International Tea Festival

The International Tea Festival in San Francisco took place at the Ferry Building this year.  This year has been the best so far with so many types of teas and booths, there wasn't enough time to try them all.

At check-in, we received goody bags including lots of tea samples and this sampler cup to test out teas:

Of all the booths, I'd been looking forward to trying Harney & Sons. A friend of mine gave me a tin of rose tea from this brand a few years back and I've been slowly savoring it. They only have stores in New York (bucket list!). I picked up this Earl Grey Supreme which has a nice bold flavor without the dry aftertaste at the end. 

I discovered Teaful while at the festival. They're fairly new still, but I loved their Alishan Oolong and High Mountain Black Tea. They're pricey for the small amount of tea in each package, but tasty to try. 

Free samples included in the goody bag:

I also bought the Vanilla Comoro from Harney & Sons. It's a black tea with just enough sweetness so that it pairs nicely with or without milk. 

I will definitely go again next year. For now, I'm enjoying the restocking of my tea collection and sipping on all the new teas this fall.