While I’m trying to finish some sencha before resuming my tea reviews, I thought I’d try writing some fun tea posts! If you have any topic requests, let me know.

Today, I wanted to talk about tea-related activities you can do with friends that isn’t just drinking tea while chatting (though I honestly really like that). So here are three things that I’ve done with friends that you might find fun to do

Tea Comparison Game (Toucha)

I have talked about Toucha in my post on the history of tea competitions and it’s been something that I’ve been doing with my friends this year! The aim of the game is simple: test your tastebuds and see who is the true tea master.

What you’ll need:

• One judge/host
• Teas (I use different types of sencha, but you could do this with black teas from around the world or different types of oolong, whatever you want to try!)
• Ways to make the tea (either tea bowls + filter spoons or many tea pots or teabags, choose whatever works for you). But you will need a communal tea bowl or you’ll have a lot of trouble rearranging it later!
• Spoons for tasting

Steps:

1. Make and taste the teas. Ideally, the judge/host can explain a bit about the tea but really all you need is for your friends to have the name of the tea in their minds as they taste, smell, and observe the tea. Your introduction can be as simple as: “this is the black tea from Assam, this is the black tea from Nuwara Eliya” or it can be longer, such as “This is the fukumidori cultivar, it was created in 1986 and it’s supposed to have a refreshing fragrance. The farm, Ohnishi-en, withers the tea leaves for a short while, and that’s supposed to bring out a grapefruit note.”
2. After everyone has enjoyed the tea, send the participants away. While they are gone, re-arrange the cups of tea in a different order. Make sure you remember which tea is which!
3. Have the participants come in, taste the tea again and try to guess the names of the teas

I really like this game because a lot of people are certain they won’t be able to guess the difference, but then are pleasantly surprised because they can get at least one, sometimes all correct! It’s a great confidence boost for friends who are just getting into tea, and a good way to get people to slow down and really notice the differences between various types of teas.

Tea Swap

Hosting a tea swap can be really fun if all your friends have too much tea as well. Or, if you just want to receive some tea as a present instead of buying it for yourself.

The only thing to consider before issuing tea swap invitations is the kind of swap you want to have. Is it going to be a one-for-one, or will everyone be encouraged to take as much as they want, no matter how much they bring? Are you going to insist that only new, unopened teas can be brought for swapping, or will everyone be comfortable if teas are in labelled, resealable zip-loc bags? Is this for loose leaf, teabags, or a mix? As a host, I tend to be on the easy-going side, but will bring some extra tea and books in various formats so that everyone can find something to bring home.

Last year, I hosted a tea and book swap that was supposed to be a one-to-one, but what happened was that some people came with a lot more teas, some people came with a lot more books, and everyone had a good time going through everything and finding something that appealed. We even had people make impromptu pitches of their book/tea which meant that the conversation never stopped.

I’ve also held mail swaps, but those tend to be a bit more complicated because you’ve got to match timings (when people want to send their packages out), postage distances, and total value so that everyone feels happy. I find in-person swaps are easier!

Take a tea class

If your friends are huge tea nerds as well, then taking a class together could be a fun way to spend an afternoon or even a whole day! Even in Singapore, I’ve been able to find all sorts of classes: various Introduction to Tea classes, tea blending workshops (admittedly, I’ve not really gone for these), Oolong workshops, Tea pairing classes, introduction to Song dynasty tea, and so on.

What I like about classes is that they give you a chance to try things outside your comfort zone without having to buy a 50g packet of tea first. There are some things that are difficult to replicate at home, or perhaps certain stories that are hard to find, and a good teacher will probably share something new with you.

So these are the three activiTEAs that I think would be fun to carry out with friends. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know so I can try them out too!