• Safeguarding the Right to a Decent Life

    THIRST, The International Roundtable for Sustainable Tea, a non-profit human rights initiative, launched a 3-year human rights impact assessment study in 2022. The study aims to listen to and understand the human rights concerns in the tea sector and bring stakeholders together to seek solutions. We have been following THIRST’s survey from the start, and with Phase 2 now complete, we caught up with CEO and Founder Sabita Banerji to hear about the findings and next steps. Sabita is an economic and social justice consultant, campaigner, writer, and activist with over two decades of experience in international development and trade justice.



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    24m | Mar 22, 2024
  • NETA Opposes 100% Dust Auction | Spotlight on Safe Tea in 2024 | India to Send Trade Delegation to Iran

    India Tea News | March 22, 2024 | NETA Opposes 100% Dust Auction | Spotlight on Safe Tea in 2024 | India to Send Trade Delegation to Iran



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    2m | Mar 22, 2024
  • World Tea Expo Names Beverage Challenge Winners | Resilient Ukraine Retains Its Taste for Russian Tea | Bogawanthalawa is Certified as the First Climate-Neutral Tea Estate

    Tea News Recap | March 22, 2024 | World Tea Expo Names Beverage Challenge Winners | Resilient Ukraine Retains Its Taste for Russian Tea | Bogawanthalawa is Certified as the First Climate Neutral Tea Estate



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    7m | Mar 22, 2024
  • World Tea Expo Beverage Challenge Winners | Ukraine Retains Its Taste for Russian Tea | Bogawanthalawa is the First Climate-Neutral Tea Estate

    HEAR THE HEADLINES - World Tea Expo Names Beverage Challenge Winners | Resilient Ukraine Retains Its Taste for Russian Tea | Bogawanthalawa is Certified as the First Climate Neutral Tea Estate

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    | INDIA TEA NEWS - NETA Opposes 100% Dust Auction | Spotlight on Safe Tea in 2024 | India to Send Trade Delegation to Iran

    | NEWSMAKER – Sabita Banerji, CEO, THIRST, The International Roundtable for Sustainable Tea

    | FEATURED – Safeguarding the right to a decent life for everyone in tea benefits the industry. Equity and transparency along the entire tea supply chain encourage retention and productivity, enabling sustainable supply. Mandates for due diligence reporting of human rights and enforcement lie ahead. London-based THIRST is midway through a three-year assessment of human rights in tea. This week, managing editor Aravinda Anantharaman speaks with THIRST co-founder and CEO Sabita Banerji to assess progress and challenges that remain.



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    39m | Mar 22, 2024
  • Tea Rebellion: Anatomy of a Purpose-Driven Brand

    Tea Rebellion: Anatomy of a Purpose-Driven Brand | Annabel Kalmar, founder of Tea Rebellion, a small direct-trade single-farm tea venture founded in 2017, joins us today. Her company was certified as a B Corp in September 2022. Annabel describes the DNA of a purpose-driven tea venture and the challenge of changing how tea is traded, marketed, and consumed. The goal is to be a tea brand offering sustainable, transparent, award-winning tea, she says. Tea Rebellion does not offer blended or flavored tea. Farms are co-branded, and marketing draws attention to the farm and identity of growers. "To affect change, we need to credit the maker of the product," she says."To drive impact, I choose to work with tea farmers with a clear goal of sustainability and impact in their communities. Several of these farmers are female-run or committed to the empowerment and well-being of women," she says.

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    11m | Mar 15, 2024
  • Indian Tea Association and Goodricke Group Name New Heads

    India Tea News | March 15, 2024 | Indian Tea Association and Goodricke Group Name New Heads | Nilgiris' INDCOServe Will Convert Kattabettu Factory into Tea Tourism Hub

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    1m | Mar 15, 2024
  • Why is First Flush Tea so Tasty? Metabolites | Oversupply Threatens Kenya’s Harvest Windfall | World Tea Expo Opens this Weekend

    Tea News Recap | March 15, 2024

    Why is First Flush Tea so Tasty? Metabolites | Oversupply Threatens Kenya’s Harvest Windfall | World Tea Expo: An Infusion of Fresh Ideas Opens this Weekend

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    9m | Mar 15, 2024
  • Ep 159 | Why is First Flush Tea so Tasty? Metabolites | Oversupply Threatens Kenya’s Harvest Windfall | World Tea Expo Opens this Weekend

    HEAR THE HEADLINES - Why is First Flush Tea so Tasty? Metabolites | Oversupply Threatens Kenya’s Harvest Windfall | World Tea Expo: An Infusion of Fresh Ideas Opens this Weekend

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    | INDIA TEA NEWS - Indian Tea Association and Goodricke Group Name New Heads | Nilgiris' INDCOServe Will Convert Kattabettu Factory into Tea Tourism Hub

    | GUEST – Annabel Kalmar, founder of Tea Rebellion

    | FEATURED – Tea Rebellion: Anatomy of a Purpose-Driven Brand | Annabel Kalmer, founder of Tea Rebellion, a small direct-trade single-farm tea venture founded in 2017, joins us today.

    The company was certified as a B Corp in September 2022. Annabel describes the DNA of a purpose-driven tea venture and the challenge of changing how tea is traded, marketed, and consumed.

    The goal is to be a tea brand for sustainable, transparent, award-winning tea. Tea Rebellion co-brands with farms and does not blend or flavor tea.

    “We remain firmly wedded to our original Tea Rebellion DNA,” says Annabel, who has a master's in economics specializing in micro- and rural finance. She previously worked for the World Bank and the OECD.

    She returned to academia to study agriculture, focusing on environment and gender. Her fieldwork included studying female banana growers in El Salvador and coffee farms in the Dominican Republic.

    "To drive impact, I choose to work with tea farmers who have a clear goal of sustainability and impact in their communities. Several of these farmers are female-run or committed to the empowerment and well-being of women," she says.



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    29m | Mar 15, 2024
  • #TeaPower: A Call to Collaborate

    FEATURED

    In January, Shabnam Weber. President of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada traveled to Guwahati, Assam, as one of 44 country delegates at the recently concluded 25th Session of the United Nations FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG Tea). During the past two years, as co-chair of the Working Group on Tea and Health, she tirelessly promoted the merits of a unified global campaign to make the benefits of drinking tea relevant to younger generations. She says that HASHTAG Tea Power will generate a global buzz around tea and its role in improved fitness. “There is extensive evidence supporting tea benefits in sports and fitness performance and optimal hydration,” she explains. “These scientific findings provide the framework for a youth-focused campaign to encourage increased tea consumption.” We need to remember that our competition is not ourselves. That's a message for everybody in this industry: we are not the competition; the competition is other beverages. The only way for us to break through that noise is to work together."

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    13m | Mar 8, 2024
  • Bihar Tea Gets Trademark

    India Tea News | March 8, 2024 

    Bihar Tea Gets Trademark | Microsoft's Bill Gates Unwittingly Promotes Chai and Chaiwala | Muskan Khanna Earns a Patent for Her Nilgiri Bamboo Tea | Aravinda Anantharaman | Tea Biz Blog | Podcast Ep 158 |

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    2m | Mar 8, 2024
  • Sailing Through the Tea Doldrums

    Tea News Recap | March 8, 2023

    Sailing Through the Tea Doldrums | India Budgets a Big Increase for its Tea Industry | Crude Tea Production in Japan Declined in 2023 | Plus Tea trade associations, research institutes, tea boards, tea brands, and the United Nations Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG/Tea) are organizing to collectively promote HASHTAG #TeaPower for International Tea Day, May 21. The online and event-based marketing program heralds the benefits of including tea in every high-energy fitness regimen, from organized sports and cycling to nature walks and solo ascents. Messaging targets youth, but the findings on dietary benefits and hydration are science-backed and essential to healthy living. Shabnam Weber, President of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada and co-chair of the United Nations IGG Working Group on Tea and Health that developed the program. She discusses why HASHTAG #TeaPower is “the perfect pitch for younger generations looking to increase their performance and energy levels while staying healthy.”

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    11m | Mar 8, 2024
  • Sailing Through the Tea Doldrums | India Budgets Big for Tea | Japanese Crude Tea Harvest Declined in 2023 |

    Episode 158 | March 8, 2024

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    Sailing Through the Tea Doldrums | India Budgets a Big Increase for its Tea Industry | Crude Tea Production in Japan Declined in 2023

    | INDIA TEA NEWS - Bihar Tea Gets Trademark | Microsoft's Bill Gates Unwittingly Promotes Chai and Chaiwala | Muskan Khanna Earns a Patent for Her Nilgiri Bamboo Tea

    | NEWSMAKER – Shabnam Weber, President of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada and co-chair of the United Nations IGG Working Group on Tea and Health

    | FEATURED – Tea trade associations, research institutes, tea boards, tea brands, and the United Nations Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG/Tea) are organizing to collectively promote HASHTAG #TeaPower for International Tea Day, May 21. The online and event-based marketing program heralds the benefits of including tea in every high-energy fitness regimen, from organized sports and cycling to nature walks and solo ascents. Messaging targets youth, but the findings on dietary benefits and hydration are science-backed and essential to healthy living. Shabnam Weber, President of the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada and co-chair of the United Nations IGG Working Group on Tea and Health that developed the program. She discusses why HASHTAG #TeaPower is “the perfect pitch for younger generations looking to increase their performance and energy levels while staying healthy.”

    #TeaPower: A Call to Collaborate - In January, Shabnam Weber traveled to Guwahati, Assam, as one of 44 country delegates at the recently concluded 25th Session of the United Nations FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG Tea). During the past two years, as co-chair of the Working Group on Tea and Health, she tirelessly promoted the merits of a unified global campaign to make the benefits of drinking tea relevant to younger generations. She says that HASHTAG Tea Power will generate a global buzz around tea and its role in improved fitness. “There is extensive evidence supporting tea benefits in sports and fitness performance and optimal hydration,” she explains. “These scientific findings provide the framework for a youth-focused campaign to encourage increased tea consumption.” We need to remember that our competition is not ourselves. That's a message for everybody in this industry: we are not the competition; the competition is other beverages. The only way for us to break through that noise is to work together.



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    33m | Mar 8, 2024
  • India Mandates Sale of Tea Dust at Auction

    India Tea News: Tata Tea Under Scrutiny | India Mandates Sale of All Grades of Tea Dust at Auction | Atul Asthana Resigns as MD and CEO of the Goodricke Group | Aravinda Anantharaman | Tea Biz Blog | Podcast Episode 157 |



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    2m | Mar 1, 2024
  • Tests of Indian Tea Reveals 42% Failure Rate | Kenya Tea Growers Report Double-digit Increase | Kumaon Growers Break Ground on Community-Owned Factory

    HEAR THE HEADLINES – Increased Food Safety Testing of Indian Tea Reveals 42% Failure Rate | Kenya Tea Growers Report Double-digit Increase in Volume | Kumaon Growers Break Ground on Their Community-Owned Factory

    Learn more www.tea-biz.com

    | NEWSMAKER – Joydeep Phukan, Secretary of India’s Tea Research Association and the Principal Officer at the Tocklai Tea Research Center in Jorhat, Assam

    | FEATURED – Coverage of the recently concluded 25th Session of the UN FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG) continues this week as Managing Editor Arvinda Anantharaman debriefs Joydeep Phukan, Secretary of India’s Tea Research Association and the Principal Officer at the Tocklai Tea Research Center in Jorhat, Assam. They engage in a wide-ranging chat on the benefits of regenerative agriculture in combatting a changing climate, enhancing trade, elevating smallholders, and marketing healthy hydration to youth.

    Dispelling Gloom and Doom - Joydeep Phukan, the principal officer and Secretary of TRA, was the driving force behind the events, talks about what he hopes attendees took away from the events."There is a lot of negativity in the industry regarding prices and overproduction. Last year, 2023, was a very bad year for the tea industry globally," says Phukan. In this context, hosting the 25th FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG) session, preceded by a two-day conference celebrating 200 years of Assam tea, was challenging. "We closed at nearly 450 delegates. I feel like this was a big learning lesson for the industry." He cites a marketing proposal targeting youth. We decided to initiate a campaign called #TeaPower in terms of sports, fitness, and wellness. Youths read every social media message, but tea consumption in Gen Alpha is 4%. That is a very small percentage, which was a big takeaway from the FAO session. On the topic of regenerative agriculture, much can be learned from India's cotton industry. "Tocklai has been suggesting that after you have grown tea for the past 50, you should uproot and rehabilitate the soil for at least 18 months to 24 months. So you plant different grasses and plants and apply biochar so the soil is regenerated, and then after two years of soil rehabilitation, you are ready to go for another maybe 30-40 years of planting." We are not in a very doom and gloom situation this year. We have the production now, and it is just finding the markets. And we’re lucky to have a very, very strong domestic market which is almost a dropping nearly 1,200 million kilos of tea," he said.



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    38m | Mar 1, 2024
  • Tea News Recap | March 1, 2024

    Hear the Headlines - Tea Biz

    Increased Food Safety Testing of Indian Tea Reveals 42% Failure Rate | Kenya Tea Growers Report Double-digit Increase in Volume and Record Payout | Kumaon Growers Break Ground on a Grower Community-Owned Factory | PLUS: Dispelling Tea Gloom and Doom | Joydeep Phukan, the Principal Officer and Secretary of India’s Tea Research Association (TRA), discusses reasons for optimism in 2024. | Dan Bolton | Tea Biz Blog | Podcast | Episode 157 | Learn more www.tea-biz.com



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    10m | Mar 1, 2024
  • Dispelling Tea Gloom and Doom

    Joydeep Phukan, the principal officer and Secretary of India’s Tea Research Association (TRA), observes, “There is a lot of negativity in the industry regarding prices and overproduction. Last year, 2023, was a bad year for the global tea industry.” In this context, hosting the 25th FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG) session, preceded by a two-day conference celebrating 200 years of Assam tea, was challenging. Three weeks before the event, only 75 had registered, but “We closed at nearly 450 delegates. I feel like this was a big learning lesson for the industry.”

    In Tea Biz Blog | Podcast Episode 157, Managing Editor Aravinda Anantharaman debriefs Phukan on the two events. He cites as key takeaways #TeaPower, a marketing proposal targeting youth with a sports, fitness, and wellness theme.

    Regarding regenerative agriculture, “Tocklai now suggests that every 50 years, planters should uproot and rehabilitate the soil for at least 18 to 24 months, planting grasses and plants and applying biochar so the soil is regenerated. “Then, after two years of soil rehabilitation, you are ready to go for another, maybe 30-40 years of planting,” he said. There is less “doom and gloom” this year, he says. "We have the production now and are finding new markets. We’re lucky to have a robust domestic market which is dropping nearly 1,200 million kilos of tea a year,” he said.



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    20m | Mar 1, 2024
  • Diets with Tea Brewed in Teabags Linked to High PFAS Levels | Microbes are at the Root of Quality Tea | Retail Tea Prices Still High as Inflation Eases

    HEAR THE HEADLINES – Researchers Link Diets that Include Tea Brewed in Teabags to High PFAS Levels | Flavor Enhancing Microbes are at the Root of Quality Tea | Retail Tea Prices Remain High as Inflation Eases

    | GUEST – Senior Tea Master Lilian Xia, President of the Canada Tea Institute

    | FEATURED – A hundred and fifty years ago, tea exporters in China faced a dramatic shift in demand due to conflict on the high seas and fierce commercial competition. The emergence of India as Europe’s black tea supplier disrupted almost three centuries of Chinese dominance in the world’s most lucrative black tea market. China needed something new, a cream and sugar-friendly alternative to smoky old-fashioned Lapsang Souchong. That tea was Keemun, a modern marvel rivaling Darjeeling at breakfast, and the fragrant black teas of Uva used in Ceylon breakfast blends. Invented in 1875, the aromatic red tea quickly rose to prominence, explains Lilian Xia, one of Shanghai’s first batch of senior tea masters and president of the Canada Tea Institute. She joins Tea Biz to recount the legacy of a Chinese market-savvy entrepreneur, Yu Ganchen, the pioneer of Qimen Black Tea, who developed the processing method for Keemun and expanded its sales overseas.

    Hong Cha Revival – Lilian Xia and her staff in Canada offer a seven-level curriculum for adults and teens. The organization, she says, “is committed to popularizing tea knowledge, using tea as a link to strengthen cultural exchange among all ethnic groups, all classes, and all ages.” The society hosts educational tea parties, tea-themed activities, and tastings, including a public introduction to Runsi Qihong (Keemun) sponsored by the Anhui Guorun Tea Co. Lilian and I met at the Toronto Tea Festival in January. Here, she tells the of hongcha (red tea), which is experiencing a revival in China as millions line up daily for their milk tea. Keemun has a special place in the story of black tea as it is the first modern market-driven tea. Tea fragrance has always appealed to tea drinkers. Jasmin is one of the oldest and remains the most famous scented tea globally, but the European royalty and upper-class preference for milk and sugar, crumpets, and dainties limited sales of green tea, creating an opening Keemun quickly filled. 



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    40m | Feb 23, 2024
  • Maritime Security Worsens in The Red Sea | Rising Operating Costs Close a Third of Uganda’s Tea Factories | Hydration Concerns Motivate Consumer Purchases

    HEAR THE HEADLINES – Maritime Security Concerns Worsen in Suez and The Red Sea | Rising Operating Costs Close a Third of Uganda’s Tea Factories | Hydration Concerns Motivate Consumer Purchases

    | NEWSMAKER - Liam Brody, CEO, Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA)

    | FEATURED – The Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) was established to measure the massive quantity of precise data and the impact of harder-to-quantify, pragmatic ways of measuring sustainability, such as living income calculations, gender inclusion, and next-generation training. In 2005, sustainability pioneers at the United Nations identified the need to harmonize sustainability metrics with science-based credibility. Seven years later, COSA became a not-for-profit public research organization to complete that work. Daniele Giovannucci co-founded COSA to counter what he called “the fluff and ignorance masquerading as development and colossal sums wasted by well-meaning funders.” He championed the “democratization of data,” devising standard metrics for the coffee industry in 2018. COSA, financed partly by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the InterAmerican Development Bank, has since standardized sustainability metrics for 100 Agri-related information technologies. Giovannucci retired in December, and Liam Brody was named his successor. Newly named COSA CEO Liam Brody joins us on the Tea Biz Podcast to explain COSA’s role in intelligence-gathering and developing strategic tools that advance sustainable practices with “good business” underpinnings. He also shares his vision of how artificial intelligence will revolutionize and influence consumer behavior and perception of sustainable practices.

    Predictability is Around the Corner – COSA Board Chairman Richard Rogers, in announcing the promotion of Liam Brody to CEO, described him as the right leader to unlock the exponential impact of the organization. Brody “is an accomplished and visionary leader” who can drive the transformative change needed to help tackle today’s sustainability challenges.” Brody says, “It used to be that no matter how smart the human was in this equation, we just couldn’t process all this data ourselves. There were just too many variables. But now, it’s amazing when we start to layer this data together.” He says, "Predictability is around the corner, but here’s the thing that’s missing for a lot of folks: Where’s the system? And how are those systems talking? And how do they interrelate?"



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    30m | Feb 16, 2024
  • Confederation of Smallholders Will Relocate from China to India | Iran tea Imports Plunge 62pct | Economists Predict Soft Commodity Prices Will Stabilize in 2024

    HEAR THE HEADLINES – FAO Confederation of Tea Smallholders Will Relocate its Headquarters to India | Iran Tea Imports Plunge by 62% | Economists Predict Soft Commodity Prices Will Stabilize in 2024 | 9 Feb 2024

    | NEWSMAKER – Peter Goggi, FAO IGG delegate representing the United States as President of the Tea Association of the USA

    | FEATURED – Delegates from 44 countries (and 14 official observers) who attended The 25th Session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG Tea) last week expanded the organization's mandate beyond trade aspects, ratifying initiatives addressing all three dimensions of sustainability – economic, social, and environmental. Joining us today is Peter Goggi, the IGG delegate representing the United States as President of the Tea Association of the USA. Peter discusses #TeaPower, a new health and wellness campaign, FAO's ongoing support of smallholders, and the economics of oversupply.

    There's Too Much Tea in the World – Peter Goggi began his career at Unilever, where he was the first American in the history of TJ Lipton to work as a tea taster. He retired after 32 years with Royal Estates Tea Co., where, as president, he was responsible for tea sourcing, blending, and quality assurance. His last assignment was as head of tea procurement, leading a team of supply managers and analysts who spent a billion dollars a year buying tea. His encore as president of the Tea Association of the USA is marked by a fourth decade of service to the industry. Peter has been the US delegate to FAO's Intergovernmental Group on Tea for the past decade, an influential body of cabinet ministers, tea board chairs, academics, tea association executives, and policymakers representing every tea-growing and central tea-consuming region globally. "The IGG is a fabulous opportunity for all interested parties on a governmental level to talk about the tea industry," says Goggi. "It's essential to express their views. They all have issues that they're facing. The problems facing countries of origin differ significantly from those facing consuming countries. But ultimately, solutions that satisfy both need to be met," he says, adding, "The overriding concern of all parties in this business is the lack of profit throughout the supply chain."



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    30m | Feb 9, 2024
  • Lunar New Year Boosts Tea Travel | Nepal Past Currency Crisis | Pakistan’s Tea Imports Spike

    HEAR THE HEADLINES – Lunar New Year Will Boost Consumption and Tea Travel | Nepal Recovers from Foreign Currency Crisis | Pakistan’s Tea Import Spike (Legal and Smuggled)

    | NEWSMAKER – Tao Wu, co-founder of Tao Tea Leaf, Toronto, Canada

    | GUESTS - Annabel Kalmar, Tea Rebellion, Franco Li, Chin-Tea, Jean-Daniel Baki, Ryca Tea, Helen Kong, Secret Teatime, Luvinda Delwita, Robert Wilson's Ceylon Teas

    | FEATURED – After two years of crisis management, tea professionals were eager to return to work, reviving tea tradeshows with vigor – but attracting large crowds of tea enthusiasts to the smaller venues common to city-wide tea festivals took longer. In 2023, tea festival goers remained timid. Audience counts did not immediately return to pre-pandemic highs. Locally based exhibitors, their reserves exhausted, operated with tight marketing budgets.

    The Toronto Tea Festival that concluded Sunday marks a turning point in 2024 as the crowd surged from a 2020 low of 2,600 in February 2020 to 4,000 attendees - a 25% increase from previous highs. Joining us today to discuss the changing dynamics is Tao Wu, co-founder of Tao Tea Leaf and one of the festival's key organizers… but first, let’s listen to the excitement ON THE FLOOR at the weekend event.

    Exhibitors Welcome Youthful Crowd - Tao Wu and his sister Mingzhou Gao (an accountant) co-founded Tao Tea Leaf 14 years ago, opening their first three tea shops on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. The Mississauga store in the Square One shopping Center opened next. The latest shop opened in May 2022 at Union Station on the concourse directly under the Great Hall.

    Wu said, "I noticed many young visitors this year among the local audience attending the show. They are really interested in asking the vendors questions and attending the workshop and Tea Tsunami. That's a good sign that the young generation is more interested in tea. We are trying to bring more tea-focused topics to the show. Also, as you can see, this year's vendors are mainly tea vendors. We still want to make the festival a really tea-focused tea festival."



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    28m | Feb 2, 2024
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