The Courtship Trio

It started as a fun “what if…” suggestion between friends. Then, it became an idea, with a concept. The idea was shared, and shared again, and it became a collaboration. Before the day was over, The Courtship Trio was born.

With some creative marketing help from our local Farmer’s Market friend Frankie (@savoringspoonfuls), and the wonderful collections of jams from McCormick Jam Co and teas from Natural Mama Co, we managed to host not one, but two elegant tasting experiences in the cozy lounge at The Dusty Shelf bookstore, in Enumclaw, WA.

The Dusty Shelf Bookstore, Enumclaw, WA

Tasting events are something we have tried in the past, and we had a really positive reception with our recent tasting experience at the Seattle Christmas Market. We figured that if we wanted to try to bring something like that to life in our own community, we ought to base it on something that’s meaningful to us all and relevant to the tasting itself. With Spring now upon us, it felt natural to make a tasting experience around celebrating the changing season!

We had no expectations about attendance, as we had no idea how popular an event like this might be in our area, but we were surprised at the response - completely selling out our first tasting! It was refreshing to see people of all ages coming to enjoy the experience. From infants to elders, individuals to families, we served our tasting experience to thirty-two wonderfully patient people over both time slots!

The event was branded as a Bridgerton-themed celebration of Spring, and indeed took place on the equinox. While everybody was encouraged to dress the part, only one “Diamond” would be selected from the organizers. The chosen Diamond received a basket of teas, jams, and honeys, as well as a bouquet from a local florist! In addition to the Diamond Award, all guests were entered for a door prize that was awarded by raffle!

Guests in attendance were treated to three curated seasonal pairings of tea, honey, and jam, and were encouraged to experiment different pairings on their own. Before and after the tasting experience, guests were invited to mingle, take pictures at a themed photobooth we set up, and to browse full selections of honey, jam, and tea. The Dusty Shelf offered a perfect amount of space to comfortably accommodate our guests and displays, and it provided a wonderfully on-theme ambiance to the entire evening.

We are truly thrilled at the response we received from the community, and we sincerely would like to try something similar in the future. We want to thank The Dusty Shelf for graciously hosting us, and for their incredible service during our time in their space.

The conversations we had were so warm and we came away with valuable feedback (and recipes) we can apply when we bring events like this in the future. We can’t wait to try another fun tasting event, and we’re already asking fun “what ifs” about the next one!