In the Teasphere - Videos & Tea in Boston

First up this week, I just received this press release for a *free* Tea 101 class featuring Nilgiri Tea in September at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. If I were going to be in the area, I'd definitely stop in for this - anyone going that could give us a report?

Here are the details:

The Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers is proud to announce the seventh installment of Tea 101, hosted by one of only a handful of Tea Sommeliers in the world, Cynthia Gold. This month’s complimentary Tea 101 class will feature Teas from the Nilgiri Blue Mountains of Southern India.

Tea 101 is a complimentary, seasonal class on everything there is to know about tea! Guests can enjoy a discussion and tasting on this month’s featured topic; including samples and recipes for home use.

Each class hosted by Gold is dedicated to showcasing different tea elements, such as: proper tea preparation, tea etiquette, tea cocktail preparation, food and tea pairings, and begins with a quick review of how to correctly steep tea. Everyone who attends Tea 101 will receive a sample of the Park Plaza’s featured seasonal tea and 25% off of their future tea experience.

“Our individual tea tastings as part of Afternoon Tea have become so popular, that we can’t always meet the demand,” said Cynthia Gold. “We thought it would be fun to offer periodic complimentary group tastings and other short tea classes to not only meet the needs of a larger number of local tea lovers and soon-to-be tea lovers, but also offer an option for those who don’t have the time to relax over a full formal Afternoon Tea.”

Tea 101 is held in Swan’s Café, located in The Grand Lobby of the hotel directly before Afternoon Tea. Reservations can be made by calling 617-654-1906.

Sunday, September 20, 1:15 - 2:00PM: Teas from Nilgiri Blue Mountains (Southern India)

Sounds like a fun way to spend the better part of an hour!

In other news, I was sent links to two videos earlier this month that Elizabeth Houston and her husband made for a scholarship competition. I just got around to watching them last night, and just had to share them with you all - they're really just too cute (the Teacup Tango is my favorite). Watch and enjoy!