The next stop after The Hague was London and here, same as last year, we got to collaborate with Jane Pettigrew and the Académie du thé au Royaume-Uni.
This year in London we had one event – Japanese Tea Workshop to provide an introduction to and an overview of Japanese tea. There were plenty of teas to taste and some, such as Gyokuro and Matcha, participants could make themselves.
One challenge was that we didn’t have a projector – that is an easy way to share pictures, videos and convey information. Luckily Jane and Matsu-san have plenty of charisma to engage people and keep them glued to their stories. And to tell the truth without the projector the workshop turned out even more interactive, as many people were keen to ask questions and share comments.
We were also lucky that one of the past stagiaires Kate, who now works with the UK Tea Academy, was there to help. She knew all our teas by heart and could explain them really easily.
The event was hosted in such a beautiful location – Good & Proper Tea café, that is warm and welcoming. And the room was full. A few dear friends, who have been enjoying our tea for a while, were there too. And of course, through tea we could make some new friends. Some people were even interested in our Internship Program or our Japanese Tea Master Course, so we believe we will meet a few of them again.