October 4th, 2025

International Tea Symposium

11:05 AM - The Japanese Tea Ceremony
Coordinated by the Chado Urasenke Tankokai Association
Members of the Chado Urasenke Tankokai Asso ciation“would like to demonstrate the Japanese traditional ‘Way of tea’, Chado.”
They also would like to have the audience think on the connection between a bowl of tea and peace.

12:00 PM - Tea Production Enzymetic Oxidation on Rooibos
Lovena Harvey of Gathering Place Trading
Lovena Harvey, owner of the Gathering Place on Cortez Island, will be speaking to the process of making rooibos and its relationship to tea (camellia sinensis). Particular focus will be on the role of enzymatic oxidation.  

1:00 PM - Collecting Samovars - A Living History
Irene Drmla of Special Tea
Irene Drmla, owner of Special Teas here in Victoria, will take us on a journey with the samovar, from antiquity to the current day. The focus will be on Slavic countries and the middle east, from Persian nobility to the everyday household. Drmla and her family are collectors of the samovar, some dating back 200 years.

2:00 PM - A Tea Garden Manager Training Journey in Sri Lanka
Gayan Senarath of Heslaa Tea Company
Gayan Senerath, owner of the Heslaa Tea Company about to open in Victoria, will detail the training journey he underwent to become a tea garden manager in Sri Lanka. From picking tea leaves for 6 months to understand the perspective of the picker, to carefully managing tea equipment and cupping thousands of teas.  

3:00 PM - Fifteen Years of Growing Tea on Vancouver Island
Victor Vesely of Westholme Tea Company
Victor Vesely of Westholme Tea Company in North Cowichan, will share the many lessons he has learned starting the first commercial tea garden in Canada. His trials and tribulations as he learned it was more about understanding what the tea plant had to teach him as he self taught his way through critical flashpoints to where Westholme is today.   

4:00 PM - Pressing Tea - Flaws and QC Points from a Tea Factory in China
Mr. Zhepeng of Shan Wei Ho Tea Company
Mr. Zhepeng, owner of  Shan Wei Ho Tea Company in the Yiwu region of Yunnan, will be joining us live at 7am China time to discuss the idiosyncrasies of pressing a good tea.  Mimi Chiu, tea instructor, will translate as we ask Peng about what he is looking for in flawed VS good quality cakes and bricks of tea.