I currently have more puer tea (普洱茶) at home than I could ever drink by myself, and I want to share this abundance with fellow puer nuts and newbies, while at the same time promoting Teacup, myself, and Chinese tea culture in Seattle. So, for a few months now, I've been kicking around the idea of starting a casual puer tea appreciation club. I already know some Seattle tea lovers who have expressed interest in joining, and I bet we could recruit more folks who'd enjoy being part of something like this. So, without further ado... I present "The Puer Appreciation Club of Seattle."
Anybody is invited to join this puer tea club. I will start a facebook group to help promote the club and occasionally tweet about it as well. For the time being, I will act as the club's main coordinator but if this club grows and more people want to be active in organizing club events, I welcome other venues, events and coordinators. Also, if anybody knows about any other already established Seattle puer clubs, please let them know about this club too in case they want to join forces.
The Teacup will host a standing meeting for the Puer Appreciation Club on the last Saturday of every month at 9:30 am. The inaugural meeting will be April 24th. This is currently the most convenient time for me and for Teacup and I hope it will work for many other puer lovers. In my opinion, mornings are a wonderful time to be up at the Teacup because the shop is usually peaceful and the air in Seattle is cool, fresh and sometimes carries a misty hint of the ocean. I like to breathe this sweet morning air while sipping good puer tea.
At these monthly Teacup meetings, members are welcome to brew puer tea, chat and relax all morning for only a $3 per member "water fee." I will provide a gong fu tea set and members can take turns brewing tea or select a "designated brewer" for the session. RSVP's are not required for these Teacup meetings and drop-ins and non-members are always welcome, but if nobody shows up by 9:50 AM the meeting will be considered canceled.
I will be present at these Teacup meetings but I will often be too busy to partake in the actual tea brewing. But I will still hang out and drink tea when I'm not helping other customers.
I plan to bring in a few of my own puer cakes to share and all other members are welcome to do the same! Also, members are welcome to bring in their own Chinese teaware to use if desired.
I look forward to seeing you on April 24th for the first ever meeting of the Puer Appreciation Club of Seattle!
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3 comments:
That sounds like such a wonderful idea!
I'm in! (Except for this first time, when I'll be out of town.) - Christopher
I wish there was a sort of thing like this around where I live. I suppose I'd be more likely to have more access to such things if I lived in a major city.
I have, however, started a few more casual efforts. I live right next to the University of Delaware and have worked together with one of the RA's to have a tea tasting and tea swapping program in one of the residence halls. It's happening in a few weeks, and I'm excited to see how it goes.
I'm pretty sure that I won't find any pu-erh being brought by the students--but I'm going to bring some myself. I have found, however, that a huge portion of college students nowadays drink tea, which is a good sign. Even though many of them only drink tea from teabags, some of them do drink loose tea. It definitely seems like interest in tea is growing.
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