Tea in the Valley: #teagoals

Monday, December 30, 2019

Five on the 2010s

It's the last post of the decade! Instead of doing an annual recap, I decided to look back at Tea in the Valley's memorable moments from 2015-2019 (when I joined Blogland).

2015

2015 Toronto Tea Festival

1) I went to my first tea festival. Over the last 5 years, I've attended 2 Toronto Tea Festivals and 4 Royal Botanical Gardens Tea Festivals. The tea festivals are such a blast and a great opportunity to sample different teas and meet the vendors (many are local small businesses).

2016

Twinings Tea Tastings with Stephen Twining

2) I met Stephen Twining from the Twinings UK-based tea company. Twinings has been in the tea business for over 300 years so it was amazing to meet Stephen, a 10th generation Twining.

2017

Afternoon tea with blogging friends

3) I met up with some blogging friends for an elegant afternoon tea at Nicol's Pastry Shop. I've made wonderful friends through blogging. I'm grateful that some of us live within an hour's drive from each other so we can meet up in person!

2018

Outdoor Summer Tea Social

4) I'm so lucky that my co-workers like tea and participate in the tea socials that I organize. Over the years, our tea socials have varied from potlucks to "pop-up" teas to "teas to go".

2019

A thrifting jackpot: a 10-cup teapot

5) Treasure hunting at thrift stores and garage sales is part of the fun of collecting teawares. After years of searching, I finally found this HUGE teapot, nicknamed "Black Beauty" by my colleagues, that can serve 10 cups of tea. So now I can share more teas with family and friends!

Thank you all for your visits and comments throughout 2019. Looking forward to a new decade of tea!

Happy New Year!

Monday, March 7, 2016

Twinings Tea Tasting with Stephen Twining

When I heard that Stephen Twining--a 10th generation Twining who has worked in the family business for over 30 years--was coming to town to introduce their new line of premium teas, I HAD TO BE THERE!

The pretty Easter-themed tea display.

Twinings' classic and new tea products appeal to both the British royalty and modern tea drinkers across the globe. You can read about the London-based tea company's 300-year-old history here.

According to Stephen, their new Discovery Collection gives tea drinkers the "best of both worlds"--large tea leaves in silky pyramid-shaped bags.

The new teas that are available in Canada are (left to right): Exotic Mango and Ginger Green Tea; Golden Tipped English Breakfast; Berry Blush Infusion; Budding Meadow Camomile; Medley of Mint; London Strand Earl Grey. Of course, I tried all three of the available tea samples!

Sample #1: Exotic Mango & Ginger Green Tea

This was a very nice light tea with a "full, plump flavour of mango" and a subtle hint of ginger.

Sample #2: Berry Blush Infusion

This fruit infusion was a mix of "jammy berry flavours": blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry. It would also make a great iced tea in warmer weather.

Sample #3: Golden Tipped English Breakfast

This strong black tea from the Assam region in northeast India will definitely get you moving in the morning!

As the Director of Public Relations for Twinings Tea, Stephen still gets "a great buzz" introducing new teas that bring pleasure to people's lives. Even though the Twining family is regarded as royalty in the tea world, Stephen was humble and affable, chatting with attendees and and graciously granting requests for photos and autographs.

In addition to meeting Stephen, I also had the fun opportunity to watch his interview with local cable TV personality, Steve Ruddick. Click on the above video to view the 7-minute interview which covered topics such as: quality control of Twinings tea in over 100 countries; differences in countries' tea preferences; how to brew the perfect cup of tea; when to add milk and/or sugar; loose leaf vs. bagged teas.

I have a penchant for unique tea flavours so a box of Exotic Mango and Ginger Green Tea signed by Stephen came home with me. I love the new packaging's pretty design and drawer-style box!