Midwest Tea Festival – Review of the 2018 Tea Fest

It’s early and I wanted to get up and start this blog because there is a lot I have to share.  

I JUST RETURNED from the MIDWEST TEA FESTIVAL 2018!

I can tell you if you read nothing else, know this..  there was not a bad tea sample in the entire place.  

If you missed it, I’m sorry!  You missed a great opportunity, several of them.  

I have to tell you about Nicole Burriss, Nicole painstakingly gives of herself in organizing this event, she does not do it alone as there are a ton of volunteers (just go into an area you are not supposed to and they will find you).  I was searching for Molly giving her lecture and went up a set of stairs that led to some tables and food, NOT where I was supposed to be, I turned around and a woman with a very concerned expression said she could not get to me soon enough to stop me.  I sort of felt like an enemy spy at this moment.  I told her whom I was looking for and I went on my way.  So, even if you did not see  may volunteers, TRUST ME, they are there.  *smiles*.  

This is my third year at the Midwest Tea Festival.  My “job” is to go around unnoticed and talk with venders and try their teas, then come home and tell you all about them.  

Here is what I can tell you, in the past two years the excitement over tea has grown.  I can tell you there were people over 50,60 and even 70 as well as millennials and young adults as young as 11 who were interested in tea.  I know these two facts because I was there and my grandson Ami (who loves tea as well).  People started to line up at the door 15 minutes before open and with good reason, the place fills up fast, and it did.  

I tell Nicole every year, soon a bigger place will be needed because the love and desire for tea will continue to grow once more people realize the amazing benefits from it.  

Here are a couple video’s posted to our facebook group.

VIDEO

and a short one about the tea crawl in Liberty Missouri as well: 

VIDEO

Now the review, I’m honestly just going to share with you what I tried.  I have no complaints and then I will tell you some of the things that surprised me.

The reviews of the teas are very very short and from a sip or two but I wanted to represent as much of what I experienced as I could.  It’s hard to photograph, sip and review.  Next year I may have to purchase a voice recorder. 

Anna Maries Tea: Red Velvet (smooth, sweet), Roasted Almond (roasted, milky)  and Almond Coconut (roasted, coconut)

Beautiful Taiwan Tea: Formosa Assam (slight bitter, metallic taste)

Bimi: Genmaicha (roasted, rice)

Brits: Windsor Wedding (strong, earl grey, creme)

Cafe Barnabas: Toasted Almond (Nutty)

Emilee’s French Teas: Mandarin Orange (spicy, Orange) Ani Chia (chia with a twist)

Gschwendner: Almond Milk (sweet, citrus) Salted Caramel (sweet, milky)

Hugo Tea: 100 year old black (smooth, roasted, earthy)

London Tea Room: Mango (fruity, honey)

Mana: Kava Kava (earthy, mellow)

Phoenix Tea: Southern Peach Iced (fruity, slight sweet)

Queen’s Tea: Queen’s Birthday Tea (Sweet, Bergamont, stronger brew)

Single Origin: Lemonade (earthy, fruity)

Shang Tea: White Tangerine (fruity, earthy, bitter)

Steeped Tea: Berry and Sprite (fruity punch w/ fizz)

Tea Market: Japanese Cherry (mellow Cherry)

The Tea Smith: Blue Shadow (mellow, nutty)

Waterfall Tea: Sensha Lemonade (lemon, earthy, slight vegetal) 

So you can see there was a lot to taste and so much to see.  

There were two places offering Kombucha this year: 

Mana that got me started making my own from last years expo

Cafe Barnabas that greeted you at the door and got your tea tasting started

The big tea flavor was ginger, it was everywhere and there was no big surprise ingredient this year.  

Steeped Tea  mixed a berry tea with Sprite, my grandson loved this idea (he went back for more).  I thought it tasted like a beautiful punch to serve at an event. 

The new thing this year was from Mana and it was Kava Kava.  Kava is a plant, it has medicinal value as a calming herb and relaxes you, aids in sleep and reduces anxiety.  Our world could use a gallon of that day, right!  I liked the taste, it was mellow and pleasant with an earthy flavor.  

PersnickeTea brought a new item to the festival that was a big hit, tea syrup.  So many different flavors (yes pumpkin spice was there) and basically you mix these in water or milk and create a milk tea or Chia Tea.  She also had what I believe to be the ONLY tea pets, I have a thing for tea pets and feel there should be more things like this at the festival.

I purchased a tea cup from Pi Ceramics, I just had to, they were so beautiful and creative and no one will have one like mine, all the cups have their own personality.  The artist was there as well and she’s a beautiful soul (yes her hair was REALLY that color).  

Bimi Bakery was there as well and yes I sampled the cookies even though I already love them.  I purchased a few, the ginger ones were the hit with my daughter and myself while my grandson liked the herb cookies.  I did purchase her sample pack of tea because she had Genmaicha a new favorite, she also had a powdered version as well.  

This was the second year for my “Tea Shirt” so I decided it was time for a new one and purchased a Tea Shirt from The Tea Market.  You will have to wait until next year to see it on me.  

I always tell my grandson I will purchase one tea for him, his favorite this year he choose Almond Milk (honeybush, almond bits, white cornflower blossoms and marigold blossoms)from Gschwendner Tea.

Shang Tea (who also creates and gives us our sampling cup) had a nice display of porcelain tea ware with incredibly beautiful unglazed porcelain.  You had to see (and touch) it to appreciate it’s true beauty.  

There was a lot to see and even more to taste, as you can see from the list above.  

Oh and some unusual items were found at The Dragon’s Treasure

Oh I could go on and on…  

Mo-Kan brought an incredible display of honey, I sure hope everyone tried some, local honey is so important and unique to the area it is harvested at.  

Hugo Tea brought their 100 year old black tea

Single Origin brought tea plants and yes I bought a few as well as a couple teas.

Anna Marie is always a delight with so many samples and this year hosted a Tea Crawl in their community of Liberty Missouri.

and a local favorite for me is Saint Louis’s own The London Tea Room

As you can see there is just SO MUCH happening and if I did not mention you please do not feel slighted, I visited every table that I could and tried all the teas available.  

Did I enjoy the Midwest Tea Festival 2018, to say the least I had an extremely great experience.  Wish I had time to meet all of you, thank you to those of you who came up and said hello: Eric, Mallory, Megan, John, Rosanne, Beth, Vin, Neim and Callie.  Hope to see you all again soon.  

Here are a few images ( I was so busy tasting teas) for you to see some of the fun

For now, be well,

Simply

Lisa B

My Tea Vault