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PRESS RELEASES
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2007 World Tea Expo Recap
Posted: 6/14/2007 4:49:35 PM
by John Craven and Matt
Kennedy, BevNET Editors
More than 300 exhibitors and 5,000
buyers gathered in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center, June
9-11, for the World Tea Expo. While certainly not the focus of the show,
RTD teas were on exhibit.
Unsweetened purists Ito En (Tea's Tea, Dr. Weil for Tea, etc) and Adagio
were both at the show. Z Red Tea, under new ownership, was busy serving
samples of its Rooibos blends. Other RTD brands at the show included
Puripan traditional Korean fruit teas, Dong-Suh Green Tea, Delta Blues
Iced Tea, and Republic of Tea.
Among RTD teas, the biggest product introduction was the launch of a new
premium organic line-up from Salisbury, Conn.-based Harney & Sons. In
business since 1970, Harney & Sons is best known for high-quality
steeping teas found in many hotels and gourmet stores. The Harney & Sons
RTD line-up has five lightly-sweetened, organic flavors, all in 16 oz.
glass bottles. They are: Black, Green, Black Currant, Peach and Bangkok
(flavored with coconut and lemongrass). For more info on the new brand,
check out our video interview with Michael Harney in the show photo
gallery.
We ran into a small chai producer from Sedona, Ariz. called Mighty High
Chai. Their organic, hand-crafted chai was excellent, although you'll
have to travel to the Sedona area if you want to buy it at the moment!
We also ran into a private label tea producer by the name of Papa's
Simplici-tea, LLC which had its own organic energy tea called Bangkok
Blast.
Atlanta-based Amelia Bay had the largest exhibit at the show. Amelia Bay
develops and manufactures of coffee and tea extracts, essences and
aromas.
Please view our photo/video gallery to see our glimpse into the rarified
world of fine teas.
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Not your usual cup of
teaPosted by Jenny on Friday at
4:38 pm
I have tried green tea, white tea, red tea, flavored tea and
dozens of teasans. But Tea in a Jar? Not only had I never tried
it. I had never even heard of it until two pint-sized jars
arrived in the mail.
The jars, which I have say straight off are NOT TEA, look like
marmalade, but not quite as thick. One was made of aloe, one citron.
There isn¡¯t a stitch of camelia sinensis in either jar.
Curious about why this jam is called tea, I called Ellen Kim,
Puripan Tea¡¯s vice president of marketing. The tea, she explained,
is a traditional drink in Korea. There, it can be found in an array
of flavors. It is drunk year-round, at any time of day. It¡¯s even
served in coffee shops.
The ¡°tea,¡± is made by cutting up fruit, then fermenting it in
sugar in clay pots. After the fruit has fermented for 3 days, it
is ready to be stirred into hot or cold water. After drinking
the liquids, Koreans chew on the pulp.
¡°In Korea, we ferment more than 50 percent of our food
because it brings health benefits,¡± Kim explained. ¡°Fermenting
preserves the vitamins and helps to make the fruit more
digestible.¡±
The fermented tea is believed to help fight a host of
ailments, including poor digestion, anxiety, sore throats and
colds. Aloe, for example, is great for digestion. The
pomegranate is an immunity booster and antioxidant. The citron
delivers a burst of vitamin C.
Since I loved the first two ¡°teas¡± so much, Kim insisted that
I try the other varieties, including pomegranate, ginger and
papaya. I enjoyed all of them, but especially loved the ginger,
which is the perfect after-dinner drink since ginger promotes
good digestion. I also like chewing on the hot ginger slices at
the bottom of the cup.
One pint of puripan tea makes about 40 cups of tea, depending on
how sweet you like your drink. The tea, $9 per jar, is available at
specialty stores in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara, or online at
www.puripan.com. Call (888) 259-3915.
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World Tea Expo Wraps Up Most Successful Show to Date
JULY
13, 2007 --
The World Tea Expo — the world's largest trade show dedicated to tea and
tea-related products — wrapped up its most successful year ever this
June at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The Expo hosted
280 exhibiting companies from 15 different countries in an exhibit space
totaling 31,350 net square feet.
This year's event reflects a number of significant changes. The World
Tea Expo management changed the show date from March to June, the venue
from Las Vegas to Atlanta, and the days of the show to Saturday through
Monday. All were very pleased with the results. The new location allowed
the show to draw in a large number of first-time attendees, with 28.7
percent of buyers coming from the South Atlantic region. The day pattern
helped spread the traffic over the three days with many corporate buyers
and foodservice professionals coming on Monday, the final day.
Whereas most events that leave Las Vegas show a drop in attendance, the
World Tea Expo was happy to see a modest 8 percent growth. Returning to
Las Vegas in 2008, May 30 – June 1 at the Mandalay Bay Convention
Center, the Expo expects to return to double-digit attendance growth.
As always, one of the highlights of the show was the Iced Tea Shake-Off
competition, the event that sets the standard for iced tea in three
categories: Commercially Brewed (Foodservice), Ready-to-Drink (RTD), and
Freestyle. The competition was especially pertinent as June was National
Iced Tea Month. This year's Shake-Off enjoyed a record number of
entries, exceeding 60 different iced concoctions. All entries were
judged blind by a panel of tea industry movers and shakers.
Congratulations to the winners of the Fourth Annual Iced Tea Shake-Off:
Commercially Brewed Category
Best Black Tea
First Place: Art of Tea, Classic Black
Runner-Up: International Tea Importers, Original Iced Tea Blend
Best Flavored Black Tea
First Place: Mighty Leaf Tea, Ginger Peach
Runner-Up: Rishi Tea, Organic Fair Trade Classic Iced Tea
Best Green Tea
First Place: Golden Moon Tea, Coconut Pouchong
Runner-Up: Art of Tea, Green Pomegranate
Best Value
Walters Bay Bogawantalawa Estates, Traditional Black Iced Tea
Ready-to-Drink Category
Best Flavored RTD
First Place: ITO EN, Dr. Weil for Tea - Jasmine White
Runner-Up: Z red T, ZT Peach (Red Tea)
Best Sweetened RTD
First Place: Papa's Simplici-tea, Inc., Green Tea
Runner-Up: ITO EN, Matcha Latte
Best Unflavored RTD
First Place: ITO EN, Dr. Weil for Tea - Darjeeling
Runner-Up: Adagio Teas, Anteadote Black Tea
Best RTD Packaging
First Place: Adagio Teas, Anteadote Black Tea
Runner-Up: Adagio Teas, Anteadote Green Tea
RTD Best Overall
First Place: ITO EN, Dr Weil for Tea - Jasmine White
Freestyle Category
Best Freestyle Tea
First Place: Papa's Simplici-tea, Inc., Green Tea Aloe Mixed Berry
Runner-Up: Golden Moon Tea, Pu-erh Chai Latte
Best Freestyle Herbal
First Place Tie: Puripan, Ginger
First Place Tie: Dethlefsen & Balk, Inc., Orange-Grapefruit
Runner-Up: Mocafe, Caramel Rooibos Latte
Best Freestyle Mar-TEA-ni
First Place: UniquePak, Inc., Asian Sun
Runner-Up: Barnes & Watson Fine Teas, White Tea - Ramisu
Best Freestyle Presentation
First Place: Barnes & Watson Fine Teas, White Tea - Ramisu
Runner-Up: T-Salon & T Emporium, Inc., Sunset in Atlanta
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