World Tea Conference + Expo takes place next week – March 21-23 in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Convention Center – and the tea industry couldn’t be more excited about the much-anticipated event, which will be co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo.
The trade show will feature a lively expo floor, insightful educational sessions and workshops, a Tea Bar, a Boba Tea Experience, and a 20th Anniversary Celebration, among other networking and educational opportunities.
Glenburn Tea Direct President Shalini Prakash Agarwal, said, “We have been exhibiting at the World Tea Conference + Expo for the last 12 years, and we are excited about the new direction that the show is taking with the combination of World Tea with the Bar & Restaurant Expo, which brings together two industries with much to gain from each other.”
Agarwal added, “Tea, whether Camillia sinensis or herbal, is already popular in bottled beverages, mixed drinks – alcohol and non-alcohol – served hot or cold and as a healthy alternative choice in bars and restaurants. I’m excited to be part of this unique and innovative conference, which is certain to expand demand for tea in unconventional ways and help promote it as a mainstream, healthy beverage in the United States.”
Glenburn Tea Direct is the U.S. branch of a family-run business with tea plantations in the premium tea-growing regions of India, Glenburn in Darjeeling and Khongea in Assam, India. The company’s family has been in the tea production business for four generations, and has been exporting to Europe, the United Kingdom and United States for the last 60 years.
“At our booth, you will be able to taste seasonal Assam and Darjeeling teas, brewed both hot and cold,” said Agarwal. “We’ll also showcase some new, innovative green Darjeeling teas, processed with the Chinese pan fried method – as opposed to the usual steaming process. There will also be a talk and tasting at 2 p.m. on both days.”
‘Excited to Finally Be Sharing Tea with My Tea People’
Noli Ergas, account manager at Sugimoto Tea Company, said, “I’m excited to finally be sharing tea with my tea people from across the country again. Tea is best shared sitting together at the same table. Virtual tea times just weren’t the same.”
At their exhibit booth, Sugimoto Tea Company will be showcasing their Single Cultivar Sencha line and Sugimoto Reserve lines. The former focuses on spotlighting single cultivar, single estate 100-percent first harvest senchas from Japan, to show the diversity of cultivars Japan has to offer, as well as to increase the consumer’s sophistication and knowledge of Japanese tea, according to Ergas.
“The Sugimoto Reserve line is the best we have to offer for sencha, matcha and Gyokuro, which we have recently started to provide in bulk packaging,” added Ergas.
The Kendel Instant Ginger Tea team is also thrilled to participate in the World Tea Conference + Expo, as it allows them to meet directly with their core, target customers.
“As a booth holder, it is important that there is value from participating in a show, and this show perfectly aligns to our core product,” explained Tynielle Chambers-Barnett, group business development manager at Kendel Instant Ginger Teas.
Chambers-Barnett noted, “Our booth will be issuing samples of our range of Instant Ginger Teas, which includes unsweetened and pre-sweetened instant ginger tea variants. The sweetened range of products includes Instant Ginger Tea pre-sweetened with sugar, Instant Ginger Tea pre-sweetened with honey, and Instant Ginger Tea with mint pre-sweetened with honey. Stop by our booth to find which is your favorite.”
A Worldwide Premiere
At the upcoming expo, Littorary will debut as a brand and present the worldwide premiere of its first product, the VITRI Tumbler. “We chose the World Tea Conference + Expo to launch our product after attending the same gathering in 2021, where we learned that the tea community aligns very closely with our design principles of elevated experience, sustainability and wellness,” said Zack Kamen, design director at Littorary.
“It was also refreshing to see the amount of diversity and inclusivity in the tea industry [in 2021 at the World Tea Conference + Expo], something that you don’t necessarily get in other industries,” explained Kamen. “With all those values aligned, we knew that the World Tea Conference + Expo would be a great place to showcase our first product.”
As a new brand, Littorary will be located in World Tea’s New Business Pavilion with their new tumbler. “It took three years and a lot of hard work to get to this point, but we’re happy with how the product turned out,” added Kamen.
According to Kamen, Littorary’s goal was to elevate the experience of drinking hot and cold beverages like tea, by removing materials that can add unwanted plastic or metallic flavors. “What we produced is the VITRI Tumbler, which is a first of its kind on-the-go glass tumbler,” he said.
The VITRI Tumbler has a patent-pending glass seal that doesn’t need a synthetic o-ring to join the lid to the base, which provides an all-glass drinking experience. There’s also “durable double-wall insulated construction, so you can enjoy your beverage at the temperature it was intended to be,” added Kamen.
‘Excited to Finally Meet Our Customers Face to Face’
Mennä Life is also thrilled to exhibit at the World Tea Conference + Expo because their products are built for the tea industry. “Over the last year, we have been speaking and selling to many independent tea stores who have done especially well selling Mennä,” revealed Natalie Ben-Zur, COO of Menna Life. “We are excited to finally meet our customers face to face and make new friends. We are also so excited to show them our new product line, which is absolutely beautiful and, more importantly, functional and solves a problem in the tea industry.”
This is the first time that Mennä is exhibiting at the in-person World Tea Conference + Expo, however, they participated in the World Tea Virtual Summit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mennä is not your average steeper,” shared Ben-Zur. “Mennä is a start-and-stop steeping infuser utility. This infuser allows you to control your flavor with the twist of a ring. No more bitter tea. No more mess. Steep your tea on-the-go. Re-steep anytime during the day. No more taking your tea bag out of the infuser.”
Ben-Zur said that Mennä is good for loose-leaf tea, tea bags and much more. “Mennä has five core items in its SIS [start-and-stop steeping infusion system ] product line, including three different travel mugs, two styles of teapots, and a herbal remedy container. Future product development includes an alcohol infuser and a cannabis infuser,” noted Ben-Zur. “The entire product line is built around our patented infusion utility line and is focused on one of the largest global market categories – tea.
‘I Am Very Excited… to Share Our Tea Story’
Dr. Yvonne Ochieng, founder and CEO of LEAFBERRI Co., is also among the many exhibitors and participants who are ready for next week’s big tea industry event. “I am very excited about exhibiting at the World Tea Conference + Expo and to have this platform to share our tea story and create more awareness about Kenyan tea, especially purple tea – a new tea varietal currently only grown in Kenya that is the latest and greatest innovation in tea.”
According to Dr. Ochieng, Kenyan tea is considered some of the best tea in the world because of its distinctive taste, quality and characteristics created by the climate. Her company, LEAFBERRI, markets these premium Orthodox teas. “We offer Kenyan purple, black and yellow whole-leaf teas and tea blends,” she explained.
LEAFBERRI exclusively sources all of its tea from small-scale tea farmers in the Aberdares Mountains ranges, located in the central highlands of Kenya.“I come from a generation of small scale tea farmers in the Aberdares mountain ranges and my great grandfather was introduced to tea farming by the British missionaries in the early 1900s,” shared Ochieng. “Our teas are hand–picked, organically grown, single -origin, non-GMO, with no chemicals or pesticides sprayed on the leaves.
The Beauty Tea Box is also a new exhibitor at the World Tea Conference + Expo. “I am excited about the opportunity to share my product with the tea Industry, to interact with this amazing tea-loving community, and to learn from the best,” said Beatriz Cabrera, founder of The Beauty Tea Box.
The Beauty Tea Box is a collection of three teas – white, green and Rooibos teas – called “I am Love,” “I am Peace” and “I am Energy.”
Cabrera explained: “The blends are delicately crafted with natural ingredients like rose petals, blueberries and other delicious herbs. With our first product, we want to promote feelings of harmony and balance in your daily life, and we decided to use self-affirmations to name the blends, since, in order to be something, you have to claim it. We tried hundreds of different leaves until we finally found our match and presented it in a beautiful and luxurious package.”
‘Excited to… See Your Big Smile at the Show’
Tatsuo Sano, the managing director at Marumatsu Tea Co., Ltd. – a Japanese tea company – said they’ll be demonstrating how to make Japanese matcha the traditional way. “We are very excited to have a chance to share our authentic Japanese tea with you and to see your big smile at the show,” he said.
According to Sano, Marumatsu Tea Company – since its founding in 1899 – has been making every effort to provide high-quality Japanese tea.
“At this exhibition, we will make Mizudashi cold brew, authentic Japanese tea,” said Sano. “It takes three hours to make a cup of Mizudashi cold brew Japanese tea. When you use cold ice water to make Japanese tea, the cold ice water brings out the sweet taste of Japanese green tea, called the umami. This is because cold ice water can extract more theanine, the umami, and less tannins, the bitter taste, than when you use hot water.”
Also on the show floor, TEASY will be featuring its infusers at the World Tea Conference + Expo this year. Teasy is a patented tea infuser designed for capturing the “true taste of tea and herbal infusions.”
“With Teasy infuser, you’ll see the tea leaf unfurling and track liquor change as it steeps, so it’s really easy to control the infusion to get consistent taste and strength every time,” said Mungyuen Li, director of TEASY. “In addition to our multi-color stainless steel versions, we plan to showcase our new double-walled glass line-up at the show. Visit our booth and see it in action!”
'Dive Deeper into the Industry’
Miaroo is another first-time exhibitor and the company will showcase its Ceremonial Premium Reserve Blend Matcha, along with their blends – The Original Miaroo Matcha, Lemon Raspberry Flavored Matcha, Matcha + Collagen Peptides, Chai Tea Matcha Latte and Sweetened Vanilla Matcha Latte.
All of Miaroo’s matcha is sourced from a JAS Organic farm in Uji, Kyoto in Japan.
“Miaroo’s story started nearly three years ago, but the World Tea Conference + Expo offers an opportunity to dive deeper into the industry and hopefully meet strategic partners in our space,” said Zachary Sardinia, co-founder of Miaroo’s. “We can't wait to see what everyone has to offer!”
For the complete list of 2022 exhibitors and the schedule, see WorldTeaExpo.com.
Plan to Attend or Participate in the
World Tea Conference + Expo, March 21-23, 2022
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 21-23, 2022. The event will be celebrating its 20th anniversary, in addition to being co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo. Details at WorldTeaExpo.com.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at next year’s World Tea Conference + Expo, contact:
Veronica Gonnello
(for companies A to G)
e: [email protected]
p: 212-895-8244
Tim Schultz
(for companies H to Q)
e: [email protected]
p: (917) 258-8589
Fadi Alsayegh
(for companies R to Z)
e: [email protected]
p: 917-258-5174
Also, be sure to stay connected with the World Tea Conference + Expo on social media, for details and insights about the event. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.