S Alicia S.
Yelp
Magic Box at The Reef held the 2019 Tea Festival. I have been there before for other great foodie events open to the public.
Parking on the premises was $20 for day. It was the same across the street and next to the Mercedes Dealer. I wasn't sure if I could get away with parking at McDonald's for the whole day. So, I chalk the parking situation up to competitively even and paid the $20. That gigantic chair really belongs to me now.
Eventbrite suggested the event to me. I decided to attend, and pre-purchased my tickets. I could have bought a General Admissions Ticket $20 and attend only free classes... However, I didn't feel it to be my cup of tea(s). Two full days of attendance would bore me completely. So, I purchased 4 classes that held my interest for $100; Tea Sommelier: Apprentice, Tea & Chocolate Class, Tea & Meditation Yoga, and Tea & Cheese Class. That price also included as many free classes that I could fit into my schedule for the day event and a vendor marketplace with a variety of live music and plenty tea samples (hot, cold, tea bags and more...).
The Tea Sommelier Course graduated me to like a real life Tea Connoisseur. The Tea Industry isn't very innovative outside of packaging. Age old traditions work well. I remember a method for hand plucking as leaf-leaf-stem-repeat infinity (or until the labor intensive shift over for the day).
There are six types of tea (white, yellow, green, blue, dark/black, red-purple), seven if you'd like to include matcha. Fruit, herbal and something else (rooibos maybe) are natural but not tea leaves unless part of a tea leaf mixture. The only way to make great tea is boiling the water and seeping tea leaves into it for 3 to 7 minutes. The longer the seep, the stronger the tea. Cane and honey are always acceptable condiments, however, tea can be enjoyed without anything added.
China, Japan and Iran together are the biggest producers of many green teas. India has the largest production of dark/black tea and there are only 3 types of black tea (assam, darjeeling, nilgiris). Africa has the largest production of red-purple tea, which is a mix of crimson and green tea leaves. There are plenty other little details, but it gets complicated because the tea choices in the marketplace are many.
You could actually log personal tea reviews for different teas in a notebook and become an affictionato too. Book clubs exist. Tea clubs can too.
Anyways, I had a great day learning about teas (cheeses, chocolates and desserts). I met some really nice people. Also, I made wonderful memories. The day flew by pretty quickly.
And for the record, Chai is just an Indian word for seeped tea leaves. Chai Masala is tea with spice(s). Spice is not tea, spice is a dried, grounded herb/spice/spice mix... And boy, it can accentuate a beverage (tea, chocolate, coffee or milks) to amazingly fabulous. Just adding a sprinkle of crushed cardamom or cinnamon to breakfast tea can unfold a new outlook on your life.
Basically, I hope you try new beverages, hot or cold) too. Cannabis is a drug or drug derivative that I do not promote... However, it has found its way into the teas. Mesmerize yourself with tea(s). Drink responsibly.