JAKE KEARNAN
Brisbane’s first Laneway Tea Festival will hit Bakery Lane in the Fortitude Valley on October 5, bringing a curated selection of all things tea related to delight the city’s tea lovers.
The festival will allow people to not only celebrate tea, but to experience it on a different level, thanks to vendors at the event offering free tea tastings, classes and readings, including teas from around the world.
Tea drinking fans will be treated to an array of beverage options, including pure green tea leaves, chai, black teas, matcha, kombucha, iced teas, bubble teas and even high tea.
Laneway Tea Festival event organiser Linda Le said the festival provided a platform that tea drinkers have previously lacked.
“There aren’t many tea festivals in Brisbane, so we want to give tea drinkers an opportunity to come together and experience types of teas from different cultures,” Ms Le said.
“Everyone has their own interpretation of what tea is to them, and I want this festival to open doors for drinkers unaware of the different forms of tea,” she said.
The Steepery Tea Co is one of the vendors at the Laneway Tea Festival, which will showcase the company’s specialty, pure leaf teas.
Steepery Tea Co founder Kym Cooper said the festival was a great way to make different types of tea more accessible to people.
“The Laneway Tea Festival is such a great thing because its really about making it more approachable and accessible to people, and I think this format will allow people to try something that they may not have been committed to buying in stores,” she said.
Ms Cooper said her desire for trying different teas started when her previous job allowed her to travel overseas for work.
“For me, drinking tea is a ritual that brings people together,” Ms Cooper said.
“When people come over the kettle is always the first thing that goes on,” she said.
“Tea was almost a culture bridge for me, [and] I have been able to learn a lot about my Taiwanese culture.”
Ms Cooper founded The Steepery Tea Co, which is located on corner of Fish Lane and Cordelia Street in South Brisbane, in 2015.
She credits her time in Taiwan as the driving factor that led to her shop’s establishment.
“In a lot of countries business is conducted over tea, and it isn’t something that we necessarily have ingrained in our culture,” she said.
“In other countries you will find it’s the eastern style brewing equipment that is always displayed on their tables.”
Tea drinker and Laneway Tea Festival attendee Abbey Plumridge said the event was intriguing.
“I’ve never been to a tea festival before, but I’m looking forward to trying something different,” Ms Plumridge said.
“I hope I can find something I like.”
The Laneway Tea Festival will be held in Bakery Lane in Fortitude Valley on Saturday October 5 from 10am to 4pm.
General admission to the event is free, although attendees are asked to register online.
VIP entry tickets are also available for $10 per person and include a tote bag and a reusable ceramic tea cup.