September Events at Zen Tara Tea
Tea Tasting Events return in September and we kick-off a monthly Friday evening event of acoustic music performances at Zen Tara Tea. We also salute local runners participating in the Parks Half-Marathon that finishes in downtown Bethesda. As summer weather slowly gives way, we'll spend a few more weeks enjoying wonderful iced tea drinks as we look forward to our favorite hot teas in the fall.
We Raise a Glass of Iced Tea to Parks Half-Marathon Runners
Sunday, September 12
Early on Sunday morning, at a starting line about 13.1 miles north of downtown Bethesda, about 3,000 runners will line up to run a half-marathon mostly through Montgomery County Parks ending at a finish line in downtown Bethesda just past the Barnes & Noble bookstore. The finish line and meeting area are about 1.5 blocks from the Zen Tara Tea shop and we look forward to cheering the runners on as they near the finish. After the race, any runner with their bib number is welcome to come in the shop on Sunday for a free 16 oz. iced tea on us. You deserve it, we salute you! The same offer goes for Montgomery County Road Runners Club volunteers helping to put on the race.
White Teas: Rare, Beautiful & Healthy
Saturday, September 18, 2010 from 1:00 to 2:00pm
White teas can be elusive to tea drinkers in the West. They are subtle teas, harvested from tender, early growth tea buds and leaves and are the least processed of all teas. Recent research has shown that the lack of firing or steaming of white teas also makes them among the healthiest of all teas. Minimal processing allows white tea to be able to retain a higher level of antioxidants and beneficial compounds in the tea leaf that then make their way into your cup. During this tea tasting event we will taste 6 pure leaf and blended White Teas including the luxurious Silver Needle White Tea from China and a sample of some new white tea producing countries.
An Evening of Acoustic Music - A New Monthly Evening Event: "Tocha"
Friday, September 24, 2010 from 8:00 to 10:00pm - Laura Baron Performs
In the 14th century in Japan, tea houses began to lose their Zen-like quality and became more secular. Tea houses started holding special events with tea games, contests and music called "Tocha", also known as "Juppuku-cha" meaning 10 cups of tea - the amount of tea one was expected to drink throughout events that sometimes went on well into the night.
Obviously, with "Zen" as a part of our name, our intention in the tea shop was to create a relaxing environment and based on many customer comments we seem to have been successful. But tea can be fun as well as contemplative and lately we've been thinking there should be a few occasions when tea drinkers can cut loose a little bit, so we're reviving "Tocha". Leave your books and laptops at home, avoid the valet parking and cover charges, stop by after dinner and enjoy a more festive side of Zen Tara Tea. Each month on approximately the third Friday evening of the month we will have acoustic live musical performances, nonalcoholic tea and coffee drinks, and a special selection of desserts.
To kick-off our first Tocha, we welcome back the wonderful singer songrwriter Laura Baron who played at our Grand Opening event in January of this year. Come hear Laura's soulful music and lyric vocals and enjoy a special evening at Zen Tara Tea. Laura will be performing from 8:00-10:00, your "Juppuku-cha" may take a little longer.
There is no reservation or cover charge for this event. Table seating is limited.
Experience the Tea Drinking Customs of Western Europe, East Asia and North Africa
Sunday, September 26, 2010 from 1:00 to 2:00pm
Many people are surprised to hear that the top tea drinking country in the world annually is frequently Turkey (based on cups per person). Or that Russia is a top tea importing country, and that Russia/Georgia is also a major tea producing region. Morocco – they are a Top 10 tea consuming country too. While the teas popular in many of these countries may not be as distinguished as some teas from China, Japan and India; their customs in preparing and drinking tea makes them a unique experience.
During this tea tasting we will taste teas prepared in a variety of ways based on tea drinking cultures from countries in central Eurasia. We will taste a combination of 6 different teas that span a range of tea types including Black Turkish tea, a Green Moroccan Mint, and a Botanical Greek Mountain Tea.
The Teas of India + A Little Sugar and Spice
Thursday, September 30, 2010 from 6:30 to 7:30pm
Can’t afford to take a year off and journey to Italy, India, and Bali like in the book/movie “Eat Pray Love”? How about a small get-away for an hour with us as we take you on a tour of the teas and spices of India? Some of the most famous teas in the world come from India: Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. India is also the birthplace of chai spiced teas and a less well known lineage of botanical and Ayurvedic teas.
Our tea tasting will touch on all of these types of teas with 6 tastings. We will also have the added pleasure of exploring how teas can be enhanced by Indian spices or flavored sugars with Kaushika Patel from Catalyst Gourmet.
What is a Tea Tasting event like?
In a nutshell: casual, informational and in a small group. In our Tea Tasting & Blending room at the Zen Tara tea shop we offer tea tastings for a small gathering of 8-10 tea drinkers (and their friends!). Usually, the events are grouped around specific types of tea, tea growing countries or tea properties (health benefits, food pairings, etc.) with the events varying from month to month (We do take customer suggestions!).
During the event the group sits around a large table and after introductory comments we taste a series of 5-7 pots of tea, each person taking a small cup. Tasting note sheets are provided for you to jot down your impressions of each tea as we look at the dry leaves before steeping, the wet steeped leaves and then experience the aroma and flavor of each tea. After experiencing the teas with our senses of taste and smell we talk in more detail about each tea - it's origin, processing, preparation and buying tips.
Events generally last an hour or a little longer depending on how much conversation and Q&A the group generates. After the tasting program, attendees may linger for as long as they like in the Tasting Room and select a couple of sample packets from the teas that were tasted to take with them and try at home.
We have a morning dark side at Zen Tara Tea as well, a coffee side. Despite the path worn in the sidewalk from weary morning coffee drinkers sleep walking to the Starbucks on the corner 600 feet from our door, we do offer a coffee alternative worthy of escaping that over-priced, over-caffeinated rut. We proudly serve locally roasted Mayorga Coffee from nearby Rockville, MD at a special morning wake-up price of 99 cents for a small coffee. Helping you, helping the local economy and providing a great tasting coffee for those who don't blindly follow the herd.
Also still available:: Matcha Green Tea Smoothies, Rooibos Tea based Fruit Smoothies (Strawberry, Peach, Mango and Triple Berry), Bubble Tea, Thai Iced Tea, Iced Coffee and Iced Tea.
Reserve our Tea Tasting Room for your next small group or meeting location
The room comfortably seats 10-12 people. Tea (of course), coffee and desserts can be ordered for the event or purchased individually by attendees. Light food fare can be catered with advanced notice.
We're a Neighborhood Tea Shop that comes to you on the Web
While our downtown Bethesda shop with a selection of over 100 specialty teas isn't a moveable feast, you can order tea from us online 24/7 securely with your credit card or PayPal account. Follow us by bookmarking our Events page on our website, sign up for our monthly newsletter (below) or follow Zen Tara Tea on Twitter or Facebook.
Customer Favorite Teas:
A Great, Practical Gift Idea that Draws Attention to Supporting Local, Sustainable Farms
Our great collection of loose teas continues to grow strong and we are getting ready for a great fall season with all of your old favorites and a few new tea selections that are must have's. While tea will always be our focus, as we get closer to the holiday season we'll be adding a special collection of tea & coffee drinking accessories and gift items.
We were thrilled to be able to connect with Josh & Dr. Brent (The Fabulous Beekman Boys on their Planet Green TV show) and arrange to have some of the artisan, handmade goats milk soap products for sale in our shop in Bethesda.
The collection includes a canvas bag 2 soap set, boxed baby soap, after-sun soap and a special 12 soap collection featuring a different soap blend for every month of the year. Enjoy the show on Planet Green and take a piece of the Beekman 1802 farm home with you in these wonderful soap and skincare products.
Our Tea Collection: black teas, green teas, oolongs, white teas, herbal teas, chai teas, pu-erh teas
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