First Calgary Tea Festival poster
On a chilly October Saturday a group of tea enthusiasts came together to celebrate all things tea. I scored a VIP ticket and arrived early to check out the vendors and get some samples, before the main crowd arrived at 11 am.
The list of vendors at the show follows (all from Calgary unless otherwise noted):
Sān Chá (Montréal)
Felicity Loft (artisan tea from Alaska)
Cloudwalker Tea (Victoria, BC)
Siplicious Tea (Linden, AB)
Denman Island Tea (Courtney, BC)
Summit Hill Tea (Cochrane, AB)
The Tea Girl (Edmonton, AB)
Tealights (candles in old teacups)
Wax and Wane Fine Art (ceramics)
Banff Tea Company (Banff, AB)
It was a brisk hour-long walk from my flat to the venue in NW Calgary, but the excitement and warmth inside was real. I was surprised at the overwhelming number of people, and assume everyone was as pleased as I was that Calgary was finally having its own tea festival.
There was a wide variety of vendors, some providing samples inside the VIP bag we received upon entering, others offering tastings from their respective tables.
As I had just purchased a very large quantity of tea during my trip to China, I was more interested in the Japanese teas being offered. I ended up buying a premium sencha from Issa Green, as well as a beautiful, miniature ceramic vase. I will try to contact her later to see if I can get the name of the artist, who she mentioned is a friend of hers. I didn’t want to hold her up, because there were so many people vying for a chance to try some tea, and purchase.
I had a nice chat with the owner of Tea Trader, Ted Jones, who is a wonderful sponsor of Alberta Wilderness Association (where I work). He agreed to let me interview him, so when I have a chance I will arrange to go meet with him (stay tuned for that).
I also had a nice discussion with Julien and Moses from T2722 Luxury Barista Experience. Their website expresses that: “Some Moments Cannot Be Rushed. The greatest luxury is not what is in your cup. It is having the time to truly experience it.” I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, because the venue was so packed, I felt a bit rushed, but they convinced me I should book a table with them to truly enjoy a unique experience designed specifically for my palate. I think I will treat myself to that soon, and I will be sure to share my experience with all of you afterwards.
I was mesmerized by the woman from Matsu Kaze who was preparing matcha, and providing samples. I was offered a taste, and it had wonderful umami flavour. I then purchased some of it to bring home. I will be sure to do another tasting and share the results in a future blog post.
The lead organizer and vendor for the festival was Jonathan Kane, the owner of The Naked Leaf, located in Kensington (NW Calgary). I sometimes shop there, particularly for their selection of beautiful teaware. I recently purchased a Tokoname Kyusu [2] there. I had a chance to speak to Noah for a few minutes about the Japanese ceramics, and we bonded over the lovely pots and cups.
Thanks to all the vendors for participating. It was really great to learn about more local shops and specialists. I obviously need to expand my tea experience in Calgary.
Congratulations for putting on a wonderful tea festival! 🍵
[1] I don’t know if I missed Bowness Soapworks’ table, but I didn’t see them in the venue. There was a soap sample in the gift bag we received on entry. I wanted to highlight them as well, because they are also good sponsors of Alberta Wilderness Association.
[2] See my post My Japanese Teaware where I speak about this tea pot.
