The Portland Tea Festival is something we look forward to all year.

In the beginning, I didn’t go as a vendor—mostly because I was busy running two tea houses and being the father of two very young children. Looking back, it was all a blur. But there are a few things I remember.

One is more or less sneaking into the festival. I think I asked Young Mountain to put me down as a plus one. Raj was kind enough to play along. I was surprised to see so many people from Eugene there—it already felt like a community.

The second memory: I had a big box of “High Till I Die” tea shirts. The organizers, Jen and her team, were incredibly forgiving of my less-than-professional approach. They put up with my biggest weakness at the time—my lack of maturity—and even more, they bought the shirts. Big thanks to Jen and the whole team for that.

Flash forward to this Saturday, June 28, 2025—this will be our third year as an official vendor, participant, and speaker at this awesome event.

I’ll be giving my “Kissed by the Dragon” talk again. (Though since it's the Year of the Snake, maybe I should’ve renamed it “Kissed by the Snake”? On second thought… that’s weird.)

This year, we’ll be sampling several teas, including:

• Green Gold

• Buttercup Oolong

• Honey Gold

• V93 Ripe Puer

• Silver Needle Puer

And probably more, especially as we run out of the ones listed above.

I always start the “Kissed by the Dragon” talk by saying what a great time it is to be a tea drinker. That’s mostly because of how many amazing tea vendors exist now—and how events like the Portland Tea Festival bring them all together. I joke that in my lifetime, we went from instant to artisanal. It really is a golden age of tea.

J-Tea is proud to be part of this community.

So if you’re in the Portland area—or even if you’re not—make the trip. Come to the Portland Tea Festival for a day of tea drinking, reconnecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and celebrating what makes this tea community so special.