Carolina Piedmont Summertime Tea Talks
Meet the speakers
Christine Parks
Christine Parks, owner/operator of Camellia Forest Tea Gardens and author of Grow Your Own Tea (Timber Press 2020), is a frequent speaker and teacher promoting homegrown and local tea production from Camellia sinensis. At Camellia Forest, together with her husband David, Christine tends their diverse collection of tea varieties, holds on-site workshops, and enjoys producing her own tea and blends.
Danielle Hochstetter
The first American to get a MS in Tea Science from a Chinese university, Danielle loves to talk about all things tea. She has spent time in cupping rooms around the world and previously worked for Peet's Coffee in California.
Sandy Straw
Sandy Straw is bringing her background in horticulture, sustainable agriculture and environmental education to the tea fields, workshops and classes at Camellia Forest Tea Gardens. She also works at the Community Farm at Camp Chestnut Ridge and is pursuing an agricultural education master's degree at NC A&T.
Jane Saiers
A scientist-turned-farmer, Jane runs RambleRill Farm in Hillsborough with husband Darin. She is fascinated by humans’ uses for plants as illuminated by the sometimes-complementary, sometimes-contradictory perspectives of traditional knowledge and scientific research. Both perspectives---and participants’ personal experience---will be brought to bear on Camellia sinensis during her Tea Talk.
James Norwood Pratt
James Norwood Pratt changed the tea industry with the publication of his classic Tea Lover's Treasury. Voted America's Best Tea Educator 4 times in a row, Norwood enchants audiences with his humor, storytelling, and passion. A native son of NC, he will be joining us via Zoom.