2020 was my 12th year writing about tea. How did that happen? Time really flies when you’re having fun.
This past year turned out a lot differently than many of us thought it would. My goals were to travel. Instead, a global pandemic made it so that I couldn’t leave my home except for getting groceries. Quarantining together led my husband and me to launch a YouTube series called Husband Tea Torture.
Interacting with the online tea community is something I’ve always done, but it took on new meaning as in-person events came to a halt. Zoom and Houseparty became essential tools for sharing tea with others. The World Tea Expo was postponed and eventually made into a virtual event. I taught my first tea webinar at the Nomad Tea Festival. The Chicago Tea Festival morphed into the International Virtual Tea Festival.
I was selected for jury duty in February. At exactly that time, I was invited to take part in collaboration with World Tea Academy. The classes were a welcome distraction while I spent hours idling in the jury room. I still have several classes to go before becoming a certified tea specialist, but I’ve made some headway towards that goal.
With that, professional development became a bit of a theme. I am now about midway through the Tea Teacher Training offered by Suzette Hammond of Being Tea. The journey has been challenging but well worth the effort.
I ended the year with a special Christmas present from my husband. He bought me a much-needed facelift for the blog! This has been a long time coming, and I hope that the new look makes it a bit easier to navigate around here. My next step is to get some new pictures taken since the one I am currently using is a few years old.
I don’t know what this next year will bring, but there is certain to be lots of tea. Thank you all for reading, your thoughtful comments and emails, and for coming on this crazy journey with me! It really means more than I could ever tell you.
Top 5 Blog Posts of 2020
- Can You Get Coronavirus from Chinese Tea?
- Podcasts for Tea Lovers
- Fellow Corvo EKG Electric Kettle
- Meet the Tea: Dong Fang Mei Ren
- 4 Misconceptions about White Tea
Goals for 2021
- I don’t want to jinx things, but travel is definitely on my mind. Japan is top of the list for reasons I can’t quite explain. Sometimes when something keeps coming up, you have to listen to what the universe tells you.
- I plan to graduate from the Being Tea Teacher Training and perhaps hold my first online tea class. It would be great to be able to teach in person again but I don’t want to jump the gun just yet.
- I am still working on the Tea Blogger Directory! 2020 had other plans, but I am hoping to be able to release it soon.
- For the first time in a while, I’ve started making YouTube videos again. My goal is to start uploaded at least once a week in the new year.
Do you have any tea goals for 2021? Tell me about them in the comments below!
I’m planning to go to Japan this year too (assuming things settle down)! I’ve got a few farms to visit!
The only other goal I have is to finish (and hopefully pass) the third report for the Japanese Tea Instructor Course!