Focused Fridays

Friday turned out to be a surprisingly popular time to have events, so this year, I’m going to use it to do tastings and classes that fall somewhere in-between the Talky Tuesday vibe and the Silent Saturday vibe. We’ll often explore comparisons — weather of teas, techniques, ideas, or practices — that will help you get the feel for important aspects of tea.
We may talk, but mostly we’ll observe.

Focused Friday for June, 2019

Events, Focused Fridays
🏮 Focused Friday: 四大紅袍

  • Date & Time: 2019-06-14, 1:00 p.m.
  • (Registration Closes Wednesday, June 12th)
  • Duration: About 2 & 1/2 Hours

Ticket Prices (What’s this?)


By purchasing your ticket, you agree to the following:
After registration closes, I’ll send your ticket and event info to the email address you submit using the form below.
I do this personally; it is not an automated process. I will not use any information you submit for other purposes, unless you give me permission to do so in the form. Thank you!

Did you read and understand the Things To Know and Registration Terms sections below?(required)

Would you like to receive email updates about future PDX TEA events?(required)


 
Things To Know:

  • The intent of Focused Fridays is to provide a quiet environment where we can all learn by giving our full attention to the tea.
  • For every PDX TEA event, please keep yourself as free as possible from any fragrances, including “natural” fragrances. :)
  • To keep your palate clear, I suggest avoiding dairy the day of the event.
  • I also suggest avoiding any toothpaste containing SLS — sodium laurel/laureth sulfate. (SLS can temporarily suppress your ability to perceive sweetness.)
  • I’ll provide a special place for you to put your cell phone during the event. (You’re welcome to take notes on paper, and pictures before and after.)
  • The PDX TEA Room is a shoes-off environment.

Registration Terms:

I create PDX TEA events with great love and attention, through many hours of research, practice, and preparation; procurement of tea, production of materials, printing of handouts, planning of dog care, and so on. The following guidelines help me maintain the high standard of your experience, and the sustainability of my organization:

  1. All events are pre-registration only. (No at-the-door ticket sales.)
  2. Registration ends 48 hours before the event’s start time.
  3. If you want to register, but the cutoff time has passed, please contact me directly by text message, as soon as possible, at (971) 258-2832. (Yes, that’s 971 Club Tea. :)
  4. Each event has a maximum of 7 guests, and a minimum of 3 guests.
  5. If an event does not have 3 guests registered by the time registration ends, I may choose to reschedule or cancel the event. (If I cancel it, I will promptly refund you your money via PayPal.)
Thank you so much for understanding the importance of these considerations!

 

About Focused Fridays

Friday turned out to be a surprisingly popular time to have events, so this year, I’m going to use it to do tastings and classes that fall somewhere in-between the Talkin’ Tea Tuesday vibe and the Silent Saturday vibe. We’ll often explore comparisons — weather of teas, techniques, ideas, or practices — that will help you get the feel for important aspects of tea.

We may talk, but mostly we’ll observe.

Sadly, I had to cancel April’s 大紅袍 (Dà Hóng Páo — Big Red Robe) comparison tasting due to a poorly timed cold, so I’ve rescheduled it for June. We’ll sample four examples, talk a little bit about some canonical characteristics of the tea, and see if we can agree on which one gets closest to the mark.

Dà Hóng Páo is the most famous of the (roughly) 6 famous varieties of 岩茶 (yán chá — cliff tea). Yán chá is the distinctive, heavily oxidized, deeply roasted wulong style of the Wuyi Mountain area of Fujian Province. Dà Hóng Páo (literally “Big Red Robe”) is a much-storied, much-coveted, and rarely authentic tea. We’ll explore what that means during the event.

Focused Friday for May, 2019

Events, Focused Fridays
🏮 Focused Friday: ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’00s 包種 (Bao Zhong Wulong)

  • Date & Time: 2019-05-10, 1:00 p.m.
  • (Registration Closes Wednesday, May 8th)
  • Duration: About 2 & 1/2 Hours

Ticket Prices (What’s this?)


Important: After registration closes, I’ll send your ticket and your tasting info to the email address you submit using the form below.
I do this personally; it is not an automated process. I will not use any information you submit for other purposes, unless you give me permission to do so in the form. Thank you!

Did you read and understand the Things To Know and Registration Terms sections below?(required)

Would you like to receive email updates about future PDX TEA events?(required)

Things To Know:

  • The intent of Focused Fridays is to provide a quiet environment where we can all learn by giving our full attention to the tea.
  • For every PDX TEA event, please keep yourself as free as possible from any fragrances, including “natural” fragrances. :)
  • To keep your palate clear, I suggest avoiding dairy the day of the event.
  • I also suggest avoiding any toothpaste containing SLS — sodium laurel/laureth sulfate. (SLS can temporarily suppress your ability to perceive sweetness.)
  • I’ll provide a special place for you to put your cell phone during the event. (You’re welcome to take notes on paper, and pictures before and after.)
  • The PDX TEA Room is a shoes-off environment.

Registration Terms:

I create PDX TEA events with great love and attention, through many hours of research, practice, and preparation; procurement of tea, production of materials, printing of handouts, planning of dog care, and so on. The following guidelines help me maintain the high standard of your experience, and the sustainability of my organization:

  1. All events are pre-registration only. (No at-the-door ticket sales.)
  2. Registration ends 48 hours before the event’s start time.
  3. Each event has a maximum of 7 guests, and a minimum of 3 guests.
  4. If an event does not have 3 guests registered by the time registration ends, I may choose to reschedule or cancel the event. (If I cancel it, I will promptly refund you your money via PayPal.)
  5. If you want to register, but the cutoff time has passed, please contact me directly by text message, as soon as possible, at (971) 258-2832. (Yes, that’s 971 Club Tea. :)
Thank you so much for understanding the importance of these considerations!

 

About Focused Fridays

Friday turned out to be a surprisingly popular time to have events, so this year, I’m going to use it to do tastings and classes that fall somewhere in-between the Talkin’ Tea Tuesday vibe and the Silent Saturday vibe. We’ll often explore comparisons — weather of teas, techniques, ideas, or practices — that will help you get the feel for important aspects of tea.

We may talk, but mostly we’ll observe.

For May’s Focused Friday, we’ll be sampling four 包種老茶 (Aged Bāo Zhǒng). While it’s tempting to imbue old teas with a certain magic, some are better than others, sometimes in unexpected ways. I’m excited to share and compare these teas with you!

Focused Friday for April, 2019

Events, Focused Fridays
🏮 Focused Friday for April, 2019: 四大紅袍 (4 Dà Hóng Páo Wuyi Wulong)

  • Date & Time: 2019-04-12, 1:00 p.m.
  • Duration: About 2 & 1/2 Hours

Ticket Prices (What’s this?)

Important: After registration closes, I’ll send your ticket and your tasting info to the email address you submit using the form below.
I do this personally; it is not an automated process. I will not use any information you submit for other purposes, unless you give me permission to do so in the form. Thank you!

Did you read and understand the Things To Know and Registration Terms sections below?(required)

Would you like to receive email updates about future PDX TEA events?(required)

Things To Know:

  • The intent of Focused Fridays is to provide a quiet environment where we can all learn by giving our full attention to the tea.
  • For every PDX TEA event, please keep yourself as free as possible from any fragrances, including “natural” fragrances. :)
  • To keep your palate clear, I suggest avoiding dairy the day of the event.
  • I also suggest avoiding any toothpaste containing SLS — sodium laurel/laureth sulfate. (SLS can temporarily suppress your ability to perceive sweetness.)
  • I’ll provide a special place for you to put your cell phone during the event. (You’re welcome to take notes on paper, and pictures before and after.)
  • The PDX TEA Room is a shoes-off environment.

Registration Terms:

I create PDX TEA events with great love and attention, through many hours of research, practice, and preparation; procurement of tea, production of materials, printing of handouts, planning of dog care, and so on. The following guidelines help me maintain the high standard of your experience, and the sustainability of my organization:

  1. All events are pre-registration only. (No at-the-door ticket sales.)
  2. Registration ends 48 hours before the event’s start time.
  3. Each event has a maximum of 7 guests, and a minimum of 3 guests.
  4. If an event does not have 3 guests registered by the time registration ends, I may choose to reschedule or cancel the event. (If I cancel it, I will promptly refund you your money via PayPal.)
  5. If you want to register, but the cutoff time has passed, please contact me directly by text message, as soon as possible, at (971) 258-2832. (Yes, that’s 971 Club Tea. :)
Thank you so much for understanding the importance of these considerations!

 

About Focused Fridays

Friday turned out to be a surprisingly popular time to have events, so this year, I’m going to use it to do tastings and classes that fall somewhere in-between the Talkin’ Tea Tuesday vibe and the Silent Saturday vibe. We’ll often explore comparisons — weather of teas, techniques, ideas, or practices — that will help you get the feel for important aspects of tea.

We may talk, but mostly we’ll observe.

For April’s Focused Friday, we’ll be sampling four 大紅袍 (Dà Hóng Páo). Dà Hóng Páo is the most famous of the (roughly) 6 famous varieties of 岩茶 (yán chá — cliff tea). Yán chá is the distinctive, heavily oxidized, deeply roasted wulong style of the Wuyi Mountain area of Fujian Province. Dà Hóng Páo means “Big Red Robe,” and is a much-storied, much-coveted, and rarely authentic tea. We’ll explore what that means during the event.