Devan Shah Tea Tycoons Competition Declares Three Winners at World Tea Expo

Questex and the World Tea Conference + Expo awarded top honors to competitors in three categories at the 2023 Devan Shah Tea Tycoons competition and awards program, which took place at the expo on March 28 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Tea entrepreneurs battled it out on stage, showcasing their new tea ventures, products and missions, all in front of an enthusiastic crowd at World Tea Expo, which was co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo.

Congratulations to the Winners!

The three categories, winners and finalists, as well as the representatives that competed, include:

Camellia Sinensis Category:

  • WINNER: Treehouse Teas – Brittnee Lau
  • Finalist: Sibahle Teas – Regina Brewton-Smith
  • Finalist: The Connoisseur Portfolio Tea Club – Greg Lui
Treehouse Teas Brittnee Lau - Devan Shah Tea Tycoons
Treehouse Teas' Brittnee Lau (Photo by: Questex / World Tea Conference + Expo)

Sustainability Category:

  • WINNER: Seven Senses Organic Greek Herbal Teas – Patricia Graells and William Karis
  • Finalist: Wild Orchard Regenerative Teas – Michael Ham
  • Finalist: Four Stages Tea & Herbals – Jenna Kramer
Seven Senses Organic - World Tea Expo Tea Tycoons
Seven Senses Organic's Patricia Graells and William Karis (Photo by: Questex / World Tea Conference + Expo)

Innovation Category:

  • WINNER: SINENSIS – Sharyn Johnston
  • Finalist: Honey Badgers Bee Farm – Derrick Jerome
  • Finalist: Conjure Tea – Shania Thomas-Floyd
  • Finalist: Myanmar Tea Leaf – Khin Ye Yupar
Sharyn Johnston Tea Tycoons
SINENSIS' Sharyn Johnston (left) with judge Kevin Christiansen (right) (Photo by: Questex / World Tea Conference + Expo)

Celebrating and Honoring Emerging & Small Tea Businesses

The Devan Shah Tea Tycoons is an entrepreneurial-focused competition and awards program for the tea industry, first held during the World Tea Virtual Summit in March 2021.

The goal of the Devan Shah Tea Tycoons program is to celebrate and honor emerging small businesses that are producing or sharing innovative and new products for the global tea industry.

Reena Devan Shah, president of International Tea Importers (ITI) – who was one of the three judges of the recent competition and married to the late Devan Shah, a well-known tea industry leader – noted, “When you get special recognition or a unique opportunity from people that you honor [it means something], and the Devan Shah Tea Tycoons is special to me, my family, as well as the tea industry. Devan’s legendary name will always live on. Being a part of the grassroots [of the tea industry], you can see and feel the changes in what people put into each category. I love hearing about the research and the enthusiasm on each contestant's face. In all categories, everyone did a tremendous job. The hardest part of being a judge is picking a winner, because in my heart, they are all winners!”

Devan Shah, who passed away in 2016, falls into an elite class of those who have made considerable contributions to the growth, innovation and education of the specialty tea industry throughout their lifetime. The Tea Tycoons competition is named after Devan Shah, who was an inspirational educator and advocate for American tea culture, with a taste for quality tea and a nose for opportunity.

Winners Share Their Views About the Tea Competition

Camellia Sinensis category winner Brittnee Lau, of Treehouse Teas based in Hawaii, said the competition was a fun experience. “Tea Tycoons was the first ‘pitch’ competition I have done,” she explained. “I was so nervous that I even forgot to pour my tea, but everyone was so nice and understanding. I was honored to present – along with amazing tea companies like Sibahle and Connoisseur Tea – and most honored to be able to share the story of Hawaiian grown tea. It has always been our company's mission to highlight the hardworking farmers who craft our artisanal Hawaiian teas, in our native rainforests, with little modern machinery. Hawaii is truly a place where we focus on the communiTEA – and for us, it's less about Treehouse Teas and more about bringing visibility to the Hawaiian tea collective at large. Our farmers have been tireless advocates for decades, but it truly takes a village to bring new eyes to this vibrant community.”

Lau added: “Hopefully winning this competition will facilitate more conversations and wonderment about Hawaiian tea, and I hope we have solidified our company as a reliable place to source 100 percent Hawaiian grown teas’ and botanicals.”

Innovation category winner Sharyn Johnston, Australian Tea Masters PTY LTD in Australia, who’s launching SINENSIS, said, “Going on stage at the Tea Tycoons competition was an exciting experience, especially after two years of trials and hard work to perfect our new SINENSIS beverage range. The competition was rigorous and involved multiple stages leading up to the finals, which were held in a Shark Tank-style pitch to the judges on the World Tea Expo stage, with up to 200 people in attendance [to watch the competition].”

Johnston said the Tea Tycoons opportunity allowed her to showcase the new company, SINENSIS, and the innovation behind the product. “We are passionate about including tea in as many products as possible, so we were able to demonstrate how it can help transform the beverage industry and how it is a market first,” she explained. “We were able to explain the unique fusion of tea and grapes in our SINENSIS wine-style tea range, and how it provides a refreshing and flavorful option for those who seek a non-alcoholic beverage. The excitement and energy of the audience made the experience even more rewarding, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share our passion and vision for SINENSIS with others.”

Sustainability category winner Patricia Graells, of Seven Senses Organic, said that as a young company, they were excited to be part of the Tea Tycoons competition and share their story, passion and products. “This is an opportunity to solidify our company and efforts,” Graells noted. “We are excited to share this upcoming year’s experiences with the World Tea Expo community and enjoy the Tea Tycoons competition as part of the audience next year.”

William Karis, also a winner with Seven Senses Organic, said: “Four years ago, we started Seven Senses Organic. This has been my dream, to share my experience going to Greece every year as a child and to share all what my grandparents used to share with me. Today, our company has seen an unbelievable growth and customer presence. And now with the acknowledgment of winning the Tea Tycoons competition at World Tea Expo, this dream is a business reality. This competition is a unique opportunity for small businesses like ours. It offers exposure to a large audience. An opportunity that offers potential to solidify all of the contestants’ hard work, dreams and efforts. We are honored, appreciated and valued. It was an experience that will not be forgotten. We will work even harder now to keep this privilege and to uphold the World Tea Expo standards, and continue sharing our company passion to the world.”

Judges Share Their Thoughts on the Competition

Kevin Christiansen, owner of Cafe Barnabas in Topeka, Kansas, hosted the competition and was one of the three judges. “Reflecting on another great expo, it's incredible to see the strong collaboration opportunities that attendees through seasoned professionals immerse themselves in,” he said. “There's no better example of that than this year's Devan Shah Tea Tycoons. Judging the ‘Innovation’ category was challenging due to the incredible creativity and talent of all the finalists. Culturally, there is a palpable interest in beverages infused with health, art and fun. Carving a new path in this trend was SINENSIS, a non-alcoholic tea ‘wine,’ which provides the class and craft of a glass of sweet wine without limitations due to age or pregnancy. Another invigorating aspect of the competition was its equality. Contestants truly were evaluated based on the quality and creativity of their idea over their position or experience in the industry. Not all industries provide this level of accessibility.”

Lorna Reeves, editor of TeaTime magazine and one of the judges, said, “As a journalist and a first-time judge for Tea Tycoons, I so enjoyed learning about each of the competitors from their initial applications and subsequent semi-finalist video submissions. However, the in-person presentations on stage at World Tea Expo gave the finalists the opportunity to explain their business concepts more fully and to field follow-up questions from us judges, which made our difficult job of choosing a winner for each category a little bit easier. I do hope that all the finalists will be able to grow their businesses as a result of their appearance in Tea Tycoons, even if they didn’t win, and I look forward to telling the stories of the winners in an upcoming issue of TeaTime.”

FaithAnn Bailes, conference and content manager for the World Tea Conference + Expo, who organized the competition, said, “I want to thank, Kevin Christiansen, Reena Shah and Lorna Reeves for being great judges and offering their time and prizes for all of the winners. And to all of the contestants – my sincere thanks for taking the time to put your passion out there and sharing your dreams with us. We thank all of you for your time and effort!”

Reena Shah reflected on the finalists and winners and summed up the overall competition: “To all the Tea Tycoon contestants, you inspire by having such ambitious dreams, then working to achieve them. Congratulations on your incredible success! I'm so very proud of each one of you. I sat and listened to how hard you worked every day to achieve this accomplishment, and I can't think of anyone who deserves it more. You set a fantastic example for everyone in the tea industry!"

Plan to Attend or Participate in the
World Tea Conference + Expo, March 18-20, 2024

To learn about other key developments, trends, issues, hot topics and products within the global tea community, plan to attend the World Tea Conference + Expo, March 18-20, 2024 in Las Vegas, co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo. Visit WorldTeaExpo.com.

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