Turbo Tea Party 3.0, April 26th

Mix and mingle - snack and shop at next Turbo Tea Party in Downtown San Jose!

I didn't attend previous Turbo Tea Parties but I plan on attending this one - and why not? Music, delicious tea and goodies, art, and vendors? Sounds like a swell evening to me. 

Read the following for more details (snagged from the Facebook Event page -- let everyone know you're gonna be there by joining the event and sharing with your friends!)

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When: Friday, April 26th

Time: 6pm - 10pm

Where: Satori Tea Company

Turbo Tea Party is back! This variety show will have art, vendors, and live DJ music by DJ Coco and DJ Tumbleweed!

This is a FREE event!

If you do want to buy tea and food.. the bundle price is $7 for all you can eat and a cup of tea.

For $3 more you can purchase a Content Magazine in the bundle!

The event will be hosted at Satori Tea Company!

The displayed Artists will be:

• Travis Gonsalves
• Donald Miguel
• Bryce Larson
• Ryan Alexander Cosentino-Roush
• Jamilyn Metz
• Aaron Lee
• Travis Watkins
• Josh Quinonez

Vendors:

(jewelry, clothes, crafts, and vintage goods)

• Stephanie Chatfield from Ego Mechanix, Manic Designs, and Creations
• Seasonal Goods and Intwined
• AM
• Martie Guile, Betsy Wheelock, and Travis Gonzalves

In addition: the launch of Satori's Website and a preview to their documentary!

Spread the word and invite many people to help support the Bay Area community!!

Turbo Tea Party will have opportunities to build connections and have a great time!

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Hope to see you there!

Jen

@Jenguin

Dishcrawl - S'Mores Tea Party with Satori and Li'l Puffs - Jun 5th

Dishcrawl is starting to bring some slightly different events to Downtown San Jose than the usual 4-5 meal food-fest. They're bringing together Satori--probably the best tea shop in Silicon Valley--and the marshmallow artisans over at Li'l Puffs to create a S'Mores and Tea event on June 5th. I'm sure this will sell out, so if you are interested it would be good to buy tickets sooner rather than later! The ticket link is right over here.

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Imagine a fantasy land where artisan marshmallow meets hand blended teas.  Celebrate the coming of summer with a S’mores Tea Party!

Satori Tea Company, a personalized and artsy tea bar and Li'l Puffs, gourmet artisan marshmallows, team up for an experience in the heart of Downtown San Jose.

Satori Tea and Li’l Puffs will dazzle you with an array of deliciousness to "create your own" s’mores. Among the treats will be Li’l Puffs gourmet vanilla and fruit flavored marshmallows, premium chocolates, and Satori tea blends to accompany your s’more creations.

S’mores and tea lovers can expect a fun, engaging evening creating and savoring their own creations with enthusiasts. This event is family friendly, and open to all ages. To reserve your seats, please register quickly before the event sells out.

For those of you lucky to get in, see you soon for an evening of fun!


**TO NOTE***

We're sorry, but cancellations are only taken if done 48H in advance. Thanks for understanding!

Visit dishcrawl.com for more info or email hi@dishcrawl.com with questions.

About Li’l Puffs

Li’l Puffs is a San Jose local food company offering the highest quality, all natural, and great tasting artisan marshmallows in a variety of fruit flavors and chocolate. Li’l Puffs marshmallows are made in small batches and without any flavor enhancers, coloring, or preservatives to bring you the freshest and purest products possible.

About Satori  Tea Company
Satori Tea Company offers the world's most popular drink without the fuss or pageantry , serving inspired teas blended and brewed by the discriminating palate of a world-traveled tea mistress. The Satori Tea Company specializes in bringing organic, fair trade loose leaf tea to tea drinkers and enthusiasts. Our teas are always fresh and packed with flavor.

Satori Discount!

I found this discount today for my favorite tea shop. Unfortunately it's a one day deal. To take advantage of this, just click here.

Satori Tea Company

$20 to Spend on Tea and Accessories

$10	buy now!send as a gift

• 50%
  savings
• 144
  purchased
• 10 : 09 : 43
  remaining

As Bill Murray said in Lost in Translation, "For relaxing times, make it Satori time." Well, not exactly, but that's what he would have said had he known about today's deal: $10 for $20 worth of tea, pots, cups, and infusers from Satori Tea Company. Opened in 2008,... (show more)

Get yours free! Buy, share, and if three friends buy, yours is free.

• Share6

SJ FAM / Satori Charity Event this Sunday

MERRY MOROCCAN HOLIDAY

from SAN JOSE | FASHION | ART | MUSIC by Ria

Be merry this holiday season and join SJ FAM and Satori Tea Company for a delightful afternoon filled with fashion, art, music, charity and culture. Relax over a cup of tea and live music or peruse through a mini Moroccan bazaar where guests may participate in henna tattoo art, A Beauty Bar and some shopping!

This event will benefit CAREER CLOSET, an organization dedicated to empowering women to re-enter the… workplace equipped with everything they need to make a great first impression, land the job they want, and improve their lives. We encourage guests to dig into their closets and donate any unused work clothing, which can be used for another woman’s brighter future. Women’s professional clothing that is new or nearly new, clean, and on hangers, gently worn shoes and handbags are acceptable. Receive an additional raffle ticket for every garment you bring in!

So put on your Sunday’s best ensemble and join us for a lovely afternoon of good friends, good tea and a good cause!

$20 admission includes tea tasting, tea bites, henna art, beauty bar and live music by DJ Cutso.

Satori Tea Company
37 N San Pedro St, San Jose, CA 95110
Sunday, Dec 5th: 2pm-5pm
*Complimentary parking available in San Pedro garage until 6pm.*
Reservations required. Please call (408) 493-0554 or email rsvp@sjfam.com
Visit our Merry Moroccan Holiday Facebook event page here
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Vendors:
A Beauty Bar
Ayoma LifeSpa
Henna World
Ruthie Gems

Satori Tea - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!

My new favorite tea shop announced that they are having their ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug 20th at 10:30am! Swing on by to celebrate their opening and enjoy some Free Masala Chai and a 10% discount off tea & teawares.

Satori Tea in Downtown San Jose!!!

Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term that essentially means "enlightenment." It's a name that embodies what Downtown is striving for right now, although I think we have quite a journey ahead of us. Shops like Satori are what's pushing Downtown along that road!

Satori offers undoubtedly the best tea and chai I've ever had. It's a bold statement, but my wife and I drink tea all the time and we're never buying tea from a grocery store or mall store ever again. Satori offers just about every loose leaf tea you can think of: black, green, white, chai, decaf, organic, exotic, fusion, rare display teas... you name it. If you look at some of the photos below, you'll get an idea of the crazy variety of carefully selected teas they offer. We've tried 8 different kinds, and they have ALL been amazing (my favorites so far are the Coconut Chai and Coconut Ginger Green Tea).

Vicoria Boyert is the proprietor behind Satori (photo down below). She's invested her entire life savings and the last year of her life--see previous blog post--following her dreams and opening up this shop in Downtown San Jose. Ever since she took a class on tea preparation at the age of seven, she's know that she wanted a career in tea. Today, her ambitions are more than just having a small tea shop. Victoria believes that tea is an experience and wants to build community around enjoying tea, perhaps similar to the the way people enjoy coffee in Europe today. To help build this community she's planning to have classes to teach people on different kinds of tea and proper preparation, as well as a focus on bringing various events to her tea boutique. In addition to purchasing tea to take home, patrons can also immediately enjoy a professionally brewed cup of any tea they carry, either toasty hot or iced (great idea for hot San Jose days).

As you can see in the photos below, the store has a really charming atmosphere. It's uncluttered, unpretentious, unique, with very comfortable furnishings.  There's plenty of local art on the wall (some by SJSU students), with more to come. Satori is even utilizing part of the late A.P. Stumps outdoor patio. You definitely won't find a tea shop like this anywhere else... as mentioned before, exactly the type of retail store Downtown needs!

Satori is located at 37 N San Pedro St (around the corner from Peggie Sue's), and is open 7 days a week, Mon-Fri from 9am to 6pm, and Sat-Sun from 12pm to 5pm. They also validate parking in public garages. They are planning a Grand Opening celebration for the public soon and while I don't have an exact date yet, I'll be sure to post more information as soon as I receive it.

Challenges of Local Small Business Owners

Alright everyone, brace yourselves... it's incredibly rare, but I'm actually going to say something negative about San Jose. Often to grow you have to take a critical look at yourself and make a conscious decision to improve. I think that's exactly what we need to do in order to improve the retail scene in San Jose, especially high-potential, burgeoning areas like Downtown.

A couple days ago I had the great pleasure to meet with the proprietor behind Satori, a phenomenal new tea shop located in San Pedro Square next to Peggy Sue's. After hearing her challenges in opening up the store, I decided to break that section out of the blog post I'm planning for their upcoming grand opening. I'm doing this for 2 reasons: 1.) I think this topic requires special attention and applies to many current and potential business owners and 2.) Satori doesn't deserve to have anything negative in their grand opening post--they are 100%, positively, without a doubt the type of business that downtown needs more of... unique products, local character (including local art), community focus, and a new experience for downtown patrons.

Okay, now for the stuff I hate to write about, so I'll make it quick. The proprietor decided to put her entire life savings into a store selling what she's truly passionate about--awesome tea!--and she wanted to do it in the heart of San Jose. How long should it take to open up a small tea shop in San Jose? Two months? Three? Well, it actually took an entire year... every day of which means lost revenue and a lower probability for success. How much should it cost for business licenses and permitting in a 1,000sqft space in an area the city is actively trying to drive retail to? No need to guess, I'll just say it... $15,000. Huh?

I think something is not right with the situation above. The message we send out to business owners should be "COME TO SAN JOSE! WE ARE A CITY BUILT ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND WILL MAKE IT RIDICULOUSLY EASY FOR YOU TO DO BUSINESS HERE!  That type message doesn't seem to always align well with reality, and I have heard this from several business owners that I have spoken to, not just Satori.

If you ask anyone that really knows me, I really do love San Jose more than any other city on the planet.  I hate writing anything negative here, but this is one kink that we need to iron out before districts like Downtown can become the magnetic retail destinations they should be. Santana Row is great an all, but we need places where local businesses offering unique products and services can also thrive and grow the collective soul and culture of our great city.