If there’s a tea that I love more than anything, it’s chai. So I was bragging all over town when T2 (who know how to throw a good event) invited me to their Chai Championship. An entire evening devoted to one of my favourite drinks? With the masters of the brew? You bet I was excited.
DIY Chai – photo courtesy Kate & Co.
My lucky plus one and I were awestruck from the second we arrived at the Collingwood headquarters. The entire event was India-themed, with garlands of marigolds draping everywhere lighted candles, samples of tea, and a sitar player. And that was just downstairs. Upstairs (there’s an upstairs — who knew?) was the real party.
T2’s amazing HQ – photo courtesy Kate & Co.
At one end, the chai championship competitiors were working away, but weren’t too busy to have a chat about their concoctions. One standout ingredient: freeze-dried oranges. They weren’t messing around. But it wasn’t all watching them compete — we got to gnaw on all sorts of nibbles, including tea-infused desserts; try tea cocktails, including Baileys + chai, the hands-down favourite; create our own chai mixtures; and best of all, get our hands done with henna tattoos from a talented artist.
Theresa (right) and her +1 – photo courtesy Kate & Co
The end of the night the winner (Michael Allen from The Auction Rooms) was crowned. But since we all went home with a gift bag of chai ingredients and a chai glass, I felt like I was the winner of the evening, too.
– Theresa
Co-founder of The Plus Ones, Theresa loves making tea-themed puns about her initial. T-time, anyone?
Need some chai? Grab some T2 tea online, in their Melbourne stores, or at the new Brew Bar in Emporium. Or try the chai recipe from 2014’s Chai Championship winner.
