry. To paraphrase:  “…the results indicate that tea businesses are doing fine, despite the faltering economy.” I’m curious to see the survey after WTN reviews the Q4. October is just a mess.

According to the survey, the average gross monthly sales over the last 12 months were the highest for tea bars which reported $43,031. Tea rooms came in 2nd with $33,126 and tea retailers were last with $17,343.

Included in the article was an interesting chart of top selling teas.

Top Selling Teas Chart (World Tea News)

I wasn’t surprised by black tea as the leader at 48% and green tea falling behind at 18% but I was surprised that Rooibos wasn’t far behind green in consuption. Puer or Pu’erh was in last place with 0% – not surprising.