Latest Posts
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 22
Tea Industry News for the week ending June 18 – Cold Brew is Trending for Iced Tea Month | DAVIDsTEA in Canada Settles its Debts | Kenya Exports Surge but Auction Prices Remain Low | PLUS Smith Teamaker’s Ravi Kroesen explains new plant-based café concept and Amy Dubin-Nath on Indian specialty teas.
Q|A Ravi Kroesen
Teamaker Ravi Kroesen introduces a plant-based café concept with a locally sourced menu of snacks, bowls, lattes and iced concoctions that demonstrate how tea and food can live in harmony from leaf to cup to plate.
Q|A Amy Dubin-Nath
Amy Dubin-Nath sees a bright future for the rich array of specialty whole leaf teas originating in India but the process will be gradual, she predicts, following a path similar to fine wine.
INFUSED Adventures in Tea
By Henrietta Lovell
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 21
Tea Industry News for the week ending June 11- Food Inflation Dampens Enthusiasm Over Rising Tea Prices | India’s Tea Industry Under Duress | and the European Union Grants Rooibos GI Protection | PLUS Jan Holzapfel, owner of 198-year-old Ronnefeldt Tea on sustainable wholesale and Kyle Whittington reviews INFUSED Adventures in Tea by Henrietta Lovell
Q|A Jan Holzapfel
Sustainable best practices at tea gardens are well established, the rest of the supply chain offers significant opportunities to protect the environment and conserve resources.
Japanese Tea Marathon
The Japan Tea Marathon is a series of live online events featuring teas from 15 of Japan’s tea producing regions. Zoom sessions begin July 23 and are held twice daily, concluding Aug. 8. Two hundred competing brewers and 1000 regular admissions give the entire world of tea an opportunity to cheer their favorite to victory.
The Charm of Vancouver’s Chinatown
Jessica Natale Woollard takes listeners on an audio trip to both Treasure Green and the Chinese Tea Shop in Vancouver, British Columbia’s historic Chinatown.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 20
Tea Industry News for the week ending June 4. – Pandemic Powers Organic Sales | Tea Cafes Cautiously Re-opening | Tata Expands Direct-to-Customer Range | Buyers Spend Big at Chinese International Tea Expo | PLUS Simona Suzuki on the Japan Tea Marathon and Jessica Natale Woollard walks listeners through Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Pandemic Powers Organic Sales
Import values for organic green tea spiked in 2020
China International Tea Expo
Live tea expositions, seminars, and tradeshows are returning with vigor in China. The five-day China International Tea Expo that opened in Hangzhou May 21 drew a crowd of 152,000 mainly domestic tea buyers. In aggregate they spent RMB6.4 billion purchasing 254 million tons of tea, a 14% increase compared to the previous event.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 19
Tea Industry News for the week of May 28 | Tea History Collection Unveiled in UK | Indian Commodities Logjam | THIRST Undertakes a Human Rights Analysis in Tea | A Series of Major Quakes Rattle Yunnan | PLUS HIMCOOP’s Aasha Bhandari on Nepal’s tea industry in transition and college sophomore William Liu explains why Ancient Tea Appeals to Young People.
Assessing Human Rights in Tea
THIRST The International Round Table for Sustainable Tea, is launching a three-year program to analyze the root causes of human rights breaches in the tea industry and come up with an action plan for how to solve them.
Why Ancient Tea Appeals to Young People
Founder William Liu says The World Tea Association redefines the tea experience through an interdisciplinary approach to expose the true leaf to a greater audience and community
Q|A Aasha Bhandari
Nepal has good quality tea, but we need to focus more on marketing, pricing, and our strategy to promote “Nepal Tea Quality from the Himalaya” in the international market.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 18
Tea Industry News for the week of May 21. | International Tea Day Celebrations | Assam Forbids Tea Workers to Isolate at Home | Nepal’s First Flush is Delayed | Kagoshima May Soon Outproduce Shizuoka | PLUS Eva Lee Shares Hawaii Harvest Update and author Chitrita Banerji Explains that Tea is Both Cultural and Personal
Hawaiian Tea Harvest Report
The tea plants throughout the state of Hawaii are expressing themselves considerably more this time of year than they have in the past, says Eva Lee, adding, “usually we would have begun harvesting in February or March for our first flush spring harvest.”
Q|A Steve Schwartz
Tea is a powerful conduit for health and wellness
Q|A Chitrita Banerji
Adapting to new foods is a transformative process
Tea Day Celebrations
Links and schedules to join virtual tea celebrations around the globe.
Internacional Dia del Té
Argentina’s Jornada Dia Internacional del Té BUENOS AIRES The State of Misiones, in cooperation with the government of Argentina andContinue Reading
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 17
Tea news for the week ending May 14 | Kenya is Becoming Unbearably Hot for Tea | Brexit Disrupts UK Tea Trade | Colombo Tea Auction Transformed | PLUS The Tranquility of Tea with Jeff Fuchs and Steve Schwartz on tea as a conduit for health & wellness
Q|A Jeff Fuchs
The Tranquility of Tea
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 16
Tea news for the week ending May 7 | Drought Eases in Assam | COVID Wave Sweeps Nepal | Are Tea Auctions Still Relevant? | Major Grocers to Offer Flash Frozen Tea Leaves | PLUS Sofa Summit Returns
The Story of Japanese Tea
By Tyas Sōsen
SofaSummit 2021
International Tea Day | May 21
Q|A Pranav Bhansali
How relevant are tea auctions today?
Marketing Organics with Humor
Why is organic stuck at 5% market share with plantings on only 1% of US acreage?
Vahdam Mobilizes COVID Fund
Vahdam India this week donated $50,000 to launch a fundraiser as part of #RiseTogetherForIndia, a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. DonationsContinue Reading
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 14
Tea news for the week ending April 23 | Earth Day Takes on New Urgency | Restaurants are Rebounding | World Tea Expo Co-locates with The Nightclub & Bar Show | Bubble Tea Boba is Languishing at Sea | PLUS — Rediscovering 174 Year Old Tea and India’s Earth-Friendly Factory
Rediscovering 174-year-old Tea
Explore a prized collection of tea examined and catalogued for its organoleptic properties at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.
India’s Earth-Friendly Tea Factory
Jalinga Tea Estate will finish constructing India’s first zero-emission tea factory in July.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 13
Tea news for the week ending April 16 | India Surpasses Brazil as the World’s COVID Hotspot | The Global Tea Initiative at UC Davis to Host Virtual Event | Tea Imports Spike in Pakistan | Tea Masters Cup Names Champions in Moscow | PLUS — Afternoon Tea Re-Imagined
The Many Teas of India
There are many teas from across India, with deep cultural affinities … and quite a far cry from chai.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 12
Tea news for the week ending April 9 | A Sparkling Future for Fizzy Tea | Bubble Tea Drinkers Froth Over Drinking Straw Ban | Vahdam Tea Partners with Goodricke Group | Starbucks Introduces Reusable Rent-a-Cup | PLUS — INDCOSERVE: Awakening a Sleeping Giant
A Tea Suited to Fine Dining
Copenhagen Sparkling Teas are elegant, contemporary, and interesting.
Q|A Supriya Sahu
In less than two years, Supriya Sahu turned a 55-year-old loss-making cooperative into a profitable venture with a new brand and new vigor.
Timely Tea Delivery
New harvest tea is on its way. Two hurdles remain. Transport is stretched to the breaking point as reinvigorated economies stir from pandemic weariness. The second hurdle is cost. Wholesalers, retailers, and importers that last year bore the weight of spiking prices must now make up for lost earnings.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 11
Tea news for the week ending April 2 | Suez Ship-jam Delays Tea Deliveries
| Tea Aisle Sales Stand Out in Grocery
| Tea Retail Realignment Underway | Camellia Sinensis Closes Emery Street Teahouse | PLUS: A maritime foundation in Scotland has a bold plan to restore the last of the clipper ships and race it from China to UK filled with tea.
Clipper Tea Races Reborn
A bold plan to restore the last of the clipper ships and race it from China to the UK filled with tea.
Tales of the Tea Trade
By Michelle and Rob Comins
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 10
Tea news for the week ending March 26 | India High Court Reverses Tea Worker Wage Increase | Kenyan Tea Factory Elections Suspended | Study Finds Growers Adapting to Climate Change | PLUS: Certifications soothe the conscience, but do they deliver for the communities where workers reside?
Maruyama: 21st Century Japanese Tea Production
The foundation of Japan’s tea industry has been its incorporation of new technology.
Adapting to Climate Change
New study recommends motivational campaigns, demonstrations, training, and extension work to encourage growers large and small to adapt to climate change.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 9
Tea Industry News for the week of March 19. | US Restaurant Rescue Funds Total $28.6 Billion | EU Reviews Pesticide Rules | Tea Theaflavin Inhibits Coronavirus Replication | PLANT-AG is a $9 Billion Startup that Promises Field-to-Plate Traceability
Resilience: The Story of Kitaha Tea
Japan once produced copious black tea – enough to be exported. Kitaha Japanese black tea is reviving the country’s black tea tradition and in so doing passing the skills of monocha agriculture to future generations.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 8
Tea Industry News for the week of March 12. | First Flush Harvest Underway | Introducing Weekly Tea Price Report | Tea Relaxes Walls of Human Blood Vessels | Celebrating the Green with Matcha
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 7
Tea Industry News for the week of March 5.| Brand Relevance in Chaotic Times | Nepal Announces Tea Traceability Project | The Danish Tea Association Merges with The European Speciality Tea Association
| YELP! Names a Tea House to its list of Top 100 Places to Eat in America
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 6
Tea Industry News for the week of February 26
| Retail Sales Thawed in January
| Restaurant Reticence Persists
| Kenya’s Tea Export Earnings Surged in 2020
| Assam Increases Daily Wages by 30 pct for Tea Workers
Small Enterprise Marketing
No matter how compelling their brand story, growers rely on buyers sampling teas to seal the deal, but webinars that enable face-to-digital-face interaction and user engagement will likely continue long after the pandemic resides.
T. Kettle: A tour of Canada’s newest tea retail chain
T. Kettle founder Doug Putman, a turnaround investor recently opened 45 tea retail locations in nine Canadian provinces and six U.S. states.
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 5
Tea Industry News for the week of February 19
| Sri Lanka Launches
Expansive Ceylon Tea Promotion | Green Tea Cancer-Fighting Breakthrough | Lipton IPO Likely in 2021 | Tea Tourism Stirs from Pandemic Induced Slumber
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 4
Tea Industry News for the week of February 12
| Hard tea packs a punch
| India earmarks worker subsidies for women and children
| Beware of false claims, FDA warns companies to stop misleading consumers with products that claim to cure COVID-19
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 3
Tea Industry News for the week of February 5
| Shipping container shortage threatens timely tea deliveries
| Kenya’s High Court has ruled against unions seeking to prevent mechanical harvesting of tea
| Bombs Away… Tea bombs encased in confectionary get rave reviews online
Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 2
Tea Industry News for the week of January 29
| DAVIDsTEA Turnaround
| Condition Specific Blends
| Canadian Tea Sales Slow
Reading the tea industry’s tea leaves for 2021
Tasseomancy offers enquirers the vantage of a personal seer and a glimpse of unseen days to come. Tea Biz asked Amy Taylor of The Art of Tea and Tasseomancy to do a reading for the tea industry on the eve of 2021.
Competition Tea
Tea competitions that “speak” for their respective markets are great for the industry.
Three tea merchants that know how to convert conventional tea drinkers into fans of premium specialty tea
Three tea merchants that know how to convert conventional tea drinkers into fans of premium specialty tea
Tea campaigns on Kickstarter
Students in Korea and Texas promote a new global value chain directly linking consumers to tea growers.
2020 International Virtual Tea Festival
The two-day virtual event features free and paid workshops and classes with real-time tastings “simulcast” into the homes of participants.
Nomad Tea Festival
Led by tea enthusiasts in Europe, the Nomad Tea Festival is an ambitious virtual event that brings together a diverse, talented, and very tech-savvy cadre of tea experts, educators, entertainers, and vendors.
| Tea sales accelerate in Canada | retailers cope with COVID
Tea Industry News for the week of Sept. 28 | By Dan Bolton | Tea Biz |
― Tea Sales Accelerate in Canada |
― Tea Retailers Cope with COVID | ― Delivery and Takeaway Boost Market Share
| CDC: Restaurant Risk | Retail Stirrings
Tea Industry News for the week of Sept 9 | By Dan Bolton | Tea Biz |
― COVID Study Implicates Restaurants |
― Retail Stirrings: Billy Corgan Resurrects Madame ZuZu’s Tea Emporium |
― Unilever Divestiture Worries Plantation Workers
| Rising Prices | Drenched
Tea Industry News for the week of Aug 17 | By Dan Bolton | Tea Biz |
― Rising Tea Prices |
― Heavy Rainfall Wreaks Havoc |
― AVPA Entry Deadline Nears |
| Over the Cliff | Elemental Exam
Tea Industry News for the week of July 27 | By Dan Bolton | Tea Biz |
― Over the Cliff |
― World Tea Expo Goes Virtual | ― Made in America |
― DMCC Expansion Plans |
― Measuring Elements in Tea
| Drink Plants | Enshi Floods
Tea Industry News for the week of July 20 |
― Drink Plants |
― Tea Outlook Promising |
― New Teatulia Tea CEO |
― Enshi Floods |
― Bigelow Wellness |
| DAVIDsTEA Reorganizes
Tea Industry News for the Week of July 13
— DAVIDsTEA Restructures |
— US Retail Re-openings Stall |
— World Tea Expo Postponed Until 2021 |
— Samovar Tea Lounges Begin “Hibernation” |
— Kenya Court Halts Tea Reforms |
Need to Know | Retail Rebounds
Tea Industry News for the Week of June 15
— Retail is Rebounding |
— Breakfast: Deflated Daypart |
— Reopening: Milllennials Lead the Way |
— E-Commerce Sales of Specialty Tea Spike |
— India Extends Lockdown | Exports Declined in 2019
Europe’s invigorated speciality tea proponent
Reinvigorated European Speciality Tea Association seeks to be in the forefront of the continuing quest to improve standards, quality, knowledge, information interest, and enthusiasm for specialty tea.
Need to Know | Play the Health Card
Tea Industry News for the week of June 8
― Theaflavins Inhibit Virus Replication |
― Immunity is the Epicenter of Health Enhancing Foods |
― Water Works Wonders |
― Digesting Grubhub |
― Tea for the Front Line |
Need to Know| International Tea Day
Tea industry news for the week of May 25
— International Tea Day |
― Angela Lansbury as teapots |
— India COVID-19 Update |
― Matcha Growth |
Need to Know | Boba Delivery
Tea industry news for the week of May 18.
― Boba Tea Tops Beverage Delivery Lists |
― East Africa Update |
― Turkish Tea Harvest |
― Robotic Waitstaff Serves Tea |
― Nepal Asks India to Resume Tea Imports |
Need to Know | Export Values Declined in 2019
Tea Industry News for the Week of May 11.
— Tea & Tariffs |
— Export Value of Tea Declined in 2019 |
— U.S. Consumers Remain Wary of Reopening |
— Tea is Piling up |
— Attend the SofaSummit on International Tea Day |
Need to Know | Ominous Fiscal Impact
Tea Industry News for the Week of May 4.
— Ominous Fiscal Impact
— Online Grocery Orders Up 37%
— Tea Supply Not a Grave Concern
— Post Offices on the Front Line
— Seattle Caps Delivery Commissions
Need to Know | Pandemic
Tea Industry News for the week of April 27
– The Pandemic’s Impact on Specialty Tea
– Starbucks Reports 60-70% Decline in US Sales
– McKinsey & Co.: Consumers Are Readily Abandoning Brands
– Sri Lanka: March Tea Exports Drop by Half
– Retail Innovations: Samovar Tea Lounge Offers Free Meal Monday.
Tea Shop Closings
A running list of permanent tearoom and tea merchant closures in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and UK.
Need to Know | Changing Consumer Behavior
Tea industry news for the week of April 20
- Monitoring Consumer Behavior
- Record Prices at Colombo’s Digital Auction
- Kenya May Ban Direct Tea Sales
- Physical Distancing on 1,500 Acres in Assam
- Private Investors Back Millennia Flash-Frozen Tea
Need to Know | Grocery Sales Spike
Tea sales in grocery spiked as consumers rushed to stock up ahead of lockdowns in the US, Canada, and the UK. During the last week
Retail Impact of COVID-19 is Devastating for Tea and Coffee Shops in China and Italy
Statistics compiled from a survey of retailers following China’s unprecedented lockdown of 700 million people reveal that while international chainsContinue Reading
Coronavirus Presents Logistical Challenges for China's Tea Harvest
Setbacks are not due to illness or deaths of tea garden workers; it is the result of a national effort to limit travel, close factories, ban public gatherings and shutdown bus, train, air, and subways to prevent the virus from spreading.
Darjeeling Silence is Deafening
Internet service in the Darjeeling Hills was disabled June 19 and service providers remain under orders not to allow onlineContinue Reading
Never at a loss for words…
Tea Journey Magazine was funded at dawn by more than 560 backers who contributed $128,000 during the past 60 days…Continue Reading
How many people support Tea Journey…
It’s an astronomical, gratifying, amazingly large number of people around the globe. Backers contributed more than $10,000 in the last 10 days of May to successfully fund the magazine with more than $128,000 in donations.
Tea Journey: A Kickstarter “Project We Love”
Badges for Projects We Love The Kickstarter Blog · To date, there have been more than 280,000 creative projects onContinue Reading
Friends in Tea
Last week donors pledged $15,000 to bring Tea Journey to life. As you read this note our total paid subscriptions willContinue Reading
Tea Journey
There are 30 days left in the campaign. Our goal is 1,000 paid subscribers. Those who donate receive amazing gifts of tea, tea experiences of a lifetime and teaware. Choose from hundreds of rewards valued at $95,000.
Locating the Richest Tea Retailers – Need to Know
Location data is critical to retail success and essential to expansion planning. Market research firm AggData offers a revealing toolContinue Reading
China’s One Belt, One Road – Need to Know
China is making its biggest splash in tea in modern times this summer at Expo Milano 2015 the world’s largestContinue Reading
