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First Day at Sea and Training

The day starts with a cup of tea and breakfast, via room service, on our balcony. The weather is fabulous and I am wishing that I could sit here and not move! Knowing that is just not possible I prep myself and my materials and I am off for my morning session on marketing.

We catch the last 15 minutes of Lady Dawnya's presentation which is great. Not having had the opportunity to hear her speak previously I am throughly impressed.
I quickly find that this is a great group, enthusiastic and not short on ideas or the confidence to share them, exactely the way I like it! We spend 2 solid hours talking about gathering customer data and venues to look for marketing opporutunities.

After a delicious lunch and tea break we are back for this afternoons tea tasting and slide presentation, which includes some of my travels to China's tea gardens.

We cup Bi Lo Chun from East West Mountain, Dragon Well from Hangzhou, Guo Lu and Keemun from Anhui Province. Agian the group does not disappoint, they are throughly engaged and interested in cupping and quality evaluation techniques. I discuss my experiences and relationships with growers and the various tea growing regions cooridinating with the afternoons teas. I share my Lu Yu sightings and my visit to the National Tea Museum in Zhejiang Province.
MY AFTERNOON TEA BREAK
LADY DAWNYA & APRIL READY FOR THE TASTING

We talk about quality issues in the US and the fact that while we have come a long way in the last 10 years we have so much further to go. Many US wholesale buyers still purchase marginal quality teas for a variety of reasons; lack of knowledge, lack of experience and a misunderstanding about price versus quality. Yes you can buy one gunpowder tea for less than another but that does not mean you are getting a better value or a good deal. Just as prices vary do does quality.
We wrap up for the day and everyone is all smiles anxious to arrive at our first port of call, Grand Cayman, tomorrow. The ship is due to arrive around 9 am. Newman and I have preplanned an excursion in Grand Cayman which will start tendoring to shore first thing.
We skip getting dressed, it's formal night, and opt for a quite dinner in our cabin and another wonderful nights sleep with the ocean breezes.
Until next time, Beth
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