Coffee & Tea Festival Philly 3

Let the Fun Begin!

Ajiri Tea was our first stop. This company was sampling several of its popular blends. One was the perfect replacement for one of Nonna's favorites. They even have two types of coffee.

The ladies were kind enough to explain that ajiri is Swahili for "to employ" and that the company employs women to make the banana leaf labels. Each label is unique. All profits pay education fees for orphans in Kenya.

Just around the corner from Ajiri we found Firehouse Donuts. Of course, we had a sample! Who doesn't love a nice donut with their tea? But which type to choose? Cinnamon sugar, powdered, plain...they even have chocolate frosted!

Firehouse Donuts are only available at special events like this and select retail locations. The closest one to us is Skippack Village Italian Market.

The unique packaging of Victory Tea drew our attention next.

They had some interesting event specials and unique flavors. 

I liked their Apple Cider and Pumpkin Pie blends the best. Xyra liked the creme brulee and Nonna favored the roasted almond.

We zigzagged over to Andrews and Dunham Damn Fine Tea. These guys were fun and gave me the button I'm wearing. It says, "No weak tea."

This package caught my eye. The blend is call Red-Tailed Hawk. The name reminded me of Nana Kestrel. It smelled lovely.

We hopped back over to The Tea House TImes. This organization sponsored two of the special seminars.

These ladies were a lot of fun and remembered me from 2014. We had fun chatting and looking over their display. I really think we should have purchased one of these tasting sets.

And this book looked really interesting. I'm blocking the title, but it's called My Mother Loved Tea by David Bigelow.

Our next stop made me think of Lady Marvin of the Lamppost! Ta-Da! Harney and Sons!

The guys here were a lot of fun. They were sampling the blends they brought to display. Paris, Soho, Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry Autumn, Earl Grey Supreme, Hot Cinnamon Spice, Lung Ching, Dragon Pearl Jasmine, and many more. 

They also had really cute tea cups - you can see them in the background of the first photo.

The next aisle held a favorite treat...MARSHMALLOWS! I bet you're thinking, "what do marshmallows have to do with tea?" Well, Marshmallow MBA makes specialty marshmallows and the ones they had here were based on tea blends and coffee flavors. These are spiced chai.

These are Paris.

They even had Mexican Hot Chocolate marshmallows!

That's all for today. What do you think so far? Any interesting exhibitors? Come back again tomorrow to see more of the Coffee and Tea Festival Philly 2016. 

Best wishes,

Note: Tea Time with Melody Q is not affiliated with American Girl, Starfish Junction, Coffee and Tea Festival Philly, Ajiri Tea, Damn Fine Tea, Firehouse Donuts, Harney and Sons Tea, marshmallow MBA, Tea House Times, or Victory Tea. The above is a recounting of our attendance at an event. All links provided are for educational and informative purposes. No purchase is required or suggested. 

#CTFPhilly
# AjiriTEa
#DamnFineTea
#FirehouseDonuts
#HarneyandSonsTea
#MarshmallowMBA
#TeaHouseTimes
#VictoryTea

Coffee & Tea Festival Philly 3

Let the Fun Begin!

Ajiri Tea was our first stop. This company was sampling several of its popular blends. One was the perfect replacement for one of Nonna's favorites. They even have two types of coffee.

The ladies were kind enough to explain that ajiri is Swahili for "to employ" and that the company employs women to make the banana leaf labels. Each label is unique. All profits pay education fees for orphans in Kenya.

Just around the corner from Ajiri we found Firehouse Donuts. Of course, we had a sample! Who doesn't love a nice donut with their tea? But which type to choose? Cinnamon sugar, powdered, plain...they even have chocolate frosted!

Firehouse Donuts are only available at special events like this and select retail locations. The closest one to us is Skippack Village Italian Market.

The unique packaging of Victory Tea drew our attention next.

They had some interesting event specials and unique flavors. 

I liked their Apple Cider and Pumpkin Pie blends the best. Xyra liked the creme brulee and Nonna favored the roasted almond.

We zigzagged over to Andrews and Dunham Damn Fine Tea. These guys were fun and gave me the button I'm wearing. It says, "No weak tea."

This package caught my eye. The blend is call Red-Tailed Hawk. The name reminded me of Nana Kestrel. It smelled lovely.

We hopped back over to The Tea House TImes. This organization sponsored two of the special seminars.

These ladies were a lot of fun and remembered me from 2014. We had fun chatting and looking over their display. I really think we should have purchased one of these tasting sets.

And this book looked really interesting. I'm blocking the title, but it's called My Mother Loved Tea by David Bigelow.

Our next stop made me think of Lady Marvin of the Lamppost! Ta-Da! Harney and Sons!

The guys here were a lot of fun. They were sampling the blends they brought to display. Paris, Soho, Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry Autumn, Earl Grey Supreme, Hot Cinnamon Spice, Lung Ching, Dragon Pearl Jasmine, and many more. 

They also had really cute tea cups - you can see them in the background of the first photo.

The next aisle held a favorite treat...MARSHMALLOWS! I bet you're thinking, "what do marshmallows have to do with tea?" Well, Marshmallow MBA makes specialty marshmallows and the ones they had here were based on tea blends and coffee flavors. These are spiced chai.

These are Paris.

They even had Mexican Hot Chocolate marshmallows!

That's all for today. What do you think so far? Any interesting exhibitors? Come back again tomorrow to see more of the Coffee and Tea Festival Philly 2016. 

Best wishes,

Note: Tea Time with Melody Q is not affiliated with American Girl, Starfish Junction, Coffee and Tea Festival Philly, Ajiri Tea, Damn Fine Tea, Firehouse Donuts, Harney and Sons Tea, marshmallow MBA, Tea House Times, or Victory Tea. The above is a recounting of our attendance at an event. All links provided are for educational and informative purposes. No purchase is required or suggested. 

#CTFPhilly
# AjiriTEa
#DamnFineTea
#FirehouseDonuts
#HarneyandSonsTea
#MarshmallowMBA
#TeaHouseTimes
#VictoryTea

Coffee & Tea Festival Philly 2

A Super Fun Day

Overview

Oh, my goodness! The Coffee and Tea Festival Philly was sooooooo much fun! I can't wait to show you all the places we visited and that was only a percentage of what was available. 

Okay, you saw me standing outside waiting to enter. I'm glad we got there when we did because the line kept growing behind us. Luckily we were there early enough to get one of the shopping bags and then it was like trick or treating again as we moved down the line and collected samples. Who doesn't love samples?

At the end of the line we merged into the main area. The organizers, Starfish Junction, did a wonderful job in planning the layout of exhibitors. There was a lot of space for everyone to walk and browse and talk. Even a space set aside for seminars.

Which way to go? Which way to go? Such decisions! Yes, we still clumped now and then, but overall free flowing.

We decided to use Xyra's phone to take the photos instead of the camera. Looking over the shots, I'm not sure if that was a good idea or not. Some are fantastic, others are a little blurry. The phone has a harder time focusing foreground and background than the camera does. So some things that looked clear ended up not being legible. Major bummer!

Now, I mentioned all those nifty exhibitors and samples and goodies and photo opportunities and purchases. Well, I need one more night to get everything sorted. I apologize for that, but I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Do you have a favorite tea brand? Leave a comment sharing your go to favorite brand or blend of tea, please.

Best wishes,


#CTFPhilly

Coffee & Tea Festival Philly 1

Our Representative

You know we were looking forward to going to the Coffee and Tea Festival - Philly this year. Everyone stated their case on why she might go. In the end we took an in-house poll and by unanimous vote we realized there really was only one choice...Melody!

Early this morning we headed over to Oaks to meet Nonna and joined the rest of the enthusiasts in line.

So many fun things happened today, some of the best were the exhibitors that recognized us from our visit in 2014.  A pleasant surprise!

Check back Monday to see our trip to the festival. Then watch for new tea reviews. We're getting back to our roots. :)

If you are near Oaks, PA and like tea, there is still one more day for the festival. If you go from 10 - 3 you can then stop at Ursinus College for the College Choir and Meistersinger concert. It starts at 4!

Best wishes,


#CTFPhilly

November 2016 Rebuild

Holiday Home

Hi! how are you doing? Good to see you stopping by to visit us.  I am so excited to unveil our November calendar rebuild.

Ta-da!

We're calling it Holiday Home. See the front door, living room, and dining room?

This one is going to be extra special. We're going to keep the main frame for November AND December, but make adjustments in December. Sadly, we didn't post the rebuilds from November and December 2015. We used the dining room in November and the living room in December. The front door was just this January.

Hope you stop back in December to check out the differences. 

Have a nice day!

Need Your Help (2016)

Conversation from Halloween

Grace, Haley, Kaya, Kirsten, Lanie. Lea, Melody, 2 or more

Heading Home from Trick or Treat

Guess what?

What?
I heard we are going to the Philly Coffee and Festival this weekend?
Really?!
All of us?
No, only one.
Oh, I'd like to go. It sounded like a lot of fun the last time.
Me too! Maybe someone will have macrons.
Yeah, it would be a nice trip.
Who do you think should go?
I'm not sure. Grace, Kaya, and Lea have all been on big trips lately...Haley has been so busy with school work it would be a nice break for her. Lanie and Kirsten haven't been anywhere lately...

What do you think? Who should go to the Philly Coffee and Tea Festival? Who do you think will go?

Best wishes,


#CTFPhilly