What's the tea? Looking back on my quarter of running a tea-related event series with the Asian Staff Forum

As a board member for the Asian Staff Forum (ASF) at Stanford, I serve on the Program Committee, which is tasked with creating events throughout the year that celebrate Asian American culture, educate about Asian American history and social issues, and connect members of the Asian American community across Stanford. This past winter quarter, the Program Committee organized a three-part event series dedicated to honoring the primary role that tea plays in many different Asian cultures. It took many hours of planning and facilitating to put on the series, and now that it's a wrap, I would like to take some time to reflect on the joy and connection that it generated for me and other ASF members.

The first event took place on Thursday, January 22, 2026 and was called "Boba & Bingo." As the name suggests, participants enjoyed drinking delicious boba prepared by an on-campus vendor, Chun Yang Tea, while playing several rounds of bingo. I had a great time serving as the game moderator by calling out the winning letters and numbers on the bingo balls. It was a fun event filled with laughter, friendly competition, and bonding over sips of boba. 

I (left) was all smiles with Jessy, one of the game winners (right).

Participants enjoyed unique tea flavors like passion fruit, mango, winter melon, and oolong along with boba pearls, lychee jelly, and grass jelly, supplied by on-campus vendor Chun Yang Tea.

Dozens of ASF members from across Historic Campus joined for the event.

The second event took place on Thursday, February 26, 2026 and served as a celebration of Lunar New Year (which had fallen just a few days before on February 17th). Attendees participated in the longstanding tradition in many Asian cultures of gifting tea to spread well wishes and luck at the start of the new year. They did so by making customized satchels of tea and writing hand-made Lunar New Year cards to give to friends and family, all while drinking tea and enjoying a delicious buffet lunch provided by Panda Express.

With several of my fellow ASF board members who helped organize the event.

The third and final event in the series took place on Monday, March 16, 2026 and was called "Chai and Cha(a)t." Designed as a tasty lunch-and-learn, this event included a delicious meal of chai and chaat (traditional beverages and foods from South Asia which were provided by local vendors, The Chai Lab and Chaat Bhavan) along with a riveting lecture delivered by Assistant Professor of English Roanne Kantor about the history of Bollywood films. In her informative and entertaining talk, Dr. Kantor drew upon her expertise in poetics, linguistic anthropology, and media studies to reveal how lyrics from Bollywood songs reflect South Asian social dynamics and interact with regional languages while elevating Modern Standard Hindi. The lecture was followed by an engaging conversation between audience and speaker and a raffle prize drawing. 

Chaat dishes included vada pav, bhel puri, and dahi sev puri, provided by local restaurant Chaat Bhavan.

Chai flavors included masala chai, rose cardamom, and ginger mint, provided by local caterer The Chai Lab.

Attendees eating and chatting before the talk began.

Dr. Roanne Kantor shared many engaging clips from Bollywood films throughout her lecture.

The talk was followed by a lively Q&A.

Dr. Roanne Kantor (middle) smiling with the raffle prize winners.

All in all, it was a successful event series. I am grateful to be part of a community as vibrant and dynamic as the Asian Staff Forum, and I look forward to putting on many more events like these in the future!