We had the idea to hold a tasting of a selection from our Tea Shop's tea assortment for the employees and trainees in the main building.

First, we wrote a plan that said, for example, what materials we would need and how we would set it up in the kiosk. A general rough plan, but it was quite enough, because it allowed us to add more ideas during the preparation without feeling cramped by the previous ideas.

We chose 7 different teas, one from each category: a green tea, black tea, fruit tea, white tea, oolong tea, herbal tea and a rooiboos tea. We chose just these teas because of the appealing aroma, because we wanted to encourage our guests to try the tea. We also tried some of the teas ourselves and found them to be good. Of course, we also paid attention to variety and diversity in the tea.

For each of the different teas, we created a poster with a picture, preparation, fun fact and info about the taste. This took some time. We invited the guests by mail and asked them to register themselves and their groups so we could plan better. Then we created a spreadsheet for potential and hoped-for tea orders.

The day before the tasting, we packed all the materials and decorative items we needed - including, of course, the tea tins plus smelling glasses. On the day of the tasting, we set up in the kiosk in the morning. We hung white cloths over the shelves so people could see that there would be no regular sales, and still set up bar tables with table trash cans, sugar and spoons. Then we started to pour the tea and read through the information again to reproduce it properly. After the tea was ready, the first group that had registered already arrived. To this group and to each following one, we explained something about the different teas and then let them taste it. At the end of each group session, they could order tea, which we delivered to them in the following days.

The tasting was a lot of fun for us, and it was also very successful! Our guests were very enthusiastic about the idea to make our tea store a little more known and wished for such an action more often in the future.