A Nod to Nothing: Mrs. Kelly's Teas 2015

Sunday, December 06, 2015

Mrs. Kelly's Teas 2015

I was watching for the repeat of Mrs. Kelly's Teas annual tasting event this year. Eryn had a great time last year, so we got up so we could be there when it opened: a good way to score a table and some time before it's too crowded. After dropping off our foodshelf donation, we found a table in the Mrs. Kelly's building with a hot water dispenser and got to work. Our goal, to taste 33 teas. One more than in 2014. It took me a few teas before I realized I had the 2014 list available, so we had some overlap. But we tried a lot of new tea. And then settled right back on the three we liked from last year: Holiday, Minneapple Green, and Vanilla Orange (Roobios). Although we did add a bag of Green Lemon to the mix.

Here's the warehouse. You can tell because at the very top of the photo, you can see the word "warehouse". During the event there's also some cheesecake and chocolate if you bring your credit card and some cash (as well as some jewelry and honey and art).

Mrs. Kelly's is just this room (three little rooms) off the main hall. Here's Eryn toward the end of the event, thoroughly caffeinated. She got a compliment on her Dr. Who hat and I was complimented on my Serenity sweatshirt. There were quite a few folks in Dr. Who gear, including a sweatshirt that was a faux ugly holidays sweater with the Tardis on it, and a handbag with a Tardis. So, although there were plenty of older women you might mentally associate with tea, there were also a lot of younger women and couples who might be borderline hipster. It was a fairly mixed crowd.

Although this picture doesn't do anything to prove that. Perhaps I should have taken a picture of the ladies having a tea party behind us - they were all in their mid to upper twenties. This is the herbal tea room. No caffeine to be seen here, just raspberries and peaches and strawberries and the like.

Our list where we started to circle what we drank. Later we added 2014 next to the 2014 samples.

The tea station with the canisters. There was another for black/breakfast teas around the corner. You used the spoons to fill little tea bags (over there in the plastic cup lying on its side). I'd go find two and report back. And then Eryn would go find two and report back. We had an assembly line approach to maximizing our tea tasting.

Here's the setup. Sometimes we'd write on the sides to make sure we didn't forget what was what. After enough caffeine it was difficult to focus, even for a few moments. There was a hot water dispenser at our table - a big one that you pour a few pots of coffee into. At one point, he had to refill our container.

Me enjoying my tea and still sporting my "long" haircut from Movember (gone as of this moment).

After tea, I let Eryn pick where to eat and we hit The Bad Waitress. I didn't think we were going to stay because it was full, but while Eryn was in unloading some more tea, two spots at the counter freed up. I had the matador - hashbrowns and eggs and bacon. Eryn went hamburger. We were both happy and neither of us had tea, soda, or coffee. Go figure.

Teas tried this year (no bananas foster this year!)...ut oh. That's 32. Don't tell Eryn I can't count! Although I think there was one I couldn't find on the list, so that may have been #33.