Sipping and Selling: World Tea East, Philadelphia
If you aren’t a tea aficionado, World Tea Expo probably passed you by. But every year, Expo sets its sips around the country. This October, World Tea East in Philadelphia was again at the grandly renovated Convention Center. W.C. Fields was wrong: Philadelphia is where you walk with history and while it has its issues, it’s a urban center that works. And there are some very good restaurants.
And what would an Expo be without contests? One of the winners of the 2012 new product awards went to the Northwest Glass Designs of Phoenix, Oregon, for their clear glass euro cup and saucer. “It’a modern design with a weighed base and smooth lip,” says company president Trudy Dickinson, (right). “We’ve been using the same factory in Taiwan for twenty five years.” The cup and saucer have a good feel and are a companion to the array of all sizes of glass tea pots. Glass tea pots seem to be everywhere this year. Northwest Glass teapots have thicker glass and won’t drip and burn your hand while pouring. You can watch the tea infuse; the sturdy glass steeping h steeping inserts, offer an easy way to enjoy tea without over infusing and risking a bitter taste. And Northwest Glass has shapes and sizes for every tea taste.