TIME
Sun
.
Mar 23
7:30 pm
→
9:30 pm
LOCATION
Glad Day Bookshop
499 Church Street
PRICE
$17.31

LGBTea Blending Workshop – Sapphic Sunday Edition!
Celebrate the Spring Equinox (Ostara) with a cozy Tea Blending Workshop hosted by Grey Jade Herbals, a queer Toronto-based business blending botanicals into daily life!
Whether it’s functional teas crafted with traditional plants or themed LGBTeas, Grey Jade Herbals creates nature-crafted blends that fit into your daily ritual.
Create your own custom tea blend! Choose from a selection of tea bases:
Hojicha (roasted green tea)
Earl Grey (classic flavoured black tea with bergamot)
Bold Assam (rich black tea)
Red Rooibos (caffeine-free herbal tea)
Then, enhance your blend with special herbs like cinnamon, pansy, damiana, rose, lavender, or peppermint. Decorate a label for your unique blend and take home 70-90g of your creation!
Sunday, March 23 | 7:30-10 PM (Doors at 7)
GladDay Bookshop, 499 Church St, Toronto
Sliding scale tickets: $15-$30 per person
Limited spots available!
Register on Eventbrite (Max 2 tickets per transaction).
What to Bring:
A notebook & writing tool – Take blending notes & write your intentions
A 500 ml jar – If you have a cute jar for your tea, bring it – We’ll provide 2x2” labels for you to decorate (Finally, a use for those extra glass jars!)
Allergy Note: If you have allergies, please indicate them when registering, along with their severity. We will do our best to accommodate.
Join us for an evening of community, creativity, and cosy tea-making. Reserve your spot today!
More information about herbs:
– Lavender is most famous as a relaxing herb, used to address sleeping issues, anxiety and pain (like headaches, muscle tension and more). Being from the mint family, it also has traditional uses in digestive health. Lavender is also queer-coded (e.g. lavender menace, lavender lads), symbolizing queer resistance.
Lavender pairs well with rose, peppermint, damiana, and bergamot (in earl grey).
– Rose is another relaxing queer-coded herb that's traditionally used to support mood. It is renowned for its anti-anxiety and antidepressant uses, as well as for addressing grief. Beyond this, it's a sensual herb that is also used as an aphrodisiac and in supporting cardiovascular and heart health. Its symbolism in the queer community is connected to trans people (especially during TDOR) and gay men.
Rose is very light bodied and pairs well with lavender, peppermint, damiana, bergamot (in earl grey).
– Damiana is a unique tasting flower that's most known as an aphrodisiac, and works by balancing hormones to improve libido. It is also traditionally used as tea or tincture to support overactive nervous systems (especially with anxiety) and can also help to treat headaches.
Damiana pairs well with cinnamon, rose, lavender, peppermint, and rooibos.
– Wild Pansy was what some of us got called in high school. It is a very herbal and vegetal tasting tea with a bit of sweetness. It doesn't get bitter with longer steeps and is known as “Heartease”. It has also been used to clear congestion in the chest (lungs and heart). Wild pansy, or Heartease, is used for speeding up metabolism, soothing sore throat, and treating constipation. You can use the tea or leftover tea bags directly on the skin for overall skin health.
Wild Pansy blends well with green tea, rooibos and herbs like rose, damiana and peppermint. It doesn't blend well in black tea.
– Cinnamon available for this workshop is the true cinnamon (or Ceylon cinnamon). It has the fullest flavour of all the cinnamon, and is traditionally used to lower blood sugar and blood pressure. As a very sensual spice, it can increase libido. It is not recommended for people with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or people with fast gut motility.
Cinnamon blends well with black tea, hojicha (green tea), red rooibos and herbs like rose and damiana. A little goes a long way.
– Peppermint is a well-known cooling, digestive aid, especially for nausea and indigestion (but not for acid reflux/heartburn). It's great for slowing down and calming yourself; use it for headaches and migraine relief, reducing inflammation, bloating, congestion, and when you're sick. Unlike the other herbs, it is not aphrodisiac, but it's a great herbal ally to help debloat yourself before some spicy sapphic fun.
Peppermint pairs well with rose, lavender, damiana, and all the base teas, and rooibos blends (it is very versatile).