In Northern Virginia, Great Falls is home to the only 19th-century water-powered mill structure operational in the D.C. metro area. Colvin Run Mill was constructed in 1811, and it revolutionized the way colonists pressed wheat and similar products to generate powders for cooking. Today, the restored mill grinds various flours, grits, cornmeal and wheat, which are sold at the historic site’s general store. They are also outsourced to local businesses, including the Great Falls Tea Garden, where owner Laurie Bell uses mill’s ingredients with tea leaves to create signature blends. Bell, who teaches seminars and classes on tea blends, tea tasting and cooking with tea, returns the favor by leading similar seminars at Colvin Run.
Bell’s enthusiasm for tea led her to study its origins and history at the Specialty Tea Institute in New York, but it dates back to tea time with her grandmother. “I’ve been a tea drinker since I was a little girl,” she says. “Like so many of us, I started drinking tea with my grandmother. I had the opportunity to live in France for four years and went to Le Cordon Bleu. From there, I started drinking a lot of different types of tea and realized there was a lot to offer in the world of tea.”
Soon, Bell began blending teas for local restaurants and leading educational tastings. Some of her very first tastings were held at Colvin Run Mill, focusing on tea history and the colonists’ tea traditions. Today, Bell still teaches about blends, the benefits of tea and the history of the industry at Colvin Run. The programs offer tea newbies “a little bit of historical background and botanical aspects of tea.”
For regular students, the classes tend to inspire them to create their own blends. “I have a lot of repeat attendees, and several of them say ‘I would really like to learn about blending,'” Bell says.
Bell’s next class at Colvin Run will focus on the Wonders of Water Tea on Jan. 21. She also leads a variety of classes and seminars at her Great Falls tea shop. Next up, she’ll focus on the basics of blending tea on Jan. 14.
