2020 Tea Highlights + 2021 Tea Goals

Happy New Year tea friends! I’m taking a moment to reflect on my 2020 and write some tea related goals for 2021. Given the year we all had, I definitely didn’t get a chance to achieve all of my goals I had set out for 2020. But, that’s okay. I think the most important thing was to survive this past year and I can easily carry over tea goals from 2020 to 2021. Thank you to everyone who read, shared and subscribed to my blog within the last year. I appreciate connecting with everyone and wish you all the best for this new year. I hope you’ll stick around because I have some great things planned for this blog! Here are a few of my 2020 highlights and 2021 tea goals.

– My 2020 Highlights –

These are just a few of my favourite tea related moments of 2020 and goals I accomplished.

Toronto Tea Festival

When I look back on this year I can’t believe I was able to attend the Toronto Tea Festival. It seems like so long ago! Next year’s tea festival has yet to be scheduled and most likely will be a virtual format. Catch my recap of the event here and some of my favourite vendors here.

“Met” Tea Friends

My tea friends are scattered around the world and because of this I never really get to meet them in person. 2020 certainly was the year of virtual hang outs though. After being inside for a good part of this year, I was able to connect and “meet” my fellow tea lovers through the screen and share our favourite sips. For that, I’m grateful.

Finding & Supporting Canadian Tea Companies

I’m always on the hunt for more small tea companies based in Canada. With my tea curator role for Amoda Tea, I’m also looking for those that handcraft original tea blends.

This year I had the opportunity to connect with many small tea makers throughout Canada, most being new to me. I love getting to hear how their tea journey began and the story behind many of their blends.

Supporting the up and coming tea businesses is something very important to me and I’m so glad I get to help them get their teas to more tea lovers across North America.

2021 Tea Lovers Calendar

In 2019 I created my first Tea Lovers Calendar (for the year 2020) and shared it with you all! I launched a new one for 2021 with original tea photography, some of my favourite tea quotes and tea prompts to make this year filled with so many wonderful tea moments!

Reached some big blog goals!

Thanks to my awesome readers (hey, that’s you!) I was able to reach a few blog goals I set out earlier in 2020. I had the best ever pageviews and subscribers! Numbers are not why I blog, but it’s pretty darn exciting and encouraging when you see people stumbling upon your work, enjoying and sharing it.

Read 47 books!

This highlight isn’t necessarily tea related, but whenever I read there is a cup of tea by my side. Plus, this is a huge accomplishment. I set myself a goal each year through my Goodreads account and I was hoping to read 25 books in 2020.

2020 certainly gave me a bit more time to sit and read and so I crushed that goal and read 47 books! I read mainly psychological thrillers, but like to mix in a lighthearted reads every now and then.

I also invested in an e-reader. It allows me to seamlessly borrow eBooks from my library which could also be why I conquered my goal so quickly!

– My 2021 Word –

Instead of resolutions I decide on one word that would highlight my year and the goals I hope to achieve.

My word for 2021 is: F O C U S

I had some trouble deciding on a word for 2021. It was between this and a few other words. That’s when I decided I needed to just focus and pick a word already… and here we are haha.

– My 2021 Goals –

Give more time to my tea blog

My blog brought me so much joy in a year that was hard to get through. For this reason, I made the decision to make my blog my main focus in 2021. When I was not blogging before I would usually be working in marketing. However, I’d love to take a step back more, work on things that fill my heart and that includes many blog related tasks.

Get more creative with tea

This goal kind of lines up with the one above. I hope to create more tea infused recipes or recipes that pair well with tea. Of course, I would share these on the blog and perhaps another medium I am brainstorming (stay tuned).

#DrinkWhatYouOwn

This seems to be a goal every year. I did really well with this at the start and end of 2020, but not so much the middle. In fact, quarantine led to more tea purchases than I care to admit.

I am not on a tea buying ban by any means, I just hope to drink more of what I own before purchasing new teas. I also plan to use my tea decision maker more so that I can drink different teas, and not just the same 3-4 every day.

Take more mindful tea breaks

Breaking for tea throughout the day is important. In fact, I write it on my daily time blocks and it really helps me stop and put the kettle on.

However, in 2021 I’d love to take more tea breaks away from my desk. My habit of stopping to make tea but bringing it to my computer to sip isn’t the best either. I want to really stop and enjoy my cup of tea.

Build a better display for my teacups

My vintage teacup collection is always growing, although I didn’t add to it much this year with the closures. I really need to find a better and nicer way to store and display all of my teacups before I purchase more anyways. Hopefully 2021 is that year.

Travel for Tea in Canada

One of my goals in 2020 was to travel throughout my own country, Canada, and experience tea rooms in different provinces. I had flights and other travel plans booked, but they obviously didn’t go as planned. I’m hoping for a better 2021 so that I can achieve this goal then. If not, I will carry this into 2022 if needed!

– My Instagram #2020BestNine –

Here are my most popular photos from 2020 that I shared on my Instagram! Thank you for every like, comment, share and follow there. Tea is always so fun to photograph. More reels to come in 2021, too. I love being creative with those and based on this they seem to be well received. 🙂

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and tea-filled year ahead! Share in the comments below one of your highlights from 2020 and your 2021 tea goals.