This Sunday, we welcome special guest, Tony Tellin, for our first Being Tea Connections series offering of the year.
For those of you who are newer to the Being Tea space, the Connections series is an ongoing program where we host guest teachers and speakers to share insight, experience and – Connections – into areas that touch our life in tea.
Some of these topics are directly tea-related and presented by tea folks. Some are not as "directly" tea – on the surface, anyway – but when we dig a little deeper, we see those through lines. And as an educator, the through lines are what I'm all about!
Tony's session is a little like that. Our subject is Living in Creativity: what it’s like to step into one’s own voice. The impact on our own lives when we start creating something that truly is just for us. Tony has been tasting, buying, formulating, and making tea for over 23 years.
He originally came up as an apprentice in the early days of Tazo Tea company, working alongside the late Steven Smith. Then later, he followed his mentor to Steven Smith Teamaker. Tony now runs his own small company – which, in a recent conversation together, he really spelled out, "is NOT a tea brand." Something I super appreciate, as a fellow independent creator!
We'll be exploring topics like the different versions of ourself we embody along our journey (OOOH!); constantly questioning our ways, even at 5 years in; the negative aspects of innovation for the sake of innovation; and moving away from the mentality that our creativity always has to be something big.
Email me if you'd like to join the live session! Just like our member classes, Connections series gatherings include a private (unrecorded) group Q&A after our recording is finished.
Living in Creativity, with guest Tony Tellin
A Being Tea Connections series offering
Sunday, March 12, 12pm-1:30pm CDT Recording posts to Connections library this same day.
** Heads up! Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday for most of the US, including where I live. Please check your local time for this event. **
Quiet Tea Sundays is on spring break this weekend!
Join us for our Spring Equinox session next Sunday, March 19.
"Best of Quiet Tea Sundays": Remembrance
This week, while Quiet Tea Sundays takes a weekend away, I thought you might enjoy this springtime practice from our "Remembrance" series: a theme that explores the gentle awareness of being pulled toward what we know, what we feel as we reach for the returning sun. Rest and regeneration that also honors what we choose and need to hold onto and remember.
In this session from March 21, 2021, we look at the role of inviting in ritual and homemade ceremony into our practice, with an essay by Robin Wall Kimmerer titled “An Offering.”
Warmest thanks to everyone who came out on Sunday for our memorial service for our community tea friend, Marjorie. The question came up if we might be able to offer a memorial again next year at this same time (her birthday) - Yes, absolutely!
And also, I wanted to share with everyone that we'll be doing something else here at Being Tea to honor Marjorie: a new scholarship.
Last autumn, many of you contributed to our mutual aid fundraiser to take care of Marjorie's tea for the year, so she didn't have to worry about details like that during her hospice. Those funds will now be used to create a special scholarship in her honor, which will open this autumn.
This scholarship will be peer-nominated – folks will write a letter to nominate someone they love who would benefit from this support – and will include a one-year Being Tea membership and a one-year subscription to our Tasting Box Club. I'll share more details later when the application period opens up. But I just wanted to let everyone know about this community-supported tribute coming soon, in memory of our friend.
Did you miss out on joining the Tasting Box Club this year?
You're in luck, friend! This program opens to the public just once a year, during the holiday season. But for Being Tea members, you get one extra "Last Call!" chance to join in the spring.
Email me to get on the waitlist! I'm anticipating a few spots will open up for folks to come on in April, as our 3-month subscriptions end in March. After current subscribers get a chance to renew, any open spots are reserved just for Being Tea members. Woo hoo!
You can join us for the rest of the year – 9-months, running April through December. Our quarterly payment plan is available ($75 in March, June and September) or if it's easier, you can pay in one go ($225 total). US shipping is included!
What is the Tasting Box Club, you ask?This program combines a set of 3-4 teas each month with a guided group tasting class. This class is available both live and recorded, just like Being Tea member sessions. Each month also comes with a guided tasting card, printed newsletter, and brewing suggestions for each tea.
It's a great opportunity to enjoy teas in a more communal way, woven around seasons, story, and nuances of tea crafting.
Email me if you'd like more info or to get on our waitlist for April!
The next opportunity to sign up won't be until the fall, when I open up reservations for the 2024 program. So this is really the last window for a while, folks!
Member newsletters are sent Tuesdays with info about upcoming / newly released classes and events.
Questions and comments welcome anytime via email or on social media below.
