Check out my coverage of both Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2011 World Tea Expo.

The World Tea Expo is such a fantastic event that even after only a few times through I can’t imagine not attending every year. I spark wonderful conversations with people, make new friends and contacts and come out knowing more than ever about tea in all its forms. This year really was no different in this respect. From a Tea Anthropologist I met at breakfast on Day 2 to time spent hanging out with my new buddy Ankit Lochan of Lochan Tea (we went to the Hoover Dam) I really had a great time this year.

But, without further ado…

Day 2

I spent some quality time with a few of the larger brands on Sunday. A wonderful but short visit over to the Harney & Sons booth showed Michael Harney’s lighter side and let me reconnect with the brand which first exposed me to loose tea. I always enjoy speaking with the Harney’s. They have great business sense to be sure, and they know their teas but they’re also great to talk with and learn from. You should drop in on their SoHo store if you’re in Manhattan.

Michael Harney & I

Michael Harney's Lighter Side

Moving along, I spent some time with some new friends with World Tea Media, purveyors of the World Tea News (WTN) industry publication and the World Tea and World Tea East expos. George and Kim Jage started the expo some number of years ago and it’s really grown into something wonderful! Dan Bolton, editor of the WTN articles and I had a nice long chat as well. It was a pretty awesome chance to connect with some of the larger names in the industry at the moment.

Some Tea from Rishi Tea

International Tea Importers is one of the larger wholesale groups around and they have some mighty fine product. They had a couple of the more unique items I was able to check out this year. Amongst my favorite activities at the expo are speaking with ITI’s purveyor, Mr. Devan Shah as well as venerable Tea Luminary Mr. James Norwood Pratt (to whom I always wish to bestow the title of Sir.) I hope next year I’ll have the opportunity to share a meal with these gentlemen.

Sir James Norwood Pratt and I

A stop over to Teas Etc yielded a great opportunity to chat up Beth Johnston and new friend Sherri Miller of Moonrise Tea Garden out of Hawaii. I reviewed Sherri’s crop from last year if you care to check it out. I also had a chance to speak with Newman Johnston and am always super excited after talking tea, business and happy things with these folks. There’s so much to go over and one expo isn’t nearly enough time, let alone a short conversation within an expo!

Beth Johnston, Myself and Sherri Miller

Newman Johnston and I

Another group from Hawaii whom I didn’t get the chance to review but did say hi to last year was Naliko Tea Gerden, now known as Tea Hawaii. It seems like Liam Ball of Naliko hooked up with a neat crowd. Tea Hawaii offers some neat products, an interesting brewing method where water is poured over the leaves and sifted into a drinking vessel. They also offer custom made tea cups made of clay which are all unique. The uniqueness is by virtue of a ‘slap’ to the clay as the potter is finishing spinning it which gives the cup its unique ‘wobble.’

Tea Hawaii Brewing to a Vessel

Another stop was made to a standby of mine. You can find Stash Tea products in nearly every grocery store in the United States. They’re a HUGE brand. However, they’re mostly known for their bagged teas. This is mighty unfortunate because their loose tea quality is actually pretty high. I always enjoy good conversation with Stash. I hope to cover more of their loose teas soon.

Stash Tea Products

I did also run into Wendy Weir of Libre Tea whose brewing vessel I reviewed some time ago and pit against other tea mugs in a showdown last year. This was her first World Tea Expo exhibiting. Honorable mention to my friends at Honey Stix whose products I hope to review soon. A shout to my buddies at Eastrise Trading who handle distribution for Foojoy in North America. Another honorable mention for the folks at Nucha, and David over at Gorreana Portuguese Teas.

I was disappointed not to see some of my favorite exhibitors from the past two years. Notable absences included Puripan Tea Garden, TeaGschwendner, PeLi Teas, Tavalon Tea, Village Tea Company, SAFA Himalaya and Catalyst Tea Enhancers. I missed you guys!

That’s pretty much it for Day 3. Feel free to go back and check out Day 1 and Day 2 of my 2011 World Tea Expo coverage.

Eastrise Trading Company

Earlier this month the delicious duo announced the availability of their blends at Bigg’s stores, Jungle Jim’s and the Keller’s IGA locations in the greater Cincinnati area.

That just happens to be my neck of the woods! I took a trip around the corner to my local Bigg’s right after receiving the good news from the sisters’ marketing agent and what did I find? Fantastic placement of their teas on a short shelf (harder to get lost on than taller shelves)!

From the press release:

Fully Loaded Tea continues US expansion into “The Buckeye State”

Gourmet tea blends now available in select Ohio locations

Mississauga, ON – Fully Loaded Tea (FLT) is proud to announce its first distribution partnerships with Ohio retailers.  Starting in Early October, select bigg’s hypermarkets and Jungle Jim’s International Market will join the growing number of key locations throughout the country carrying FLT’s distinctly different product.  This continued expansion ensures that residents of Cincinnati and Fairfield will now be able to enjoy the bold and opinionated blends, already extremely popular with young professionals and celebrities.   

Katya Popoff, co-founder of FLT explained: “We are extremely pleased to be working with bigg’s and Jungle Jim’s International Market.  Bigg’s has been a supporter of Fully Loaded Tea since our inception, so we are particularly delighted as this distribution partnership confirms our immense progress, and gives us further momentum going forward. We continue to be overwhelmed by the support received from retailers such as bigg’s and Jungle Jim’s International Market – our blends are popping up on shelves throughout the US, and this is certainly a most rewarding feeling.”

The brainchild of sister-duo Katya Popoff and Olga Lenova, since the company’s launch in 2007 FLT has experienced unprecedented success and momentum with an increase in sales by more than 400 percent in 2008. The unique combination of berries and tea blends results in bold, opinionated flavors rich with vitamins and antioxidants.

FLT’s distinct blends continue to garner invitations to participate in high-profiled, celebrity events, including the Primetime Emmy Awards, SXSW Film Festival, and the Much Music Video Awards.

Ohio gourmands can look forward to purchasing Fully Loaded Tea blends at:

bigg’s hypermarket located at 5218 Beechmont Avenue and 5022 Delhi Road in    Cincinnati, and Jungle Jim’s International Market at         5440 Dixie Hwy in  Fairfield.

For more information about FLT, to purchase the blends online, or to find locations around the country where FLT is available, please visit www.fullyloadedtea.com.

• Two of Japan’s largest bev-co’s, Kirin & Suntory, are apparently looking to merge. Both include tea on their best seller lists and export their products to North America. The merger would create the single largest beverage company in the world… ahead of Atlanta based Coca-Cola.
• According to World Tea News, moving to a new location seemed to help one small town teahouse. Congratulations to Joseph Doyle on a great and shrewd business move.
• Erin Cauble, the owner of “The Tea Room,” a business periodical has apparently decided to close up shop. The current economic climate as well as decreased advertising revenue were cited as primary reasons for the publication’s closure.Erin also notes that she is unsure what she will do with PositiviTea.com, another site and news resource she currently maintains. Find out more at World Tea News.
• STL Ocarina, a St. Louis, Missouri based company, has developed a whistling tea cup! More from their website!
• The “Harmony” line of tea kettles from Copco are being recalled due burn risks. The kettles have been available sine early 2006 and have been sold for around $30 at retailers throughout the United States and Canada.If you have one of these kettles, Copco recommends you cease using it for your safety.Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Wilton Industries, Inc. at (800) 794- 5866 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CT Monday through Thursday, and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. CT Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.copco.com.
• According to The London Telegraph, that thought you had a few days ago… you know… the one where you could swear that your tea tasted better in that other cup… you were probably right! Apparently tea really does taste better in your favorite cup.
• A new tea shop has opened its doors in Grand Central Terminal in NYC. Called the “Tea and Honey Store,” it’s apparently owned by the purveyors of the Pylones gift shop chain.
• Jason Witt, has been running a newsletter for those of the Christian faith. He provides an interesting commonly faith based article every week with his “Teaternity” newsletter.

Help a good cause: CharityWater.org

The questions I have been asking myself for the past six months are:

• Is advertising inherently evil?
• Does it constitute a waste of visual space?
• Does it distract from my content?

After quite a lot of thought on these and other worries I have finally decided that some visual advertising may actually be helpful for this site. My primary mission is to expose visitors such as yourself to more tea and tea flavors and brands than they may have had access to before.

The visual space usage doesn’t have to be all that great to help expose you to new teas, and hopefully… help offset some of the costs of running this site.

You will find adverts on the following page types:

• Tea Reviews
• News, Culture & History posts
• Accessory, Books and Software Reviews

You will NOT see advertisements on these page types:

• Static pages (such as the Tea Info pages)
• Brand Pages
• Feature Announcements

As I move forward with integrating the advertisements I’d like to make this process as transparent as possible. To ensure I’m not taking large kickbacks, you should know I have chosen to use an affiliate link service called LinkShare.

Different advertisers contribute in different ways, and I only apply for affiliate participation with companies or services which have something to offer the modern tea drinker.

So far these are affiliates I have signed up with:

• Adagio Teas, purveyors of some mighty fine teas. Some of which I have already reviewed.
  
• Amanzi Tea, a tea company I have yet to review.
  
• Alessi, an accessory maker with some neat contemporary products.
  
• Tea Forte’, another tea company with unique packaging whom I have yet to review.
  

I hope this level of transparency will help make the ensuing advertising more palatable. You won’t see the adverts everywhere and they won’t be like paint splatter on the pages where they do exist. They’ll only be for companies which have something topical to offer you. All proceeds will go to keeping this site going as costs continue to rise with increased traffic and posts while introducing new features!

Thanks for understanding this need. I’m excited to see how this goes and if enough funding offset begins coming through these affiliates, you could see more in-depth writings showing up as I can fund some extra research time!

Help a good cause: CharityWater.org

In today’s first note, I wanted to share a fantastic post I found on Buddhism and Tea over at Hong Tea Dao! It’s amazingly insightful with lots of tasty delicious knowledge!

Stash Teas’ annual Guide To Bead And Breakfast Inns is around again this year. Inns participating in the program provide one night’s stay free when you book at least one night.

Botanical Bakery is offering some wonderful looking Fennel Pollen tea cookies inspired by the unfortunate passing of the owner’s father.

My friends over at The Village Tea Company are opening their first brick and mortar location! You should totally head out and support them if you’re in Dallas area!

If you buy gas for your favorite costly sipper or guzzler… and I’m sure most of us do… then drop by your local BP station and support their new private label bottled Ready to Drink (RTD) tea line! World Tea News has the scoop!

Help a good cause: CharityWater.org