Here’s the final installment of this three part recap to the activities and friends from this year’s expo!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Day 3

Ouch! So much ground to cover in a single day! Seven rows and we’ve only finished four! I gues it helps I didn’t attend any educational sessions this year. This would have been a five page set instead! Maybe next year.

First stop when the doors opened? Special Teas! This group has some rather fine offerings. Then, on to Florapharm. A bright logo, good quality product and an interesting name. This German company is housed in the US near my old stomping grounds in Owings Mills, MD. They even had a real live samovar (see last photo)!

Special Teas

Special Teas

Special Teas

Special Teas

Florapharm USA

Florapharm USA's samovar

Next I hit Eco Vita who do supplements and vitamins. Not really my scene. Then was Eastrise Trading Corp. who had the banner for Foojoy, a great chinese company who I had a good rapport with last year. No, on to Rooibos, Ltd. This company obviously specializes in Rooibos related teas.

Further down the isle I hit AOI Tea which specializes in Matcha. I had a little formal ceremony sit down with a great little Japanese woman who whisked the tea up in a little bowl for me to drink. It was extremely good!

Next was Harney & Sons. Last year I was lucky enough to meet both Michael and John Harney at their booth. This year, the booth was considerably smaller and the Harney’s themselves weren’t present. I was a little disappointed.

AOI Matcha

Moving on I had the pleasure of hitting Sugimoto America again. They won an award this year for their greeting cards with a pretty sealed teabag in it based on the occasion. That was kinda neat.

Tavalon Tea was next. Their packaging is some of the more unique I think. Clear plastic that’s UV coated so you can see the tea is nice. What’s great is that unlike other UV plastic tins, these don’t just have a window in the tin to see the tea. The container is the window to see the tea.

Continuing, Stash Tea was the following stop. Most of us know Stash Tea from their tea bags sold in grocery stores and such. However, they have some great loose teas, and the new Chanakara line Cindy Harling showed me is really great, and available loose!

Oh My Gosh! PeLi Teas! The wonderful 2009 Pu’erh they had was equally pleasant in a tea bag as it was loose. Just incredible! Maeda-En was great as usual. With their Green Tea Mochi and their Iced Green Tea. Delicious!

What the heck is up with Sam Ritchey and his hair over at TeaGschwendner! That guys knows how to liven it up something real! A stop off at MarketSpice located in Pike Place in Seattle and a taste of Hojicha Gelee (which I’ll review down the road) at The Green Teaist and we close out the fifth row!

What a hectic run! But we’re only about a third of the way through our day! Will I be able to make it through the seventh row in time for closing? Follow along and we’ll see!

PeLi Teas

PeLi Teas

Maeda En

The Green Teaist

The Green Teaist

There’s a LOT going on here in the sixth row! Plenty to see. Let’s get started!

First stop? The Taiwan Tea Manufacturer’s Association. This is a conglomerated booth area made up of seven or eight Taiwanese tea companies all in one place. They’re almost independent of the expo! Too much to describe here. There’s lots of good stuff!

What’s this!?! Hawiian grown tea! I’ve known about the Hawaii projects for a while now, but it failed to register that anyone was close enough to production. Well, Liam Ball over at Na Liko Tea certainly is! The Hawaiian Oolong was spectacular. This is on top of being a first year production from plants just five years old! They really nailed it!

Tisano was next. They make cacao stuff. In this case their product is made from the outer shells of the cacao beans. This Equadoran product is pretty good actually and tastes like a hot chocolate but not as rich. The company actually helps in the picking and shipping processes for their product and gives some proceeds back to the community and growers from each sale.

Na Liko Tea from Hawaii

Na Liko Tea from Hawaii

Tisano Cacao Tea

Just across the split from Tisano… was Zealong, the New Zealand Oolong people. If you haven’t tried this stuff, seriously give it a go. I did. I’ll have a formal review up soemtime soon. Zealong has some of the best marketing this year I think, and their packaging is simply beautiful! Tulsi Organics across the walkway was another herbal beverages company. There seem to be plenty of these this year.

Time to take a peek at one of my favorite accessory makers… FORLIFE! Great looking stuff as always! Vibrant colors, unique styles. Good stuff.

On to Naivetea. I really like this brand’s identity. Clean and refined but with a slightly fancy augmentation. Always friendly, the couple who run this company are somehow calming to me. It could be the tea too, but there’s something about this fun pair from California!

Zealong New Zealand Oolong

Tulsi Organics

Naivetea

Next up? Hankook Tea who have some simple but nice packaging, and they’re representing Korean teas which are seriously under-represented in the industry. You go guys! On to Takeya USA! These guys make some really swell tea brewer jugs! Some of these are for chilled teas, and others are for hot teas. Some for large quantities and others for just a cup or two. You should check them out!

Keeping up the pace we have Shang Ri La Tea and Hancha Tea another company I remember from last year who has nice clean package design. A trip to Teas Etc. rounds out the 6th row. I mean what would the expo be without Beth and Newman Johnston!

Time for the final row already!?! The Expo can’t be over yet!?! I mean c’mon!

Takeya

Teas Etc

Teas Etc

Row seven is shorter and has less going on. I did run into Jason O. Walker from Walker Tea Review whom I met last year. If I’d been swifter maybe I’d have caught him before he was closing up. Maybe I could have even been in one of his review videos! That would have been killer!

A stop by the World Tea News booth was empty. All that was left was Torn Ranch.

I did make my way back to the International Tea Importers booth to grab a copy of the New Tea Dictionary and a photo-op with the author Mr. James Norwood Pratt.

Disappointed row 7 didn’t have more going on? Oh, fine! There was this row of new product displays. Maybe you’d like to see those, yeah? Here you go, I’ll leave you with these. I hope you enjoyed my coverage of the expo as much as I did getting to go again.

Me sniffing some Himalayan Tips

QTrade Teas & Herbs

Village Tea Mini Canisters

Tea friends Make a Toast

Tea Friends at Lotus of Siam for Dinner

ITO EN Bench Made of Recycled Tea

More Delicious Tea

David Smith Tea Blender

Here’s part two of this three part recap to the activities and friends from this year’s expo!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Day 2

Saturday. A day to sleep in. Something I don’t do frequently enough. But are you CRAZY! I’m at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas! There’s no way I’m sleeping in! There’s too much to do and see!

Let’s start out at the front of the 3rd row here. This row is exciting to me because I know some people here and some others are altogether brand new to the expo this year. A great mix of old and new!

First up is Qtrade Teas & Herbs. This company is one of the leading direct importers of teas and herbs to the United States directly from their source countries. In the next booth is Kopius Teas, the exclusive distributor of Qtrade imports. Directly across from Qtrade and Kopius is Elmwood Inn Fine Teas which is based in my neck of the woods down in Kentucky.

Further down the row I ran into my friends at The Art of Tea whose branding I love! They were nestled just before a split in the rows and were directly across from my peeps at Adagio Teas such as Cynthia Fazekas, Ilya Kreymerman and Charles Cain!

Art of Tea

Art of Tea

Art of Tea

The next segment seems to be the most difficult for me. China row. The Indian and Sri Lankan folks all speak some form of English, but the Chinese don’t always understand what I’m saying. It doesn’t keep me from trying though. And try I did! I even ended up learning about a nice little tea shop in Columbus, OH called ZenCha Tea Salon. I’m planning a trip up to review their place soon!

An old buddy from last year’s expo resurfaced with force and had a bigger booth and much stronger branding. Kaushika Patel of Catalyst Gourmet makes flavor and tea enhancers. Essentially spice sets you can add to food, tea or other items to escape from the hum-drum of the everyday. While I wouldn’t personally be adding ony of these to an orthodox tea, there’s some pretty nice stuff in her cabinet, let me tell you!

Directly across from Catalyst Gourmet was Runa, a new herbal beverage company selling a product derived from a plant called Guayusa (why-you-suh). It’s pretty decent and they have several flavored options including a mint and an original.

Catalyst Gourmet

Runa Guayusa Tea

For those counting Runa is the third company listed here which boasts their own 501c(3) Non-Profit Foundation which provides some or all of their profits back to the growers & pickers of their product. The first was Ajiri which I visited on Day 1. They provide 100% of their profits back to Kenyan orphanage schools. The second was SAFA Himalaya which provides a protion of their profits back to the Nepalese growers they source their teas from.

At the end of row three we had a mild tweetup where I met Adam Hansen as well as Chris Palmer of Tazo Tea. That was pretty neat. I think the World Tea Expo needs a tweetup every year which is formally arranged. The way it is now, there were four of us at this year’s tweetup and 12 at last year’s.

So far, that’s just half of day 2! We’ve so much more to go! On to row 4!

Starting at the end of row 4 we hit International Tea Importers where Mr. James Norwood Pratt was speaking. Mr. Pratt is always great to listen to. He knows more about tea than anyone I’ve met and he remains lively and energetic!

International Tea Importers

International Tea Importers

International Tea Importers

Mr. James Norwood Pratt and Myself

After the poke around the ITI booth it was time to head off for Aiya, makers of fine Matcha and Matcha products. It’s always fun to run into Shiro Nobunaga and Fumi Sugita. We had a great conversation last year too! Just across the row split was ITO EN, a favorite of mine from last year. A wonderful hello from Rona Tison veep of product marketing always goes a long way to a good day!

Aiya Matcha Tea

Next up is Village Tea Co. Martin runs a great shop in Dallas and his branding is spectacular. It makes me want to consume it to be hip and attractive… just like he is! If you haven’t read it yet, I wrote a review on his Gentle Organic Lemon Ginger Green Tea last a while back.

A little further down was one of my favorite booths to hit during the expo last year, and again this year. Puripan! This Korean tea company is based in California and has some really interesting and fantastic teas such as Mugwort or their Kusus or Soba-cha.

Puripan Tea Garden

Me with the Puripan gals

Further down we find The East Indies Tea Company whose name reminds me of the fabled East India Company which classically created the tea industry outside of Asia and controlled the majority of it for nearly 200 years with the Queen’s blessing. And finally Rishi Tea. Rishi walks away with awards every year, and this year was no exception. I’ll have a separate post all about the World Tea Championships at a later date.

Sadly I didn’t get to hit Rishi Tea or Sungarden Tea which were both in the 4th row. Next year perhaps.

That about does it for Day 2. Head back to check out Day 1 or check out Day 3.

Here’s part one of this three part recap to the activities and friends from this year’s expo!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Day 1

The World Tea Expo moved to a new facility this year. Last year it was held on the strip in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. This year, it was off-strip at the Las Vegas Convention Center and co-located with the Natural Marketplace Show which meant attendees could make their way through both conferences.

I liked the placement at Mandalay Bay better due to its proximity to more dining options. The only things within a reasonable walking distance for the Las Vegas Convention Center were multiple Starbucks locations and an overpriced collection of Aramark eateries in a food court. Mandalay Bay had a low cost food court as well. But last year when I needed food I ate at three and four star restaurants. I may have paid less for food this time around, but that’s not what I’d have preferred.

This first day was hectic. The doors to the show floor didn’t open until eleven in the morning and there was a huge line outside for people to get in.

Hundreds, can I say that again, HUNDREDS of exhibitors were at this expo. Though a bit smaller than last year’s by exhibitor attendance I felt the crowd was more tuned to the industry and focussed on what they wanted. Last year there were a lot more first time entrepreneurs who hopefully are focussing their energies on their young businesses.

Making my way down the first row I found The Metropolitan Tea Company which has lots of neat stuff. You should definitely check them out! I also ran into The Tea Spot, and they gave me a Tuffy Steeper which I reviewed last week.

Ajiri Tea

Ajiri Tea

The Ajiri Tea girls and I

Further down I discovered the Ajiri Tea girls who have a truly outstanding story! Their product is a single black tea from Kenya, made CTC style, it was malty and nice. I hope to do an interview and spotlight on them in the near future. Yet further down I ran into Elena from Svay, a Russian tea company. I’ll be reviewing their teas throughout this year.

Row two had all kinds of serious fun! I started with Basilur which has some really neat new packaging. I ran into the wonderful folks of the New Vithanakande Tea Estate in Sri Lanka. I really enjoy their teas year after year and was very excited to meet them!

Basilur Tea

Basilur Tea

A pit stop at Sara’s Tea Caddie for some slow brewed Yutakamiori Sencha was a great interruption to the hustle and bustle! Moving on there was FUSO International which makes tea bag machines. Their stuff said NASA all over it, but it’s apparently not that NASA. I also ran into the Jun Chiyabari Estate family from Nepal again this year! We talked for a while last year and I really enjoyed their honesty and personality again this year.

Melville Candy had some neat Honey Spoons I hope to review soon. It’s a really novel idea. Moving on, I discovered KEIKO which is a Japanese tea company which mostly has presence in Europe. They had to back out of last year’s show as their warehouse burned to the ground two weeks before the 2009 expo. I look to get samples from them for review later this year.

Keiko Tea

Keiko Tea

Keiko Tea

Keiko Tea Packaging

The 2nd row also gave me Lucha which makes a tea infuser mug I reviewed a couple weeks back, Squeezemo which makes a neat little tea bag squeezer to drain the bags and keep them off your plates, and the fine folks of SAFA Himalaya who carry exclusively Nepalese teas, such as those from Jun Chiyabari.

That about does it for Day 1. Check back soon for Day 2 and Day 3.

Those of us who brew using loose tea often have infusers. I happen to keep a small collection at work so others can enter the intriguing world of tea, but I also have a few at home. What if I could have one which could go everywhere with me?

Enter the Tuffy Steeper from The Tea Spot. This neat little silicone & plastic infuser actually scrunches down into an easy to carry, easy to wash little infuser unit. The plastic drip tray double times as a lid so the steam doesn’t escape while you’re steeping.

{Product Image}

After several uses of this unit with various tea of different styles and intensity I’ve judged it handy dandy! You can use it while steeping tea at a restaurant or at home or work. All nice and portable it’s easy to carry in a satchel, purse or backpack. Unlike ceramic drip plates I don’t need to worry about this one breaking.

The unit is dishwasher safe, unlike a number of plastic or rubber infusers, which adds to the convenience factor for cleaning the infuser. The unit The Tea Spot provided me for review came in blue but there is pink, purple and yellow to go along with it depending on your style.

I actually used the Tuffy Steeper on my flight back from the World Tea Expo 2010 in Las Vegas. Steeping loose tea I had stored in my carry-on was super easy this way and I didn’t have to settle for bagged tea or end up having to eat the leaves when done!

The only negative with this accessory is that the silicone seems prone to attracting dust. This is easy to fix though. Simply rinsi it before and after usage and make sure it’s colapsed when you’re not. It would be nice if it had a small cloth carrier though. I think that might help keep the dust away.

I recommend this little accessory for those frequently on the go or pounding the pavement. If you travel, but prefer loose tea, look no further than this tough-as-nails compactible travel infuser from The Tea Spot!

In this installment I’m grading three infuser mugs. One of these, I’ve reviewed before. The others are made by Teas Etc. and Lucha.

Read on for more.

It’s not every day we have the opportunity to watch a shootout. Thankfully the ones we like are usually produced by Hollywood as no-one is usually hurt in those.

Today we’re going to have an accessory showdown. This one is for steeping mugs. That is, mugs which have an infuser built in for brewing loose or bagged teas.

Infuser Mug Showdown (Infuser mugs were used in the making of this post.)

Libre Tea Glass

My opinion on the Libre Tea unit has already been heard, but I’m going to put it through its paces again more than six months later here for everyone’s benefit.

The Libre glass has three pieces. The primary compartment, like the other two units reviewed here is where your water goes. The capacity is 9oz/260mL which is just more than a cup. The other two pieces are an infuser cap and a top cap so no liquid escapes.

Libre suggests two methods of infusing your tea in their glass. First, place the tea in the primary compartment, add water, allow to steep, drink and refill. This feels odd to me because the tea can become extra strong and/or lose its flavor more quickly. However, this is the way the Chinese have traditionally steeped their teas in mobile mugs.

The second recommendation is more logical to me. Fill the primary compartment with water at the desired temperature, place your loose tea or tea-bag in the infuser compartment, add the top cap and then flip the entire unit upside down to allow the tea to steep. Simply flip the unit back over when the correct amount of time lapses, drain any residual infusion from the lids into the primary… drink and repeat!

I found the Libre unit to not be dishwasher safe. It’s best to clean it by hand with unscented soap. The mesh infuser is easier to clean than freestanding mesh infusers I’ve used.

While visually a little less interesting than the other units, the Libre has something special going for it. The primary compartment is made of two materials, polyurethane and glass with the glass being the interior material. The two materials are separated by an air pocket. This air pocket provides an insulation layer preventing the container from becoming too hot to hold, and it works quite nicely.

Teas Etc. Traveler Mug

I received this mug as a unit for review from Newman Johnston of Teas Etc.

My first impression was that this mug is nicely styled. A bright green cap with a silver infuser section just like the Libre unit. It’s a little shorter, but definitely wider.

From the visual styling this unit appears high quality. And the materials indeed seem to be plenty sturdy. The unit even has similar design to the Libre unit in that is has three pieces. However, the unit appears to lack some of the design refinements of the Libre unit.

This traveler mug, easily resembles a tumbler with an infuser in it. It holds nearly 13oz/381mL of liquid which amounts to just about 1.5 cups of tea.

The instructions on the box indicate this unit to be made of BFA free plastics and to not be dishwasher safe. It also recommends the Chinese style of brewing which I haven’t personally become accustomed to.

The recommendation again is to place the tea in the primary container, add the water, place both caps on while brewing, remove the top cap, and drink your tea unencumbered by leaves as the liquid filters through the mesh infuser compartment.

I found it more comfortable to use this unit’s infuser just like I use the Libre. Filling the primary compartment with water at the right temperature, adding the leaves to the infuser compartment and placing both caps atop the liquid filled cylinder.

This unit ends up getting extremely hot if brewing with boiling water or anything above 175 degrees fahrenheit. I found the infuser cap to be very squeaky when screwing it on or off. It leaks if bumped and the top cap is rounded on its crown which makes it difficult to infuse upside down as the Libre does.

The result is that the Traveler Mug works, but it almost forces you into following it’s recommendations on how it should be used. This is probably great if you’re comfy using it that way. Regardless, the lack of heat insulation, squeaky cap and leakiness makes it unlikely I’ll be using this unit frequently.

Lucha Tea Mug

The Lucha mug is interesting. It has three parts like the others, but the infuser piece isn’t provided its own compartment. Instead, it inserts snugly into the primary chamber while the top cap is off. I received this unit for review from Mark Chau and the fine folks at Lucha.

The Lucha mug is made from BPA free plastics, and is considered dishwasher safe on the top rack only. I have not tested this faculty of the unit as I wanted to get this review out in a rather timely manner.

This unit is the least stylish of the three. There’s no real color to speak of. The top cap is silver, but is made of plastic, not aluminum. The leaf design on the outside seems a bit ‘girly’ for my tastes, but I guess that could be a personal issue.

The unit holds 12oz/350mL which is 1.5 cups of tea. The recommended procedure is to place the leaves in the unit, fill with water at the desired temperature and let steep. The plastic infuser tray appears to be more of a catch trap to keep the leaves from going into your mouth when drinking. I have found when the device holds relatively little liquid, that the leaves have tendency to hold that little bit of liquid back from your attempt to imbibe it. Your mileage may vary.

The catch tray is very easy to remove and the unit certainly seems easier to clean than either of the other devices given its claim of dishwasher safe. The plastic catch tray also has slots on the sides which aid in removing the tray and in cleaning it. The unit does get hot when hot water is used, much like the Teas Etc. Traveler. So be careful.

Overall, if you like the Chinese method of infusion in a mug, the Lucha is a pretty nice solution.

Conclusion

While I don’t prefer the Chinese method of infusing in a travel mug, you certainly might. So take my opinions with a grain or two of salt when deciding if any of these mugs is right for you.

I’ve been using my Libre for more than six months. During that time I’ve grown to rely on its sturdy construction. Design details such as air pocket heat diffusion aren’t missed by me, they’re completely appreciated. The thoughtful engineering, simple design and multiple steep options make this the best mug for me.

The Teas Etc. Traveler clearly lost here. It certainly could be the specific unit I was provided, but I can’t be sure without trying another one. It concerns me that the unit was prone to leaking, and that the infuser piece required significant energy to remove once tea has been steeped in it. I wouldn’t recommend this mug until such time as I can verify whether my specific unit is defective.

The Lucha mug seems like a great option if you enjoy the Chinese method of portable brewing. However, you can also follow this same method with the Libre is you so desire.

Unless you already know you prefer the Chinese method, I would say the Libre is the best of breed in this showdown.