Hello World Tea Expo Community!
Each year at World Tea Expo seems to bring about a new set of discoveries, friends, and lessons for me. Sometimes I try something new, and it works out very nicely, and sometimes it just falls flat. Since I have implemented the Protégé Program, it has been the best idea to be added to the conference in years. The Protégé Program was started to help train employees of tea-related businesses in serving tea, making tea, and dealing with customer questions.
The World Tea Prep Room is probably one of the most unique experiences an employee can have in the tea world. They get hands-on experience making sure that our speakers can offer tea service to accompany their sessions on time and made according to their specifications. They handle serving as many as 150 attendees during the Tea Flight session with different tea types at different temperatures and steeping times. They also work at the Tea Bar serving teas to the show attendees, who often have many questions. During this time, they manage to make new friends from all over the world. They work hard, play hard, and manage to pull together a successful, well executed tea service while learning from the prep crew and speakers at the conference. It is a win for the Protégé’s as well as their employers.
If you are interested in this special training for yourself or an employee, contact me at [email protected] for more information.
Another rather new addition is the Meet & Greet. It started out a few years ago with 15 people coming by to ask questions about the conference, and today it has grown into a can't-miss event with 200-plus attendees from around the industry. It's a great first get-together after being apart for a year or more. We raffle off lots of prizes, play a game, and serve tea. For the first time this year, we also offered a mentoring program, which everyone seemed to like. I plan on developing the mentoring program further in 2026. Stay tuned for more on that!
We also added an extra day to the conference with special live sessions of World Tea Academy hosted by Head of Education Sharyn Johnston. The World Tea Academy sessions served as a separate learning opportunity for attendees outside of the conference program. Normally these classes are only available as online studies, but the in-person classes offered during the Expo were a great opportunity for attendees in furthering their tea credentials.
This year we also offered classes for attendees from beginners to intermediate to advanced. There was truly a class for everyone! A difficult task is always making your choice of sessions as simple and easy as possible.
Beginners were able to take advantage of sessions like Tea Primer 101 to learn about the basics of tea as well as Tea Incubator to learn about the business of tea. Advanced attendees were able to dig deeper into tea by choosing from a variety of education tracks, including Ecommerce, Food Service & Hospitality, Products & Innovation, Retail, Supply Chain, and Tea Nerdery. They also took advantage of an advanced session on Business Consultation.
We can't forget about this year's Tea Bar either! Throughout the show, there was always something steeping there. Tea Bar Manager Nicholas X. Parsons and his staff worked very hard to serve you a nice spot of tea. They also served up the winning teas from the Global Tea Championship so attendees could get a taste.
Finally, for the first time ever, World Tea Expo was a cash-and-carry show, meaning attendees could buy products and take them back to their businesses right from the show floor. As a B2B show dedicated to tea businesses across all sectors of the industry, this was a great value.
While there are many tea festivals and events for hobbyists and enthusiasts, World Tea Expo is proud to continue to be the only B2B tradeshow totally dedicated to tea and tea-related businesses in the United States. We look forward to welcoming all tea businesses back to the Expo next year from March 23-25, 2026 in Las Vegas.
Regards,
FaithAnn Bailes
Conference Producer
Plan to Attend or Participate in World Tea Expo, March 23-25, 2026
To learn about other key developments, trends, issues, hot topics and products within the global tea community, plan to attend World Tea Expo, March 23-25, 2026 in Las Vegas, co-located with Bar & Restaurant Expo. Visit WorldTeaExpo.com.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at World Tea Expo, or to inquire about advertising and sponsorship opportunities at World Tea News, contact:
Ellainy Karaboitis-Christopoulos, Business Development Manager, Questex
Phone: +1-212-895-8493; Email: [email protected]
Looking for professional tea education, certifications, and more? Visit World Tea Academy and register for courses today!
Also, be sure to stay connected with World Tea Expo on social media for details and insights about the event. Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.