Dr. Yan Chen from the LSU AgCenter's Hammond Research Station will be presenting a special tea tasting with food pairings. Seating is limited to the first 25 to RSVP, who will learn to evaluate teas. The processing, history, and preparation of tea (green, black, oolong, jasmine, etc.) will be covered in this program. The Gulf South is home to a small but growing domestic tea industry, feedback from this class will help to guide programming and promotion of this niche market. This tea tasting workshop is part of a research and extension project funded by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture in supporting the development of tea as a new specialty crop for Louisiana. Currently we only have two commercial farms in Louisiana that have planted tea and will be harvesting leaves in two more years. However, as part of the extension efforts, we would like to invite Master Gardeners to this tea tasting workshops and experience some of the finest domestically grown and processed teas. We will show how the three basic teas: green, oolong, and black, are made from leaves, and how to enjoy them with sensory evaluations and snack pairing. Expect to learn everything about tea and get your questions about tea answered by AgCenter faculty Yan Chen and Jason Stagg.