Get your Woolly Mammoth on when we host various events such as tea tastings at 136 E. Broadway, downstairs in the historic Masonic Hall, and at our various vendors.
Monthly Tea Talk & Tasting. Bodaciously Blue: The Benefits of Butterfly Pea Flower
Butterfly Pea Flower
Vibrantly blue and loaded with antioxidants, this intriguing flower packs a healthful punch! Learn more about the origins, benefits, and fun facts of the Butterfly Pea Flower Thursday, April 25th, from 6:15-7pm. As you learn, taste our Butterfly Pea Flower blends!
tasting butterfly pea flowers
Our monthly tea tastings are intimate and engaging information sessions in addition to tastings. Free and open to the public at our tea house in Missoula, MT. Arrive early to get a seat.
First Friday: Ceramicists Covill & Kitts w/ live music
Every other month we spotlight our in-house local potters-in-residence. This month, meet Emma Covill and Bruce Kitts and chat with them about their beautiful hand-made tea ware! Geoff Taylor and friends will serenade us talented violin and vocals. We will provide free tea as well!
Emma Covill
Emma Covill cup
Emma attended Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film in Nashville, TN where she studied biology, art, and rock climbed a little more than she studied. After returning to Missoula, she received her BA in Fine Art from the University of Montana. She started her artistic path early on as a painter, explored printmaking in college, and eventually fell in love with ceramics a few years ago. Emma has lived and worked in Zion National Park, studied abroad in Patagonia, attended a ceramic residency in Canada, and traveled extensively across the western United States and to Spain. In addition to the arts and sciences, she is also interested in cultural richness and diversity and how that is expressed through language, music, and fashion.
Bruce Kitts
Bruce Kitt’s chawan
Bruce Kitts was born and raised in Central Illinois where he received his BFA from SIU at Carbondale in 2009. That followed up with a two year residency at Terra Incognito in Oak Park, Illinois. He received his MA from EIU in 2012. As a member of the Illinois Artisan Program, his work has been displayed in various galleries and museums throughout Illinois. In 2015, Bruce left for the west coast where he was a studio tech and artist in resident at the Mendocino Art Center. In 2017, Bruce moved to Helena, MT to work as a studio potter and was Tara Wilson’s summer assistant in 2018. Currently, Bruce is serving as a studio intern at Clay Studio of Missoula.
Geoffrey Paul Taylor
Geoffrey Taylor is a professional violinist living in Missoula, Montana. Geoffrey started studying piano with his mother at age 5 and violin at age 8. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado’s School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance in 2011. Geoffrey currently plays first violin with Helena Symphony Orchestra and lead violin in Night Blooming Jasmine, Missoula’s premier gypsy jazz quintet.
Monthly Tea Tasting: Cherry Blossoms in Japan and Japanese Green Tea
Welcome Spring with a tasting centered on vibrant Japanese green teas! The Japanese created the method of steaming tea leaves to preserve that fresh bright flavor of spring in their green teas. Learn more about Japan and their tea traditions while you taste some of their luscious teas, Thursday, March 21st from 6-7 pm.
Kuki Cha
Our monthly tea tastings are intimate and engaging information sessions in addition to tastings. Free and open to the public at our tea house in Missoula, MT. Arrive by 6 pm to hear it all and get a seat.
“A winemaker once told me: ‘I do not make the wine, the yeast do; I just create the environment for that to happen.’ Taking this same approach to my firing process, I introduce an element of risk that encapsulates the spirit of the atmospheric elements.” – Bruce Kitts, LMTC potter-in-residence
Hear more about Kitt’s thoughts on pottery and his techniques Friday, March 8th from 6-7 pm during our Art Talk & Tasting at Lake Missoula Tea Company. We will sample a lovely Japanese green tea as well.
This is part of the Art Talk series, which consists of open and public interviews with local ceramicists making tea ware. Free at our tea bar in Missoula, MT- 136 E. Broadway.
Bruce Kitts was born and raised in Central Illinois where he received his BFA from SIU at Carbondale in 2009 that followed up with a two year residency at Terra Incognito in Oak Park, Illinois. He received his MA from EIU in 2012. As a member of the Illinois Artisan Program, his work has been displayed in various galleries and museums throughout Illinois. In 2015, Bruce left for the west coast where he was a studio tech and artist in resident at the Mendocino Art Center. In 2017, Bruce moved to Helena, MT to work as a studio potter and was Tara Wilson’s summer assistant in 2018. Currently, Bruce is serving as a studio intern at Clay Studio of Missoula.
First Friday: Good Old Fashioned band and Photography
Are you ready for some warm weather? This month we are displaying “Thoughts From the Desert,” a photo series by Colton Rothwell, UM Freshman and photographer.
First Friday will also feature the band Good Old Fashioned:
“Good Old Fashioned plays a mixture old-time bluegrass, folk, country and blues. The band showcases tightly crafted original tunes, soaring vocal harmonies and catchy re-created covers. They’ll make you stomp your boots, clap your hands, shed a tear, and always leave you wanting more.”
Monthly Tea Tasting & Talk- The Traveling Tea Leaf: A Tale of Monks and Thieves
Monks, Leaves, and Thieves, oh my! Hear the fascinating story of tea throughout time and space as we sample teas from around the world. This month the tasting is February 28th.
Our monthly tea tastings are intimate and engaging information sessions in addition to tastings. Free and open to the public at our tea house in Missoula, MT. 6-7 pm on every last Thursday of the month. Arrive by 6 pm to hear it all and get a seat.
Join us for alluring adventure photography by Dan Franz and fun fiddle work from Geoffrey Paul Taylor and friends! Free tea too!
Dan FranzDan Franz photography
DAN FRANZ
“I am an adventure photographer, currently living in Missoula, Montana. I moved here three years ago from my home in Southern California to pursue a degree in Resource Conservation and Climate Change Science at the University. I have been taking photos for about 3 years and see no signs of slowing down!” See some of his work at www.instagram.com/danfranzzz.
GEOFFREY PAUL TAYLOR
Geoffrey Taylor is a professional violinist living in Missoula, Montana. Geoffrey started studying piano with his mother at age 5 and violin at age 8. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado’s School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance in 2011. Geoffrey currently plays first violin with Helena Symphony Orchestra and lead violin in Night Blooming Jasmine, Missoula’s premier gypsy jazz quintet.
This month we delve into three rituals of tea making: Gong Fu, Chanoyu (or sometimes called Chado), and Afternoon Tea. Learn about intimate Chinese tea sharing, Japanese matcha preparation, and British cultural traditions around tea, while we explore the flavor components of three teas.
Our monthly tea tastings are intimate and engaging information sessions in addition to tastings. Arrive by 6pm to hear it all and get a seat. Free and open to the public. 6-7 pm on every last Thursday of the month.
First Friday: Local Pottery, Matteo Hunter & Friends, free tea!
This month, we’re bringing in the New Year with our local tea ware potters! UM ceramics students, Esme Olive Brudie-Janigo and Kelly Seitz will be here to chat about their wonderful handmade tea ware. Joining them is local hand drummer Matteo Hunter and his crew of talented musicians. Free tea too!
Art Talk & Tasting: Esme Olive Brodie-Janigo & Kelly Seitz
UM ceramics students, Esme and Kelly, talk to us about delving into the world of functional ceramics, Friday, Dec. 14th, from 6-7 pm. We will taste a featured tea as well.
This is part of the Art Talk series, which consists of open and public interviews with local ceramicists making tea ware. Free.
Mugs by Esme and Kelly
Kelly Seitz-
“Sculpture was the first thing I loved when I began working as a ceramic artist: I loved to make representative objects and play with wild surfaces. I moved to pottery in an attempt to make my work more accessible to a wider range of people, but my affinity for sculptural elements shows up in my work regardless of whether it is utilitarian.” Kelly’s artistic focus is in ceramics, but Kelly also enjoys assemblage sculpture, digital art, drawing, and printmaking.
Esme Olive Brodie-Janigo-
“I enjoy adding something individual and handmade into our daily lives, as we tend to have a connection to the things we use most often. In my opinion, functional artwork is an intimate way of adding art to the world.” Esme is from Anchorage, Alaska and studies ceramics and Russian studies at UM. Esme’s ceramic focus is cups, bowls, and other kitchen items.
