Have a cuppa! International Tea Day- tasting and presentation

Join us at Rockcliffe Park branch for a warm cuppa as we celebrate International Tea Day! Lee Jolliffe, academic and specialist in tea tourism will talk about the importance of the day. She will share her experiences with tea tourism, tea farmers and tea villages in both Japan and Thailand. This will be followed by a discussion and a tasting of several types of tea from each country. Adult, English, Registration required as tea cups are limited. About Lee Lee is a retired hospitality and tourism professor who lives in Ottawa. She is an academic expert on tea tourism and through her research has visited with tea farmers and tea communities in many tea producing countries. In 2019 she completed the Japanese Tea Master Course in Wazuka, Japan offered by the Global Japanese Tea Association. Since 2018 she has worked with a hotel operator and Lahu tea farmer in northern Thailand to convert their community based tourism into tea tourism. Her publications include Tea and Tourism: Tourists, Traditions and Transformations (Editor, 2007) with Channel View Publications, and Routledge Handbook of Tea Tourism (Lead Editor, 2023) with Routledge. Lee has spoken at tea-related conferences including the European Tea Culture Conference (Dresden, Germany, 2024) where she delivered a keynote on European Tea Culture and Tourism. About International Tea Day UNESCO has designated May 21 each year as International Tea Day, to recognize the history and cultural and economic significance of tea around the world, and the significant role it plays in rural development, poverty reduction and food security in developing countries. This day promotes the sustainable production of tea and the improvement of livelihoods for farmers and workers in the tea industry.

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