We were excited to be part of the Portland Tea Festival (Tea Fest PDX), which was held on July 20th, 2019 at the World Forestry Center in Portland, OR.
Here are some pictures we took during the event and my comments.
This was the first time we hosted a booth at the Portland Tea Festival, so we are very excited to be part of it. Last year, we were too late to register as this event has very limited spots for the vendors, so I feel lucky to be able to be part of them this year!
What is Portland Tea Festival?
Tea Fest PDX is comprised of a community of tea visionaries, business owners, and tireless volunteers who all share the vision of celebrating tea culture in Portland. Together, we are combining our unique skills and passions to bring the festival to life.
How it all started
We’ve had the pleasure of attending the Northwest Tea Festival in Seattle the past few years and realized just how many people who enjoy and participate in tea culture were traveling from Oregon for this event. With the nudge of encouragement and continued support from the NW Tea Festival organizers, we've been able to bring the idea of a tea festival of our own to fruition through the help and hard work of our local tea community.
Event Preparation
I get comments about all the blog posts (thank you), and people tend to enjoy the behind-the-scenes photos, so I try to take pictures from preparation so that you get to see what it is like to be at the event.
This is a photo of the event location when it is being prepared. It looks quite different from the day of the event, where there were so many people!
Here is a picture of our "booth" before we setup.
Setting up the booth
As you can see, it is a lot of work to prepare for the booth. Lots of work to plan and assemble each and every piece of them.
And here is how it looks when it is completed.
And me. : )
Pictures with Tea Friends
I took pictures with some of my tea friends. Sorry, I didn't get to take pictures with all of you.
Here is a picture of Babette Donaldson, Founder and Head Sipper of the International Tea Sippers Society. (ITTS)
ITTS owns T-Ching, for which I write a monthly tea article. It was great to have booths next to each other.
Here is a picture of Char from Oolong Owl. Any tea lover knows her for her very popular and fun blog. She was one of my inspirations for starting the tea blog at the beginning.
I finally got to meet with Geoffery from Steep Stories for the first time.
Here is a picture of Brigham from North Fork 53. He is the first and only tea plantation in the Northwest to grow tea. He has been using our tea at his various events.
Here is a picture of Arturo Alvarez, a passionate poet. He will be featured in a Japanese Reality TV Show through ZaZou Production. He is holding our Tokoname teapot. He will be going to Tokoname with the TV Show. I cannot wait to see him on TV!
And finally, Jonathan Steel from Friends of Fire: His pottery and the art he creates are one of the kind.
During the Event
It was packed with all the tea lovers in Portland, and people came over even from Seattle, Vancouver, BC, and even further afield for this event.
And here is how our booth looked during the event.
At one point, there was a very long line to try our tea. Thank you so much to all of you who waited a long time for our tea!
Other Events We Participate
Here are some of the other events in which we participated and the pictures and videos from past events.
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About the author
Kei Nishida
Author, CEO Dream of Japan
Certification: PMP, BS in Computer Science
Education: Western Washington University
Kei Nishida is a Japanese green tea enthusiast, a writer, and the founder and CEO of Japanese Green Tea Co., a Dream of Japan Company. His passion for introducing America to the tea of his homeland was the catalyst for creating the only company that brings high-quality tea from Arahataen Green Tea Farms to the rest of the world. Learn more about Kei