Academy Awards-style Ceremony for Tea Launches on the Queen Mary, On the Second Day of World Tea Expo, May 29 – 31 in Long Beach, Calif.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (May 5, 2014) — There’s more than just a new location for the 12th edition of the World Tea Expo (#WorldTeaExpo). A new World Tea Awards (#TeaAwards) dinner and ceremony will be held on the historic Queen Mary ship, recognizing some of the best in the global tea industry, May 30 at 7 pm. The Expo’s Best New Products will be revealed, along with a number of community-voted award categories. The evening also features plenty of “red carpet” photo and social media opportunities, tea celebrities and tea infusions prepared by BKON. All of which are among the many highlights of the three-day World Tea Expo, the leading tradeshow and conference focused 100 percent on premium teas and related products, with fresh ideas, new trends and distribution channels. The Expo takes place May 29 – 31 in Long Beach, Calif. at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, and is co-located with the annual Healthy Beverage Expo (#HealthyBevExpo). Details are at WorldTeaExpo.com.
“The World Tea Awards is expected to sell out to a room of 300+ tea industry influencers from around the globe,” says George Jage, director of The Beverage Group, a division of F+W Media, organizer of World Tea Expo and Healthy Beverage Expo. “Our maiden World Tea Awards on the Queen Mary will certainly be a night of industry-wide celebration and fun.”
Gail Gastelu, publisher of The Tea House Times, who’s hosting the World Tea Awards along with Jage, says, “The World Tea Awards is a tremendous opportunity to recognize and show appreciation to the industry overall, get dressed up and celebrate what makes our community so special. And it is with great excitement that George and I prepare to host this inaugural event, an enjoyable evening in which we can all celebrate together—infusing tea and tea cocktails and blending in a bit of glamour.”
The evening’s formal seated dinner will be followed by an entertaining World Tea Awards ceremony, culminating in the presentation of the Cha Jing Lifetime Achievement Award to Devan Shah, the creator and owner of International Tea Importers and Chado Tea Rooms. The Cha Jing Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made considerable contributions to the growth, innovation and education of the specialty tea industry throughout their lifetime.
“We’ve been looking to create this event for years, and with our move to Long Beach, the Queen Mary provides the perfect setting for a black-tie affair,” adds Jage. “Our longer term plans are to build the awards around recognizing retailers and businesses on the front lines of the tea revolution. We will expand this significantly in future years, but this first one is not to be missed. I still have people come up to me and proudly say they were at our first expo, and I’m sure this micro-event will attain the same passion as our trade show.”
Finalists of the World Tea Awards
For the 2014 World Tea Awards, thousands of nominations were collected through a survey process. The list of finalists, in each category, is listed below, and all can be found at WorldTeaExpo.com. Only registered delegates of the 2014 World Tea Expo are eligible to vote. Voting instructions will be communicated via email to registered delegates. Voting ends May 19.
A video announcement about the 2014 World Tea Award nominees may be viewed or read below.
- TeaTime Magazine
- The Tea House Times
- Fresh Cup Magazine
- Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
- Tea in Texas Magazine
- Tea Sommelier Handbook (Spanish & English) by Victoria Bisogno & Jane Pettigrew
- TEA, History, Terroirs, Varieties (Second Edition) by the Tasters of Camellia Sinensis
- Afternoon Tea: Delicious Recipes for Scones, Savories & Sweets by Lorna Reeves
- A Social History of Tea by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson
- Master Davey and The Magic Tea House: Legend of the Blue Tiger by Susan Chodakiewitz & David De Candia
- Queen Mary Tea Room
- The Aubrey Rose Tea Room
- The St. James Tearoom
- Tea by Two Tea Room
- English Rose Tea Room
- The Aubrey Rose Tea Room, La Mesa, Calif.
- Samovar Tea Lounge, San Francisco, Calif.
- The St. James Tearoom, Albuquerque, N.M.
- Silver Tips Tea Room, Tarrytown, N.Y.
- Teaberry's Tea Room, Flemington, N.J.
- Cindi Bigelow Visits Tea Fields of Sri Lanka
- How To #BeMoreTea with Lipton & The Muppets!
- The Tea Cup Ballet
- The Tea Song by Yorkshire Tea
- Rediscovering the art of tea
- Elyse Petersen of Tealet
- David Bigelow of Bigelow Tea
- Victoria Bisogno de El Club del Té
- James Norwood Pratt, author
- John Harney, Harney & Sons