Tea Biz

World Tea Expo was once the center of gravity for the specialty tea trade in North America—a place where retailers, importers, and producers aligned around a shared vision of quality, origin, and education. In 2026, that center has shifted. The show floor is busier. The audience is broader. Matcha and Japanese green tea suppliers were highly visible thanks to Government-backed export programs. The...

One Year After Tariffs: The Tea Industry’s Costly Lesson | ONTHEFLOOR at World Tea Expo l Regulatory Shock: EU Tightens MRL Enforcement | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

One Year After Tariffs: The Tea Industry’s Costly Lesson | ONTHEFLOOR at World Tea Expo l Regulatory Shock: EU Tightens MRL Enforcement NEWSMAKER – Host Dan Bolton PLUS | World Tea Expo - A Show Transformed | This week, we’re on the floor at World Tea Expo in Las Vegas—where the show has quietly transformed. No longer a standalone tea event, it’s now embedded inside a broader bar and restaurant ec...

Tea markets closed ISO Week 11 with price discovery still driven more by quality and execution than by broad demand expansion.  In Colombo, the latest broker-published weekly comparison available during the week showed sales averaged $3.68 per kilo for the 4 March sale, down from $3.85 per kilo for the prior 25 February sale. So Colombo softened on that measure, even as better-made teas continued...

 Few specialty retailers have expanded as successfully—or as thoughtfully—as The Spice & Tea Exchange https://www.spiceandtea.com/. Founded during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis, the brand has grown from a single shop in St. Augustine, Florida, into a nationwide franchise with more than 90 locations. | At the heart of that growth is CEO and co-founder Amy Freeman, whose approach comb...

Hormuz Shockwaves Reshape Global Tea Trade and Freight Risk | India-U.S. Trade Pact Could Reopen U.S. Market Access for Indian Tea | DMCC Reveals New Details on 600-Metre Uptown Dubai Megatall Tower | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Hormuz Shockwaves Reshape Global Tea Trade and Freight Risk | India-U.S. Trade Pact Could Reopen U.S. Market Access for Indian Tea | DMCC Reveals New Details on 600-Metre Uptown Dubai Megatall Tower NEWSMAKER – Amy Freeman, CEO and Co-Founder Spice & Tea Exchange PLUS | Tea Discovery Drives Retail Growth | Few specialty retailers have expanded as successfully—or as thoughtfully—as The Spice &a...

Tea auctions closed Week 9 broadly steady across Colombo, North India, Mombasa, and Indonesia, but dispersion inside catalogues continued to widen. Benchmark averages remain range-bound, yet price realization is increasingly determined on an invoice-by-invoice basis. Premium, well-made teas cleared competitively, particularly brighter liquoring high-grown and consistent liquidity grades, while sec...

Traceability is quickly becoming one of the defining challenges in the global tea trade. Consumers want to know where their tea comes from, how it was produced, and whether environmental and labor standards are being met. At the same time, governments are tightening regulations, brands are facing new compliance requirements, and importers are seeking better visibility into sourcing risks. | The Te...

Hormuz Crisis Threatens Global Tea Trade | Kenya Faces a Sudden Market Shock as Gulf Shipping Routes Collapse | Billions in Duties May be Returned to Importers, Including Tea Buyers | China’s Tea Exports Surge in 2025 | Green Tea Dominance Continues as Shipments Reach 419,000 Metric Tons || Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Op...

Hormuz Crisis Threatens Global Tea Trade | Kenya Faces a Sudden Market Shock as Gulf Shipping Routes Collapse | Billions in Duties May be Returned to Importers, Including Tea Buyers | China’s Tea Exports Surge in 2025 | Green Tea Dominance Continues as Shipments Reach 419,000 Metric Tons | NEWSMAKER – Samuel Lambert, co-founder of zenGate Global PLUS | Data Integrity at Scale Traceability is quick...

Tea Price Report | Episode 234 | Week 7 | Ending 13 February 2026 | Tea markets closed ISO Week 7 with a steadier tone as buyers continued to prioritize near-term cover and invoice certainty over forward risk, but showed slightly more willingness to compete when seasonal leaf and clean manufacture were evident. Across origins, demand remained decisively quality-led: well-made teas cleared consiste...

Seventy-eight percent of Kenya’s 720,000 tea smallholders cultivate half an acre or less. Tea anchors rural income, supports millions of jobs, and remains one of the country’s most important export sectors. Yet at the farmgate, quality is largely assessed after processing—when value has already been diluted. Most growers deliver green leaf with little real-time feedback, limited visibility into do...

China Sets $216 Billion Tea Industry Chain Target for 2030 | India–Bangladesh Political Reset Signals Smoother Trade, Auctions and Transport for Tea | Dementia Risk Study Coverage Strengthens Tea’s Moderate-Consumption Demand Narrative | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

China Sets $216 Billion Tea Industry Chain Target for 2030 | India–Bangladesh Political Reset Signals Smoother Trade, Auctions and Transport for Tea | Dementia Risk Study Coverage Strengthens Tea’s Moderate-Consumption Demand Narrative NEWSMAKER – Sein Star Kilel, CEO Co-Founder, FarmerPower.ai PLUS | FarmerPower.ai | Seventy-eight percent of the 720,000 Kenyan smallholders who rely on tea for the...

Week 5 tea markets closed on a steady-to-selective note as buyers continued to prioritize prompt coverage rather than extending forward positions. Overall, price discovery remained firmly quality-led, underscoring that invoice-level differentiation—not headline averages—continues to define current market outcomes. | In Colombo (Sri Lanka) | Demand was fair to good for featured leaf grades, with se...

In this SPOTLIGHT conversation, Fraser Kennedy shares the story behind Chalu, a Yunnan-based tea brand built on a simple yet demanding principle: let the tea speak. From cold-brewing single-origin teas to layering structure with local Yunnan oak, natural carbonation, and minimal intervention, Kennedy explains how Chalu was designed not as a flavored beverage but as a tea-forward alternative to win...

India–EU Trade Deal: Opportunity and Compliance Test for Tea | Container Reliability, Not Price, Is Now Tea’s Real Risk | Sustainability Shifts from Branding to Market Access in Tea | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

India–EU Trade Deal: Opportunity and Compliance Test for Tea | Container Reliability, Not Price, Is Now Tea’s Real Risk | Sustainability Shifts from Branding to Market Access in Tea NEWSMAKER – Fraser Kennedy, Founder of Chalu Sparkling Tea PLUS | Real Tea, Real Craft: Why Tea Is Ready for the Modern Table | This week on the Tea Biz Podcast, we’re joined by Fraser Kennedy, founder of Chalu, from Y...

Tea markets closed the third trading week of 2026 on a steady-to-firm note as buyers prioritized near-term coverage against structurally constrained supply. Auction price discovery remained quality-led across major origins, with Colombo supported by exporter demand for high-grown teas, Assam liquidity grades set the direction in North India, and Mombasa prices held within narrow bands despite buye...

Over five days last October, James Suranga, executive director of the International Tea Committee, served on an expert panel of judges that evaluated hundreds of entries from across the tea lands, recognizing excellence in flavor, innovation, and sustainable practices. The 2025 edition of The Leafies, the international awards celebrating artisan tea excellence, concluded this week with an awards p...

Red Sea Routing Volatility Returns: Why Tea Logistics Is Still Not Normal | East Africa Opens 2026 Strong as Bids Reward Premiumization | Taiwan’s 500 7-Eleven Tea Bars Scale Up | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Red Sea Routing Volatility Returns: Why Tea Logistics Is Still Not Normal | East Africa Opens 2026 Strong as Bids Reward Premiumization | Taiwan’s 500 7-Eleven Tea Bars Scale Up NEWSMAKER – James Suranga, Executive Director, International Tea Committee PLUS | The 2025 Leafies Awards | The 2025 Leafies Awards—an international showcase for artisan teas—drew the tea world’s attention to London this w...

Episode 231 | Week 2 | Ending 9 January 2026 | This is Dan Bolton with Tea Trade Takeaways for the week ending 9 January 2026 Tea markets closed Week 2 on a steady-to-firm footing as post-holiday buying intersected with structurally constrained supply. Price discovery continued to reward well-made teas, while average descriptions cleared selectively. Exporter resistance remained evident where cost...

This year’s State of the Tea Industry forecast is different by design. Instead of publishing a finished report and inviting reaction afterward, we’re opening the process itself. The 2026 forecast is intentionally collaborative—published in draft and shaped by informed public commentary from across the tea ecosystem. If you work in production, trade, branding, retail, logistics, or policy, your per...