We're highlighting exhibitors as we get closer to the 2026 World Tea Expo, returning to the Las Vegas Convention Center March 23-25.
This week, we spoke with Tea with Tae, a woman-owned tea company founded by Tae O’Dorisio. Based in Golden, Colorado, Tea with Tae is dedicated to making exceptional tea more approachable, beautiful, and enjoyable.
Tell our readers more about your company.
We’re a full-service operation supporting both everyday tea drinkers and hospitality partners across the country. Our business has two main sides: thoughtfully designed, affordable tea gifts, and a complete wholesale program for cafés, restaurants, hotels, and other foodservice accounts.
What really defines us is that we blend, pack, and ship all of our teas under one roof—raw teas and ingredients come in one door, and finished products ship out the other. Our team works with farms and importers in more than 20 countries, selecting high-quality ingredients that we then pack in-house using our own tea pyramid machines running exclusively on plastic-free sachet material. This gives us complete control over freshness, consistency, and sustainability, values that matter deeply to us and to our customers.
We’re also proud to be SQF-certified, which ensures the highest standards of food safety and quality throughout our facility. For both our own products and the brands we co-pack for, that certification provides genuine peace of mind. And now that we’re USDA Organic certified, we can support entrepreneurs and established brands alike with organic co-packing and private-label options.
In addition to our retail and wholesale offerings, we provide co-packing, private-label, and corporate-gifting services with approachable minimums. From custom-branded mini tea tubes to our signature Tea Bento Boxes, we love helping businesses and event organizers create something memorable through tea.
Why are you exhibiting at World Tea Expo?
We’re exhibiting at the World Tea Expo because it’s one of the few places where the entire tea community, from farm/estate owners and blenders to café owners and emerging brands, comes together under one roof. It’s an incredible opportunity to connect with people who care deeply about tea, share our story, and introduce Tea with Tae to potential partners who can grow with us.
We’ll be showcasing both sides of our business: our retail collection and our full food-service offerings. But we’re equally excited to meet entrepreneurs who are building their own tea brands. As a full-service co-packing facility, we offer everything from custom blends to branded sachet tags, envelopes, and packaging, all produced in-house with flexible minimums. Our goal is to make it easier for new and growing brands to bring their vision to life.
Ultimately, we’re at the Expo to build relationships, collaborate, and contribute to a thriving tea industry. If you’re passionate about tea, we’d love to meet you.
What do you hope to gain from the Expo?
Our biggest hope is to build meaningful connections. Of course, we’d love to meet new customers and share our teas with more people — that’s always exciting. But just as important, we’re looking forward to learning from fellow tea professionals, discovering new trends and innovations, and finding opportunities to collaborate.
If we come away having inspired people to try Tea with Tae, formed relationships with cafés, retailers, and aspiring tea entrepreneurs, and yes, sold plenty of tea, then we’ll consider it a huge success.
What products/services will you be showing at the Expo?
At the Expo, we’ll be highlighting the products and services that best represent who we are as a brand and as a manufacturing partner. On the retail side, we’re showcasing our signature tea gifts, including our mini tea tubes and our trademarked Tea Bento Box, which have become favorites for customers looking for something unique, modern, affordable, and beautifully presented.
We’re also putting a strong spotlight on our private-label and white-label capabilities. Many attendees are building or expanding their own tea lines, so we’ll be showcasing real examples of how other brands have partnered with us to bring their products to life. From custom blends and branded sachets to fully designed packaging, we want people to see what’s possible when they work with Tea with Tae as their co-packer and manufacturing team.
As an SQF-certified facility, we offer partners a high level of food-safety assurance and reliable, consistent production, something that’s especially important for emerging brands. And because we’re now USDA Organic certified, we can support organic blends and organic co-packing as well, giving entrepreneurs even more flexibility as they grow their product lines.
Whether someone is exploring wholesale tea options, thinking about launching a brand, or simply curious about what we do behind the scenes, our booth will offer a little bit of everything.
What challenges do you see members of the tea industry facing in 2026, and how can your product/service help them overcome these obstacles?
One of the biggest challenges we see for the tea industry in 2026 is navigating price sensitivity without compromising quality. Consumers are feeling the effects of inflation and tariffs, and they’re becoming more selective about how and where they spend. At Tea with Tae, we’ve made it a priority to offer beautiful, high-quality products at accessible price points, all under $50. Our gifts range from $5 mini tea tubes to our full Tea Bento Box gift set at $45. Even as costs rise across the industry, we’ve not only held our prices steady but have been able to decrease them over time by negotiating better supplier rates and passing those savings directly to our customers. We believe affordability shouldn’t mean sacrificing craftsmanship.
Another major challenge is the need for dependable, transparent manufacturing partners, especially for emerging tea brands considering co-packers. Entrepreneurs launching or growing their own lines often face barriers around pricing clarity, production reliability, and communication. That’s where our co-packing services make a real difference. Because we’re an SQF-certified and USDA Organic–certified facility, brands can count on us for safe, consistent, high-quality production, whether conventional or organic. We move quickly, we’re deeply collaborative, and we stay accessible. Each of our co-packing clients knows they can reach us by text or phone at any time. That level of responsiveness helps founders navigate challenges in real time and build stronger long-term plans.
Ultimately, our goal is to help both consumers and entrepreneurs feel confident in the value and integrity of their tea no matter what economic or operational challenges the industry faces.
What trends are you seeing in the tea industry?
On the packaging side, consumers are more informed than ever about what goes into their tea, including the materials used for sachets. Plastic-free, petrochemical-free tea bags aren’t just a preference anymore; they’re quickly becoming an expectation. At Tea with Tae, we’ve been ahead of this movement by using state-of-the-art NeoSoilon sachet material, made from biodegradable, non-GMO sugarcane sourced from Japan. It allows us to maintain a premium brewing experience while giving customers peace of mind that their daily cup is free from petro-based microplastics.
We’re also seeing a noticeable return to the classics. While creative, flavor-forward blends still have their place, many consumers are gravitating back toward familiar, elegant profiles like English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Jasmine Green. Our sales reflect this shift. Demand for our classic collection has grown year over year. It’s a sign that people are craving simplicity, comfort, and authenticity in their tea rituals, especially during uncertain times.
Overall, the trends point toward a more mindful, ingredient-conscious, and tradition-appreciating tea community, and we’re thrilled to be part of it.
Tea with Tae is currently having a Black Friday Sale where everything is 40% off sitewide.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at World Tea Expo, or to inquire about advertising and sponsorship opportunities at World Tea News, contact:
Ellainy Karaboitis-Christopoulos, Business Development Manager, Questex
Phone: +1-212-895-8493; Email: [email protected]
Looking for professional tea education, certifications, and more? Visit World Tea Academy and register for courses today!
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