At the end of Day Two of the World Tea Expo I didn't feel quite as exhausted as I did after the first day. We started settling in a bit, and were able to spend some time with some of the new people who were stopping by, as well as give a little time to some of the folks who came back after saying hello on the first day. Our booth was busy all day again, but we were able to take some time to sit down and enjoy a few cups of tea before the Expo opened. Michael and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with a the producers of our new Tung Ting, Light Roast who shared some of their new and unique teas, some of which were only plucked in mid-May. It was an excellent, relaxing way to start out the day. While Michael and I relaxed, Bill was busy teaching once again. Yesterday was the first day of a two part class on tea processing. The class is an experiential lab that Bill is co-teaching with Donna Fellman, the Online Education Manager for World Tea Media. They have flown freshly plucked tea leaves that about 60 participants are using to make 5 different types of tea–white, green, yellow, oolong, and black. Today, the last day of the Expo, the participants will be finishing their tea and tasting their handiwork. Our booth was busy, but less frantic than the first day, so we were able to spend a little more time talking to people, answering questions, and sampling teas. Once again, Bill snuck off to the North American Tea Championships Winner’s Tasting Circle to feature Big Red Robe Supreme, a beautiful strip-style oolong. We're very excited about all of our teas that were honored by the judges! Today is shaping up to be another busy day here in Las Vegas! Not only will we still have a rotating selection of Taiwanese teas to sample alongside our featured teas, but we'll be making a bit of a scene on the show floor. If you're here at the Expo, stop by our booth at 1:30 for a talk on Dark Tea, as well as a rare opportunity to see a log of Dark Tea cut into cakes (don't worry, we have safety glasses). We'll be raffling off the pieces and you must be present to win. If you don't win, however, we do sell the cakes pre-cut! We'll have one final post from Las Vegas tomorrow morning after the show has ended and we're on our way home, so stop by Beyond the Leaf again tomorrow! -Timothy Otte Assistant Wholesale manager

View Post About World Tea Expo, Day 2 recap

Yesterday was the first day of the World Tea Expo here in Las Vegas. As pureblooded Minnesotans, going from 65 degree weather in Minneapolis to 100 degree weather here was a bit of a shock to the system. We're expecting a high of 111 degrees on Saturday, 40 degrees warmer than the expected high in Minneapolis. Luckily, we're inside a huge convention center with air conditioning, so we've managed to remain cool. [caption id="attachment_77" align="alignleft" width="182"] Golden Dragon, China[/caption] TeaSource, however, is HOT. Bill spent Friday morning teaching a class on the reality of opening a brand new tea shop (with most of the class based on opening our Eden Prairie store). While Bill was teaching, Michael and I readied the booth for the day which meant brewing 4 different teas and adjusting the final details of our display. As I said, our booth was popular, and day one of the Expo was one of the busiest days we've ever had at a trade show. The show opened officially at 11am, but we had people stopping by as early as 10 to say hello, and the rush didn't let up until 5:30 when the show closed for the day. We met hundreds of people from all over the world and were excited to share our knowledge and passion with everyone who stopped by. We are sampling a variety of teas at our booth, focusing on 100 Taels Dark Tea Cake, Dark Rose Tea, and Blue Beauty Oolong (which recently took home 2nd place in the North American Tea Championships). We we are also featuring a rotating Taiwanese tea at the top of every hour, which meant people came back every hour to try a different tea. Bill also stepped out for an hour to feature Golden Dragon and our 1999 Green Puerh Cake at the North American Tea Championships Winner's Tasting Circle. No shortage of tea samples from us! We have also made a big splash with our brand new Taste Tea Cupping Journal. I came up with the idea for the cupping journal after my first World Tea Expo last year. I wanted a tool for myself to help me keep track of the teas I tried, but it has probed to be a useful tool for others as well. Already there are almost 200 cupping journals making their way around the Expo floor! I couldn't be more proud of our cupping journal. If you're at the World Tea Expo, stop by Booth #400 to sample our teas and pick up you're own Taste Tea Cupping Journal (if you haven't already grabbed one). Bill, Michael, and I are looking forward to meeting you! If you're not in Las Vegas, we'll make sure we enjoy the hot weather for you, though we're secretly looking forward to more mild temperatures. Check back tomorrow morning for a recap of Saturday's fun! -Timothy Otte Assistant Wholesale Manager

View Post About World Tea Expo, Day 1 recap

Hi,

I've just recently arrived in Puer, Yunnan province, China as a member of U.S. trade mission and industry group. While here I will be attending the International China Tea and Puer Convention.

I am here as a representative of the U.S. tea industry with a few other tea professionals from various countries and the U.S. In addition to being a great opportunity to learn about puer tea, this hopefully will be a great chance to develop new sources for puer and other Yunnan teas, which I can buy direct from source.

While I am here in Yunnan I will try to post more frequently and let folks know what's happening here.

Bill 

View Post About Visiting Puer China