[W]alking down the aisles of the World Tea Expo, you’re immersed into a community of intensely passionate, knowledgeable, and ambitious tea experts from all over the world, sharing personal and professional stories over cups of the tea they build their lives around. From classes, lectures, and day-long workshops to tableside conversations at an exhibitor’s booth, the World Tea Expo is a unique forum that brings together experts, business leaders, and fledgling entrepreneurs throughout the tea industry under one roof. This year’s expo also featured a great new sustainability initiative: all attendees could pick up a complimentary reusable ceramic tea cup for tastings throughout the show floor, reducing the need for disposable sample cups. World Tea Expo 2020 will be held in Denver, Colorado.
2019 World Tea Award Winners
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Manik Jayakumar
- Best Tea Health Advocate: Dr. Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis Medical Center
- Best Tea Brewing Device: The Tea Maker, Breville
- Best Tea Accessory: Brew-In-Mug Extra Fine Tea Infuser, FORLIFE
- Best Retail Tea Shop, Café, Bar: The Cultured Cup
- Best Tea Publication (Book, Magazine): World of Tea, by Jane Pettigrew
- Best Tea Blog: World of Tea, by Tony Gebely
- Best Tea Website: Camellia Sinensis
- Best Specialty Tea Brand: TeaSource
- Best Sustainability Initiative: SerendipiTea, The Small Farmers Tea Project
- Best Tea Educator: Bill Waddington
Tea Masters Cup USA 2019
- Tea Preparation: Michael Ortiz
- Tea Mixology: Adrienne Etkin Nascimento