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THE TEA MAESTRO

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Bruce Richardson

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Owner of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas and Benjamin Press

MSN calls Bruce Richardson "A leading tea expert involved in tea's American renaissance for over 20 years." The native Kentuckian is a writer, photographer, tea blender, and frequent guest speaker at tea events across the country. Bruce spends much of his time educating Americans in the art of celebrating the communal cup of tea. He can often be found appearing on television and radio talk shows, or as a guest speaker at professional seminars such as World Tea Expo.  He has served on the Advisory Committee for STI (Specialty Tea Institute of America) and is a longtime member of the Editorial Board for Fresh Cup magazine. He now serves as columnist for TeaTime magazine.

Richardson was recently named Tea Master for the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. Opening June 24, 2012, this museum will include replicas of the the three ships involved in the December 26, 1773 tea rebellion as well as interpretive theatres, a tea room and gift shops - all rising up out of the center of Boston Harbor. Bruce is helping define tea's historical role in this iconic event that helped shape America's future.

Bruce regularly visits Great Britain in his undending quest to discover new tea shops for the latest edition of his Great Tea Rooms of Britain and Tea in the City: London books. His other photo-guidebook, The Great Tea Rooms of America is in its fourth edition.  Bruce joined London's Jane Pettigrew in producing the latest two editions of The New Tea Companion for The National Trust of England. He teamed up again with Jane and Elizabeth Knight to photograph and produce a three-volume set of travel guides to tea in New York, London and Paris entitled Tea in the City. He served as contributing editor and designer for the 2011 Benjamin Press edition of Okakura Kakuzo's classic Book of Tea.

Bruce Richardson was a member of the STI trade mission to Sri Lanka in 2003 and the STI mission to India in 2004.  His photographs of tea workers and tea gardens in those two countries are featured in a traveling photography exhibit and the accompanying book Looking Deeply into Tea.

A lifelong educator, Bruce earned a masters degree in choral conducting and music education.  For fifteen years, he founded and directed the Danville Children's Choir and was the co-founder and past president of the Boyle County chapter of Habitat for Humanity.  For seven years, he volunteered his leadership skills as mayor of the historic village of Perryville, Kentucky and currently serves as chariman of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association. His Mayor's Cup tea is one of Elmwood Inn Fine Teas' signature blends.

Bruce Richardson's speaking engagements have included events for the following organizations:

• Dallas Museum of Art
• A Southern Season Cooking School, Chapel Hill NC
• St. Regis Hotel, NYC
• The Protocol School of Washington
• Pensacola Opera
• Food Network Expo, Washington DC
• Ask Heloise Radio Show
• J. B. Speed Museum, Louisville KY
• Louisville Junior League
• Harney & Sons Tea
• TeaTime magazine's An Occasion for Tea
• TEA Magazine
• The Washington-Duke Inn
• The Etiquette & Leadership Institute
• Edenton NC Speakers Series
• Jane Austen Society of Louisville
• Specialty Tea Institute/SCAA
• World Tea Expo
• University of Cincinnati School of Appied Sciences
• International Council of Shopping Centers, Las Vegas
• NASCORE Denver
• The Book and the Cook, Philadelphia
• WHAS-TV Louisville
• WFPL-TV Louisville
• WHYY-FM Philadelphia
• WUKY-FM Lexington
• WLEX-YV Lexington

For more information about booking Bruce Richardson as a speaker at your event, contac lois@elmwoodinn.com

Download an introduction for your Bruce Richardson appearance event.

The Wall Street Journal interview

Bruce Richardson talks with National Geographic Traveler

Bruce Richardson talks with CNN