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Vancouver Tea Festival 2020: Recap

This year’s Vancouver Tea Festival took place on March 7th & 8th, 2020 at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia. It’s also the first year at this new location and my first time attending an event at Nikkei as well. Parking was pretty accessible at this new location, and I didn’t have issues finding it (with the help of my GPS…). I did see several bus stops nearby on a major road, so I feel as if it’d be pretty transit friendly as well.

As always, there were classes and tastings to attend that were on a first come, first serve basis. I was only able to attend on day 2 (Sunday) and I was there for a limited period of time, so I focused my time on the market and checking out the vendors as I didn’t think I would have enough time to sit in on a tasting or class this year. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to attend a class.

I did manage to take some time to chat up with a lot of the vendors, as well as sitting down and having tea with quite a few of them as well, which made it all the more enjoyable.

Some familiar faces were there this year, along with many new tea friends to be made!

Amoda Tea (above) and 8 Corners (below)

Wize Monkey (above) and Sunzen Art Gallery (below)

JusTea

The Chinese Tea Shop

kyth + kyn (above) and Teakan (below)

Van Cha

Jones Tea (above) and Sunny M (below)

Tea Lani (above) and Trudy Ann’s Chai & Spices (below)

Trudy Ann’s Chai & Spices (above) and Whisk Premium Matcha (below)

Many thanks to Del & the hard working team behind the 2020 Vancouver Tea Festival for putting on a great event – and thank you for the media pass. I saw a lot of volunteers running around, helping people check in at registration and supplying people with tasting cups, as well as those that were checking in with vendors to make sure they had enough water for all the tea that was being steeped!

I managed to buy quite a bit of tea this year, and I’m really looking forward to reviewing them all and sharing those reviews here on One More Steep. They’ll be sprinkled throughout along with the stash of tea I have waiting for me right now. Definitely be sure to follow me on Instagram (@onemoresteep) as well to see my daily tea posts as well as stories on my tea drinking.

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Masala Chai Chia Pudding

Chia seeds are pretty amazing. They’re a great source of protein, fats, thiamine, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc – almost other fantastic nutrients. Chia seeds have also been made popular by chia pets (I know you’ve seen those commericals!) and are a great way to thicken stuff up – I used them in my recipe Easy Chia Seed Jam.

This recipe utilizes that Chai Spice Mix featured last week in my recipe for a Masala Chai. I’ve been really into that spice blend recently because it’s just so good – and who doesn’t love a little cardamom in their food or drink? If you recall from last week, chai means tea… But there is no tea in this recipe, and I’m just rolling with it right now. It’s not the most attractive of desserts, but I genuinely don’t think any chia pudding looks that great unless it’s been prettied up – a lot.

Masala Chai Chia Pudding – Serves 4

⅓-¼ cups chia seeds – use less if you want a thinner pudding, but more if you want a thicker consistency
1 cup milk¹
2 tsp Chai Spice Mix
Agave syrup, fresh fruit, granola²

Chai Spice Mix
2 tbs ground cardamom
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tbs ground nutmeg
½-1 tbs ground ginger
½ tbs ground black pepper

¹ You can use any type of milk for this – dairy or dairy-free alternatives. I personally use an organic unsweetened non-GMO soy milk.
² Completely optional, but it’s nice for the sweetness!

Mix together milk and spices in a bowl (I use a whisk).
Add in agave syrup (if using this as an option).
Mix in chia seeds and mix until well incorporated.
Let it rest for about 5 minutes, the seeds will begin to settle.
Whisk again to suspend the chia seeds thoroughly throughout your mixture.
Put in an air-tight container into your fridge for a minimum of 1 hour to let it thicken up.
Keeps in the fridge for ~3 days.

To serve: spoon into small jars/glasses, top with fresh fruit or granola – or eat plain!

If you make Masala Chai Chia Pudding for yourself (and a friend), I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

 

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Masala Chai

The first thing we’ll discussed about the recipe is name. Chai is the Indian word for tea – so when you ask for a “chai tea latte”, you’re really asking for a tea tea latte. Masala is the word for a blend of spices, or spiced. So when I say Masala Chai, I’m preferring to a spiced tea. Traditionally, a masala chai is made with black tea and there are so many varieties of spices that can be used in your masala chai – so here’s just one tea enthusiast’s take at making a Masala Chai at home. This recipe makes enough for you – one for you & one for someone special!

Masala Chai – Serves 2

2 cups water
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs Chai Spice Mix
2 tbs looseleaf black tea¹
1 cup milk²

Chai Spice Mix³
2 tbs ground cardamom
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tbs ground nutmeg
½-1 tbs ground ginger
½ tbs ground black pepper

¹ There’s no hard or fast rule to what type of black tea to use. I generally opt for a straight/traditional black tea, and I’ll give you internet bonus points for choosing a tea that’s from the Darjeeling or Assam regions of India.

² This isn’t a vegan/vegetarian recipe, but it’s pretty easy to make it into one. Simply opt for a dairy-free milk option. I go with an unsweetened organic soy milk option for my regular day-to-day life.

³ Ground spices are a lot easier for me, personally. I do substitute in green cardamom pods (just crush them before using). You can also opt for a cinnamon stick (half should do it). I always recommend freshly ground ginger if you can get your hands on it. And I always buy peppercorns and have them in a grinder to do it myself. The spice mixture is fairly similar to the one in my Chai Spiced Sugar Cookies, but I find lowering the amount of ground ginger makes it a bit more palatable for more people.

Prepare Chai Spiced Mix
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Store in an air-tight glass jar.
If using fresh ingredients, mix a small amount into a bowl.

Making the Masala Chai
In a small saucepan, heat your water and brown sugar together.
Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved, and allow it to come to a boil.
Add in Chai Spice Mix and black tea, allow to simmer.
Add milk, stir, and allow it to come to a second boil.
Remove from heat, strain when pouring into cups or teapot.

If you make Masala Chai for yourself (and a friend), I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!