CREDIT: PROVIDED BY MICHELLE PIERCE HAMILTON
The first annual tea and Kombucha festival is coming to London on Mar 30 to meet the needs of the tea enthusiast community.

The first annual London Tea and Kombucha Festival is coming to the city next weekend. This event aims to bring together the tea-loving community in southwestern Ontario and surrounding areas.

The event will take place at the Wolf Performance Hall and Meeting Spaces in Citi Plaza on March 30 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Michelle Pierce Hamilton, teamed up with The Tea Guild of Canada to create this innovative event to meet the needs of tea enthusiasts.

“Great tea and Kombucha businesses have been growing in London and I saw opportunity for us to bring some great industry content to build our tea community and showcase what London and area have to offer,” Pierce Hamilton said.

Pierce Hamilton said that her businesses, beTeas Inc. and The Tea Lounge will sponsor the event alongside the Tea Guild of Canada.

“When bantering ideas around with a passionate group of people interested in making something happen, it was decided that combining tea and Kombucha audiences would make a very interesting and compelling offering for a London festival,” she said.

According to a March 9 press release from Pierce Hamilton, she has been a tea educator for six years.

“I've noticed that the locally roasted coffee and craft beer companies have done a really wonderful job of cultivating great experiences for their audiences, such that there is a real community and culture here now — so I wondered, why not tea?,” Pierce Hamilton said. “We hope that this becomes a great success in southwestern Ontario as the Toronto Tea Festival has in the GTA [Greater Toronto Area].”

According to Pierce Hamilton, there will be several vendors at the festival including tea and Kombucha sellers, tea ware and tea-themed jewelry. The official food vendor for the festival is Curley Brewing Co.

“Tea festivals are an amazing experience to meet a variety of vendors, experts, taste all kinds of teas and tisanes, and in this case, also all kinds of Kombucha,” Pierce Hamilton said.

Pierce Hamilton said that tea festivals are springing up all over Canada but there currently is nothing like it in the region.

“The London festival is going to be a little different than others in that we have built an educational component of skill-building workshops,” Pierce Hamilton said. “For those really wanting to grow skills or deepen their experience, they can sign up for a small class led by a passionate expert. That is truly unique.”

General admission tickets can be purchased at $7 in advance at londonteafestival.ca or $10 at the door. The first 500 people will receive a swag bag with a tea tasting cup.

According to Pierce Hamilton, general admission gives attendees access to all vendors as well as speakers in the Wolf Performance Hall. Tickets for the workshops will be $20 each.