On a number of occasions I’ve mentioned something about a tea seminar. It was an assignment I headed this past week to teach a class about tea to a group of power bloggers. Although little in comparison to everything else I’ve done at my job, it was my first solo “gig,” so it felt huge! To be honest, I had no interest in giving a seminar, but I agreed to take on the optional project because I personally wanted to learn more about tea. Haha, it was a bit selfish in some ways, but I think that it actually made me work harder; make it something better than if I had just thought of it as extra work (which it totally was!). Because it was a side project, I had to prepare for it mostly on my own time and during the weekends, but it was totally worth it. I’m nowhere near to being a tea expert, but I feel like I definitely got the basics down. And plus, I never knew teaching could feel so rewarding!
I really had free reign as to how I wanted to run the show. I took some suggestions as to how it was done in the past and changed things to make it my own. In addition to a short seminar, I included a “professional” tasting, which calls for a close examination of the leaves and an extremely loud (almost obnoxious!) way of tasting/slurping tea. Then to end, I prepared a British tea tray filled with macarons, scones, and tea sandwiches! I think everyone really enjoyed the event, especially the last bit. It wasn’t perfect and if I wanted to I could come up with a long list of changes starting from time management to food to even smiling more (I look so stern in all the pictures). But imperfections and all, here’s a photo essay of how I prepared for the event. All the images were taken from my iPhone, so not the best quality, but it still does a good job at painting the picture!
The Week Before:
Flower selection.
Dish selection.
The Day Before:
Prepping cucumbers.
The Day Of:
Flower market before work.
Flower arrangements.
Table setting.
Down to the prep kitchen!
Getting the tea trays ready.
Now off to run the show!
Tea time.
Out and over.
michelle says
Wow! Nice job! Flower arrangements look nice! I’ve still been drinking the tea you got me over the years from Paris. Almost everyday.
Jessica says
Michelle- Yea! French Bleu is so good!
Fran @ G'day Souffle' says
This looks like such an interesting project and I had never heard of ‘power bloggers’ before (maybe it means people who are really into blogging)? I normally don’t drink tea but I sometimes use it to make smoked duck breast (smoked in a wok). BTW, I’ve signed up for the Superior Cuisine at LCB starting next June- OMG, more torture! Take care!
Jessica says
Fran- That’s great!! You’ll totally be at the top of your class! Can’t wait to hear about it.
Vivienne says
Wow what a project you took on – sounds so rewarding and looks so professional 🙂
Jessica says
Vivienne- Thanks!! I tried to be as “professional” as possible.