October 21 & 22, 2011 – Maryland State Education Association Convention
For the fifth consecutive year, we were member vendors at the MSEA convention in Ocean City, Maryland. Here we are at our booth this year with Cindy in her seasonal garb! We introduced sample size bags of our loose teas this year and they were a big hit!
We’ve connected with so many educators and their families over that time and have enjoyed meeting up with them again each year. The friends on our mailing list have an opportunity get a present from us each year by returning our postcard to us when they visit. This year Diane Worsley was the first to bring her postcard back. Here she is with her prize of one of the sample size loose teas. We hope she is enjoying her tea!
September 22-24, 2011 -
The Natural Products Expo East
We made several trips to the show during its three day run at the Baltimore Convention Center looking for new products and ideas. It is a huge show (about 1800 vendors) so it takes a few visits to cover it all! Here we all are at the Adagio Teas booth.
September 9, 2011 – Tea at the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia
During our visit to Philadelphia we felt that it was a “must” to find a lovely spot to have tea one afternoon. We certainly found it at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Rittenhouse Square! Tea was served in the beautifully serene Cassatt Room just behind the lobby. We were happy to have Lora from Gypsy’s Tearoom join us that afternoon, as well. Each person received her own large pot of tea, a selection of tea sandwiches and sweets, and a fresh scone served with clotted cream, jam, and the most heavenly lemon curd! The wait staff was friendly, efficient, and eager to please… in fact when we commented on the fabulous lemon curd, the waiter brought us each a copy of the recipe and he took the wonderful picture of the five of us that is posted below.
September 9 & 10, 2011 – World Tea East
Attending the World Tea East Expo in Philadelphia we were able to go to some seminars, taste new teas, and order new products to offer in the fall.
March 20, 2011 – Claddagh Tea at Tea by Two in Bel Air
L to R: Audrey, Carol, Cindy, & Deb at Tea by Two in March
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we attended a wonderful “Claddagh” Tea at Tea by Two tearoom in Bel Air, Maryland. We sampled some lovely Irish themed teas and goodies presented by owners Janet and Erin. In fact, we were having such a good time that we nearly forgot to record our experience with a photo until we were all finished and ready to leave!
July, 2010 National Gift Basket Professional Convention
Two of the partners, Carol and Audrey, cut their Ocean City vacation week short to travel to Canton, Ohio to attend the National Gift Basket Professional Convention. The 3-day convention offered numerous classes, such as Basket-ology (a 3-hour hands-on workshop), internet marketing, and things to look for in commercial leases, just to name a few. At one count, attendees numbered 212. On Saturday night teams were drawn to undertake the challenge of, “which team could create a professional basket the fastest”? Sadly, neither Carol nor Audrey were on the winning team, but they had a lot of fun and laughs while participating! There was some great networking taking place during the course of the three days. Supporting the convention were at least 50 vendors who supply items that would fit nicely into baskets. Look for some of these new items to appear in our baskets this fall!
July, 2010 MATBA Meeting
Following a relaxing vacation week for all of us in Ocean City, MD, Cindy and Deb traveled north leisurely to Ocean Township, NJ, to attend the summer meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Tea Business Association. Since neither of the gals had ridden the Cape May-Lewes Ferry it was decided that a ride on the ferry should be included in the itinerary, especially because it was the most direct route. It turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer and they were very glad to be able to ride in the air conditioned comfort of the ferry’s cabin after sitting in the car on the broiling tarmac waiting to drive on board. They then took a ride around the Cape May area and stopped to visit Tea by the Sea, a cute little tea shop right in Cape May and stopped again for dinner in Wildwood. The next day they spent time some time in Atlantic City, before driving up to the Ocean Township area for the meeting. It’s always great to meet with fellow tea professionals to share ideas and taste new teas!
World Tea Expo, June, 2010
Audrey, Carol, and Cindy attended this year’s WTE in Las Vegas, Nevada. They attended a number of the workshops and met with many of the vendors at the expo to catch the latest info in the world of tea. (Click on the images below to enlarge them.)
April, 2010 MATBA Meeting at The Tea Trolley
On a gorgeous spring day, a meeting of the Mid Atlantic Tea Business Association was held at The Tea Trolley, a relatively new tea room located in Delta, PA. In addition to the speaker and business meeting, we sampled a lovely tea and cheese pairing put on by Mim Enck of the East Indies Tea Co. followed by The Tea Trolley’s delicious luncheon tea. We enjoyed the ambiance of this tea room, with its beautiful woodwork and architectural detail. Anyone looking for an afternoon tea outing should enjoy a visit to The Tea Trolley! Check out their website at http://www.tea-trolley.com/ for further information.
