Half the joy of a hobby is finding community. No matter what kind of hobby you pick up, there’s always going to be a group of folks that’s just as excited about it as you are. It could be something as popular and group-oriented as playing Magic: The Gathering or as solitary as coin collecting– someone, somewhere, would love a chance to talk to another avid fan about their shared passion. Nowhere is this more apparent than at conventions. 

It should come as no surprise that, as the author of a tea and book blog, I’m a bit of a nerd. I’ve been known to dabble in videogame and comic conventions and have souvenirs from Renaissance fairs on my wall. Conventions, fairs, festivals; all are places for me to nerd out and talk to others who speak my language. But, like many nerds, I’m an introvert. Painfully shy. Willingly going into a convention center filled with bright lights, echoing chatter, and hundreds of strangers looking for conversation takes a lot of energy on my part and leaves me exhausted for days afterward. If you see me braving a convention floor, my love of the theme or topic outweighed my social anxiety, which is a hell of a feat.

So, when I discovered tea festivals and conventions, I knew I was in trouble. 

When I started this blog in January of 2022, my knowledge of the tea world didn’t extend past the online shops I bought blends from and the single tea shop in my area. Entering the online tea world through Instagram, I was blown away by how large the community actually was and that there were enough of us teaheads to justify several festivals across the United States. I watched fellow tea drinkers attend and document their time at these gatherings, enraptured and feeling a little FOMO. I knew, eventually, that my desire to go would win out over my introverted nature. It was only a matter of time. 

That time came this year, only a few weeks after moving to the West Coast. 

After dealing with the stress and logistics of completing a cross-country move, I felt like I could take on the world. I bought tickets to both the Tea Fest PDX and the Northwest Tea Festival, determined to continue my “new experiences” streak and finally meet other tea folks in person. While I was still a bit apprehensive and unsure of what to expect, I can happily report that both festivals far exceeded my expectations and gave me a new appreciation for hobby-centric festivals.

Prioritizing the Camellia Community: Atmosphere & Audience

Over my years of attending conventions, my main criticism has always been the increasingly transparent corporate overtones. As hobbies grow or media spreads, conventions that were once places for like-minded folks to gather, discuss, and share are now vehicles for mass marketing, with large companies looking to tap into the interests of specific groups. When attending these bigger cons, I tend to stay in the Artist Alleys and near panel discussions. Any step out of those areas makes you a prime target for uncaring shops to schlock their mass-produced product at you at a significant price hike.

I wasn’t sure how this would translate into the tea community at first, but I got my answer after this year’s World Tea Expo. After watching fellow tea bloggers on Instagram attend this convention two years in a row, I was eagerly setting aside money for 2024’s Expo– until I read this first-hand experience from The Oolong Drunk. While in previous years the World Tea Expo had embraced tea educators, freelance writers, and bloggers, holding meet-and-greets and panels to discuss the tea community and current trends, the 2023 Expo team decided to nix these events and went so far as to say explicitly, “[The] World Tea Expo doesn’t want bloggers attending the expo this year. The expo doesn’t want you.” This wasn’t just shocking for Cody, an avid blogger and voted as the most anticipated speaker at that year’s Expo; it rocked many of us in the tea community. To be accused of only wanting “free stuff” when many folks spent significant money to attend the Expo, many of whom had applied for press passes to promote and cover the event, felt like a slap in the face. It made me wonder: would other tea festivals see me as someone there for “free stuff”?

Thankfully, all these corporatization fears were put to rest as soon as I entered both the Tea Fest PDX and the Northwest Tea Festival. From the moment I stepped into the venues, it was clear that these were community-oriented events centered around a shared love of everything camellia sinensis. People walked around booths, cups in hand, chatting. Vendors poured, happy to talk about their sourcing, their processing, or even their personal tea stashes. A few tea booths even had seating areas where folks could sit down, share a cup, and get to know their fellow tea drinkers. That’s not to say there was no salesmanship happening– of course there was, these vendors want you to buy their teas! – but even that marketing was done through the genuine connection that evolves from brewing and drinking tea together. 

Whether it was the relaxed atmosphere or the fact that most folks were happily tea-drunk, conversation flowed easily, even between total strangers. I had the honor of having several wonderful talks with vendors, with strangers waiting in line next to me, and with Instagram folks I could finally meet in person (thanks for taking the time to chat Nazanin from Tea Thoughts and Michell, creator of the famous Herb the Traveling Tea Turtle!). While I’m sure I was at least a little awkward as I tried to combat my shyness, the tea between us helped smooth the wrinkles in conversation, leading to memorable talks and insightful tips. It’s not every day I get to talk about tea to other folks who get it, and tea festivals seem like the perfect place to share that passion. 

From Farms to Cups: Vendor Variety

The tea community encompasses a wide range of folks, from those who prefer blends prepared in English-style tea cups to those who only drink single-origin tea gongfu-style. It can be a tall order to try and cater to everyone across the tea-drinking spectrum, but I found both tea festivals managed spectacularly. That said, I may be biased; I fall somewhere in the middle of this range, enjoying blends in the morning and a good gongfu session to unwind after a long day. It meant I had free reign over both festivals, trying everything the booths had to offer and finding interesting picks like a root-beer flavored puer blend and a Vietnamese Lúng Vái Dark tea from 2022. 

That said, two main types of tea made an impression: oolong and puer. While going around and doing tastings at the Northwest Tea Fest, it felt like nearly every booth was serving some kind of oolong. I’d try a Dong Ding from one vendor, move to another booth, be served a GABA oolong, and then walk across the exhibition floor and find myself with a cup of roasted oolong. Don’t get me wrong, I love oolong, but it stuck out as odd. It could be that oolongs are some of the most approachable teas for different tea drinkers; it could also be that oolongs are known for having pretty relaxed brewing parameters. Either way, when I sorted my purchases after the festival, I found myself with way more oolong on my shelf than ever. 

The other tea that stuck out was puer. That’s not to say there was a ton of puer on the floors, just more than I’d anticipated. Vendors I’d never even considered for puer had some on the side, usually with a single brewer managing a pot while the other people manning the booth managed several cups of oolongs, whites, blacks, or blends. When I spoke with one of these single-pot puer brewers on a slow Sunday morning, he asked me if I drank puer a lot. I admitted that I did, and he laughed, saying, “Lots of puer drinkers in Seattle.” I laughed, too, and joked about the PNW hipster reputation. Whether it was due to the location or a continued upward trend of puer drinking in the West, I was glad to see so much variety, even between the massive amounts of oolongs.

Tea wasn’t the only product being slung at these festivals, though. Alongside the tea vendors were booths for handmade teaware, local honey, tea-infused chocolates, tea tinctures, baked goods to go with tea, and other tea-inspired products ranging from clothing to stationary. It made for a wide variety of choices, keeping the festivals interesting and unique and giving me a chance to acquaint myself with local small businesses in the area I’d yet to discover.

A Short Tour of Discovery: Vendor Highlights

Of course, it wouldn’t be a true tea festival reflection if I didn’t talk about some of the amazing vendors I discovered (or further explored)! Here are some of the stand-out companies I plan to keep an eye on in the future:

• Minto Island Tea Company: There is nothing funnier than traveling into the city for a convention to meet a vendor located 10 minutes from your house. Operating a small, organic tea farm in Salem, OR, the Minto Island Tea Company grows, picks, and processes the tea grown on their farm alongside other fresh produce. They only have a few varieties of tea at the moment, but they’re definitely a local business I plan on supporting regularly from now on.
• Bana Tea: Bana Tea’s booth at the Northwest Tea Festival was relatively small and unassuming, but it goes to show that looks aren’t everything– one sip of their sticky rice shou, and I was in love. Even though they’d already sold out of the minis, the owners were kind enough to chat and, in the end, told me to email them when I ordered for a discount so I wouldn’t miss out on that delicious shou. 
• Anna Ye Tea: Anna Ye Tea wasn’t a vendor I recognized before the Northwest Tea Festival, but they’re now on my radar for future orders. Sourcing a variety of teas from Vietnam, this vendor offers everything from Silver Needle to an aged dark tea that had my taste buds popping with delight.
• Herbs & Kettles: Up until these tea festivals, I’d only heard of Herbs & Kettles in relation to their tea blends. When I walked up to their booth, though, I was surprised to find that they also offered a puer-style tea from India and a type of aged tea I’d never heard of before: Singpho Phalap, a smoked tea stored in bamboo. I was lucky enough to catch the owners on a slow morning and had a lovely chat about how this tea is processed, which you can read more about on their blog.
• Floating Leaves Tea: I know I’m behind the curve on Floating Leaves Tea. They’re a name I’ve heard everywhere, and they’ve been on my “Tea Vendors to Try” list for a while now. Imagine my excitement when I finally rolled up to their booth only to find them brewing a GABA oolong that, in one sip, convinced me to buy some. While the whole GABA category gets a side-eye from me (not a fan of unsubstantiated health benefits), the sweet potato taste and silky-smooth liquor convinced me to buy a whole bag. 
• Crimson Lotus Tea: Okay, I may be cheating on this one. I’ve had samples from Crimson Lotus Tea before, graciously sent by other teaheads, but I’ve yet to commit to a whole cake. Thankfully, I was able to try a huge selection of their teas at both Tea Fest PDX and the Northwest Tea Festival, and I’ve officially bought my first cake (Imperial Shou). I’m trying to hold back on buying more until I finish something in my current stash, but it’s tough. Cakes like Altered State and Honeybomb Sheng are calling to me.

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Though I was a little nervous about attending my first few tea festivals, my initial trepidation was no match for the energized atmosphere generated by other teaheads. While I still find conventions and expos draining, I’ve now seen the value they bring to the table: connection with others. Thanks for reading everyone, and when the next festival season rolls around, shoot me a message– I’d love to explore and sip at one of these gatherings with another tea drinker. Until then, happy reading and happy sipping!