The Midwest Tea Festival & The English-Speaking Union Announce the Kansas City Tea & Literature Club

Event

The Midwest Tea Festival and The English-Speaking Union are co-hosting a quarterly book club called the Kansas City Tea & Literature Club. The goal of the Club is to educate tea connoisseurs in learning about and developing an appreciation for world-class teas. Members of the Club will learn about tea varieties, tea etiquette and tea culture from around the world. "Just because the tea festival is only once a year doesn't mean we stop learning about tea," said Nicole Burriss, founder of the festival. "This club will give an opportunity to tea enthusiasts to broaden their tea education."

Meeting every three months beginning in January 2016, the Kansas City Tea & Literature Club will feature a book tied to a tea growing region of the world. There will be time for discussion of the book and about a 30 minute presentation on the tea and tea culture of the featured region. During the session, participants will sip tea from the featured region and there will be edible treats (not necessarily tied to the region). Featured books will be a mixture of fiction and non-fiction.

When: Second Monday of every third month beginning Monday, January 11, 2016. Next Club meeting: Monday, April 11, 2016.

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Where: Se Faire Belle Salon, 510 NE 107^th St. Kansas City, Mo. Located about 10 minutes south of the Kansas City International Airport. Click here for map and directions.

Admission: Suggested donation of $10 to benefit the ESU's educational programs and to cover the cost of the teas. This fee can be paid in cash on the night of the session.

Books for Club Discussion: Books are to be obtained on your own but each should be available in multiple formats at area libraries, Half Price Books and Amazon. Though it is not required to bring the book to the session, the expectation is that the book will have been read prior to the session and participants will be prepared to discuss.

The first session, focusing on the teas & tea culture of India, will feature the book Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel and the tea host will be Aisha Gopala Krishnan from Chai-Me. Succeeding session information will be announced on www.midwestteafest.com/lit and www.facebook.com/midwestteafest.

Due to limited space and seating, each session will be limited to 15 participants. You must reserve your spot in a session by emailing midwestteafest@gmail.com by the Monday prior to the scheduled session.

Jeff Schnabel, president of the Kansas City Branch of the English-Speaking Union stated, "We are delighted to co-host the Kansas City Tea & Literature Club. It's a great opportunity to share fascinating books featuring tea culture around the world." Membership information will be available for those interested in joining the English-Speaking Union. You can read more about the Midwest Tea Festival and the ESU below.

About the Midwest Tea Festival

The Midwest Tea Festival is an annual exposition and celebration of world-class teas. Founded in 2015 by Nicole Burriss, the mission of the Midwest Tea Festival is to bring the world of tea and tea culture to all tea lovers, to provide educational opportunities to the public and to enhance their appreciation of the wide variety of teas throughout the world. The Midwest Tea Festival offers tastings, brewing demonstrations, vendors sampling world-class teas, workshops and seminars on tea topics such as brewing techniques, health benefits of tea, tea varieties in different countries and much more. In addition, the Festival features sponsors and vendors bringing the latest tea-related products to enhance brewing and serving of teas as well as businesses offering exclusive tea parties and related social events including Formal English Afternoon Teas. To learn more, visit www.midwestteafest.com and the Festival's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/midwestteafest.

About the English-Speaking Union

The English-Speaking Union is a non-profit, non-political educational organization that celebrates English as a shared language to foster global understanding and good will by providing educational and cultural opportunities for students, educators, and members. Founded in London 1918 at the end of WW I, the ESU carries out its work through a network of some 68 branches in the U.S. and 36 affiliates in the U.K. and in 54 other countries, sponsoring a variety of language and international education programs including scholarships and teacher education. Most prominent of ESU programs is the annual English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, a school-based program to develop students' speaking and critical thinking skills, through ESU Branch-sponsored community competitions culminating in the National Competition at Lincoln Center in New York City. Inaugurated in 1983, the program has since engaged more than 275,000 young people.  To learn more, visit www.esuus.org/kansascity and the ESU's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/esukansascity. 

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