Tea for days: Classic blends and unique brews at the Singapore Tea Festival’s second outing

Hush Teabar. Photo: Singapore Tea Festival
Hush Teabar. Photo: Singapore Tea Festival

There’s a par-tea going on at Ion Orchard this month, and it’s got everything to do with our beverage of choice: tea. With the return of the Singapore Tea Festival for its sophomore edition, 30 local and international tea brands are gonna hawk their wares over one weekend, offering over a hundred varieties and blends, interactive workshops, and lifestyle goods.

Basically, it’s a place for curious tea lovers and tea connoisseurs to mingle with tea makers and gab on about tea for days.

Teapasar, which touts itself as the world’s first “omni-channel marketplace powered by machine learning taste prediction technology,” is the organizer behind the festival this year. And if you haven’t a clue what that description means, it’s essentially a platform that matches consumers’ taste preferences with tea profiles on its database to recommend brews, done via scanning tea leaves to create unique fingerprints.

Skeptical? Try it out for yourself at the event and sample teas at the vendor booths to see if they’ve got your style down.

Last year's crowd. Photo: Singapore Tea Festival
Last year’s crowd. Photo: Singapore Tea Festival

While you’re there, stroll through the four categories of teas: Modern Blends by local makers, Classic Blends with single-origin and unblended teas, Lifestyle brands offering tea accessories, and flavors from Beyond Our Shores.

Highlights include Sucre’s durian tea, Gryphon Tea’s botanically cold brewed sparkling range, an Imperial Golden Cassia from Tea Chapter that’s apparently like the one served to Queen Elizabeth II in 1989, Brew Me’s organic teas from a Bali plantation, and Ito En’s drinks “brewed” in room temperature water.

Antea Social, Infusion-de-vie, Tea Depot, Kindred Teas, Parchmen & Co, Pekoe & Imp, and Matchaya are some of the other labels on the line-up. And if you’d like to stock up on tea merch, check out knick knacks by Pinetree Pantry, illustrated bags from Troops on Print, and handmade ceramic pieces crafted by Euphoramics and &natural.

Teas by Infusion-de-vie. Photo: Singapore Tea Festival
Teas by Infusion-de-vie. Photo: Singapore Tea Festival

To find out more about the world of teas, sign up for workshops such as tea art demonstration by Tea Chapter and the basics of tea cupping by Australian Tea Masters, or learn how to make your own kombucha from Fizzicle Kombucha. On the serious side, there’s the panel discussion between high flyers in the industry, including names from The 1872 Clipper Tea Co. and the Gryphon Tea Company.

End off your tea-tastic weekend with more light-hearted sessions like modern brush calligraphy and floral wreath watercolor by Singapore-based artist Lydia Syiariel, or ready your senses for Aroma Training 101 by Australian Tea Masters.

 

FIND IT:
Singapore Tea Festival is on from Sept 21-23; Fri 3pm-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm, at B4 Ion Orchard. Free; ticketed for workshops.

MRT: Orchard



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