Friday, June 1

Will Tea Ever be as Big as Coffee? Panel Discussion with Market Leaders

8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

In the U.S. there are over 25,000 coffee shops and - best estimates suggest - around 3,500 tea retail locations. Can the tea retail market catch up to coffee in size? Will the coffee retailers absorb much of the projected growth in tea sales? In recent years, a new breed of tea retailer has spawned and many have secured success in multiple locations. Will this rising tide float all boats? You will not want to miss this uniquely insightful panel discuss the future of the tea retail market. 
Moderator: George Jage, President, World Tea Media

Panelists:

Charles Cain, Vice President, Tazo Merchant & Operations, Starbucks
Joseph Cugine, President, Argo Tea
David De Candia, Director of Tea, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Jack Groot, Founder, JP's Coffee & Espresso Bar

Deconstructing Famous Traditional Grocery Store Blends

Skill Building Workshop 

8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The tea section at grocery stores remains where mainstream America buys their tea. In this hands-on blending workshop, you will use some of the famous traditional blends as inspiration and foundation in creating your own best-selling loose leaf teas. 
Speaker: Victor Jara, Purchasing & Regulatory Affairs, Sungarden Tea

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Reverse formuation.
2. Identify blend components.
3. Identify natural and artificial flavorings.
4. Find substitute ingredients.
5. Make a blend of your own.

Competing with the "Big Guys"

9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

In the ever changing industry we are a part of, how does a small business owner with a passion for a product compete with the big guys who are on a race to open as many stores as possible? You may not have the capital to compete with the sheer volume of stores they are opening...but you have something they don't. Learn what that is.
Speaker: Shabnam Weber, Owner, The Tea Emporium Inc.

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Understand your edge over a big company.
2. Develop and employ unique marketing strategies.
3. Refine purchasing strategies.
4. Personalize service.

Finding Gold in Green Markets

9:45 - 10:45 a.m. 

There is great opportunity in the small and intimate. A variety of smaller venues abound in today’s market providing an opportunity to expand brand and reach more customers. Green markets aka. farmer’s markets, community events, ethnic festivals and the like are going on everyday and require a minimum of investment and risk.
Speaker: Dan Robertson, Owner, The Tea House / World Tea Tours

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Identify potential quality venues.
2. Organize and display your products to maximize sales.
3. Avoid time and energy wasting pitfalls using time proven strategies.
4. Create brand distinction and customer loyalty.
5. Promote your products to get the most of each sale, now and in the future.

Branding, Messaging and Marketing a Tea Business

9:45 - 10:45 a.m. 

This session will show attendees how to use consistent messaging to build a strong tea business brand, to effectively market their brand, and to grow their brand in a manner aligned with the company’s mission.
Speaker: Peter Martino, CEO, Capital Teas, LLC

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. (Bricks & Mortar & Packaging) Develop a multi-sensory look and feel for your company’s logo, store layout, and product packaging that aligns fully with the mission of your business.
2. (The Customer Experience) Maintain consistency in all aspects of the customer and prospective customer interaction: in the store; on your company’s website; in print advertising, social media, press releases, and other media outlets.
3. (Promotions & Events) Develop, create, and run promotions and events that are consistent with your company’s mission and that effectively promote your business and strengthen customer relationships.
4. (The Company Website) Understand the power of today’s technology to transport the customer virtually to your stores, including effective use of photography, videos, content marketing, and blogs.
5. (Social Media) Understand how to use effectively use social media to engage your customers and make them fans, create brand ambassadors, mine customer data, and increase sales.

Magic Merchandising

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Discover the best way to merchandise tea and tea related products and learn how to introduce new products that compliment the environment. Effectively use space and create more sales. Learn how to merchandise in category areas using color schemes and like items. Introduce cost effective window marketing for a polished and professional look.
Speaker: Holly Hunt, Owner, Fleur de Teas

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Create a beautiful presentation of merchandise.
2. Introduce complimentary products.
3. Merchandise in like categories for easy shopping.
4. Create window presentations that draw attention.
5. Use finished photos to enhance social marketing tools.

Federal Trademark Registration: Are You Ready?

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

After many agonizing "do-overs" you have finally settled on a great name and logo. Are you ready to file for trademark protection? Come discover the nuts and bolts of filing for Federal Trademark protection, including the costs involved, and receive guidance on when to turn it over to an expert.
Speaker: Kristen Schneider, Small Business Consultant, Kristen Schneider Consulting

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Decide if Your Name/Logo is Trademark-ready.
2. Research Your Name/Logo for potential conflicts.
3. Evaluate the costs involved to trademark.
4. Know when to call in an expert.
5. Know when State-only Trademark Protection is appropriate.

Steampunk and Alt Culture in Your Tea House

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Alt-culture can be a vehicle for bringing profit to your brand/tea house while attracting new groups of customers. One alt-culture movement, Steampunk, appreciates tea, Victorian aesthetics and social events, large and small. Learn what Steampunk is and how it can bring popularity, customers and media attention to your business.
Speaker: Steven Downer, Owner, Sipping Streams Tea Company

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Know what Steampunk and alt-culture is, it's staples, literature, music, aesthetic and how to utilize it for attention-garnering events.
2. How to make contacts and connect with the Steampunk community and how they can help bring revenue to your business.
3. How to make repeat customers by attracting Steampunk / alt-culture groups and clubs for weekly meetings at your establishment.
4. How to do a profit generating event such as a Steampunk tea, workshop, class or art show.
5. Know other alt-culture groups and how to market to them such as cosplayers, manga, star wars, makers, gamers and more.

Understanding Puer Tea SOLD OUT

Focused Tasting

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

This fascinating session will explore the history and manufacture of Puer teas from China’s Yunnan province. Attendees will taste 5 different Puerh teas made by different processes from young bushes and from ancient trees and aged for just a few years or for many years. To add a truly Chinese flavor, the session will conclude with a performance of the Puer Tea Ceremony by Di Liu.
Speaker: Jane Pettigrew, International Tea Consultant and Writer, with Professor Kanzo Sakata, Kyoto University, and Performance by Di Liu

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. To understand how raw puer teas are made.
2. To understand how cooked puer teas are made.
3. To understand the differences between raw puerh and cooked puer.
4. To understand how and why the age of tea trees contributes to the character of puer tea and how the character of puerh tea changes during the ageing process.
5. To understand the health benefits of drinking puer tea.

What is Brisk? SOLD OUT

Skill Building Workshop

1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Better yet, what is Astringency? During this active hands-on session you will cup teas and accurately match sensations with professional tasting terms. You will build vocabulary and deepen your understanding of professional terminology. Moreover, you will develop your ability to objectively assess and describe the taste profile of a cup of tea, without superimposing personal biases.
Speaker: Aaron Vick, The G.S. Haly Company with Suzette Hammond, Rishi Tea and Mo Sardella, The G.S. Haly Company

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Translate professional tasting terms into customer-focused descriptions.
2. Advance your cupping skills to create accurate descriptions for your customers.
3. Identify and redirect incorrect and misleading vocabulary.
4. Bridge the gap between traditional tea descriptions and contemporary tea terminology.
5. Understand how tea type and origin affect cup-character, and how to communicate that quality to customers.

Saturday, June 2

From Earl Grey to Da Hong Pao: Improving Your Customer's Palate

8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

As culinary knowledge and sophistication rise, how do we take our customers from mainstream teas to better quality teas? How do we map a path to those very teas that have been the subject of focused tastings at the World Tea Expo all these years?
Speaker: Lydia Kung, Buyer, Eastrise Trading Corp.

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Formulate a plan to bridge the gap between standard teas and interesting, praise-worthy teas.
2. Consider some of the obstacles and how to counter conusmer misconceptions.
3. Learn defining features of tea categories, not just of rare teas, and taste a small selection at the end of the session.
4. Attendees will map a strategy to develop a more inclusive and elevated tea menu.
5. Engage in a dialogue about how tea education progresses, and how to develop a price friendly tea connoisseur culture.

RealiTea: The Real Life Evolution of a Tea Store

8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

We just opened our 3rd store. Come share the entire journey. Scouting locations, working with landlords, lawyers, architects, contractors, inspectors, staffing, training, missteps, marketing, Grand Opening, and beyond. We’ll share all financial data; where we saved money, where we lost money (or time), and what we would have done different. You’ve heard of reality TV, this is reality tea store.
Speaker: Bill Waddington, Owner, TeaSource

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Exactly what is entailed in a realistic project plan for opening a tea business.
2. The work process/flow/scheduling required in opening a brick and mortar tea business.
3. The financial requirements and realities of opening a tea store.
4. The mistakes, miscalculations, and some of the unexpected events that can happen on such a construction project.
5. Options and alternatives when coordinating a construction/remodeling tea business.

Networking Works: Build Relationships to Build Your Business

8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Networking is a critical tool for building business, yet many business owners and professionals don't represent themselves or their businesses effectively. This workshop covers:* Preparation * Elevator speeches (the good, the bad, the ugly!) * Standing out in the crowd * Working the room * Dealing with anxiety * Following up (Includes practice)
Speaker: Lisa Braithwaite, Public Speaking Coach and Trainer, CoachLisaB.com

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Create an elevator speech and introduce themselves confidently.
2. Enter and exit conversations gracefully.
3. Organize and follow up with new contacts.
4. Market themselves and their businesses more effectively.
5. Be an indispensable resource to all they meet.

Taste the Difference - Different Cups for Different Teas

Focused Tasting

8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Wine connoisseurs know that the shape of the glass totally changes the taste of wine but do tea drinkers consider the effects of the bowl, cup or glass on flavour? In this fascinating session, we'll be tasting 6 different teas in 3 different shapes. Can you taste the difference?
Speaker: Jane Pettigrew, International Tea Consultant and Writer, with Peter Ting, Owner, 1660 London

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. Understand how the aroma of the tea affects our taste experience.
2. Experience how different shapes affect taste and enjoyment of different teas.
3. Understand which shape best suits a green tea.
4. Understand which shape best suits a black tea.
5. Understand which shape best suits a fragrant tea.

Deconstructing Famous Traditional Grocery Store Blends

Skill Building Workshop

8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The tea section at grocery stores remains where mainstream America buys their tea. In this hands-on blending workshop, you will use some of the famous traditional blends as inspiration and foundation in creating your own best-selling loose leaf teas.
Speaker: Victor Jara, Purchasing Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs, Sungarden Tea

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Reverse Formulation.
2. Identifying Blend Components.
3. Identifying Natural and Artificial Flavorings.
4. Finding Substitute Ingredients.
5. Making a Blend of Your Own.

Credit & Debit Card Fees: How I Slashed my Fees by 43%

9:45 - 10:45 a.m. 

Compared with just a few years ago the number of people paying for transactions with plastic has skyrocketed. And so have the fees that retailers pay to merchant card processors. This class will show you how to assess merchant companies, their plans and how to pay the least possible amount in fees.
Speaker: Jack Groot, Coffee Industry Consultant 

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Understand the Basics of Merchant Processing Plans and Fees
2. Know Available Alternatives
3. Compare Total Costs for Processing Options
4. Decide which Processing Method of is Best for your Store
5. Activate or Switch to the Correct Processing Method to Save you Money!

Doing Well by Doing Good in the Premium Tea Industry

9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

Social responsibility has an important role in the American premium tea industry. Rarely does an emerging market have the opportunity to benefit the community as broadly. Premium leaf tea will bring nutritional benefits to the masses. This prospect creates an obligation to grow and promote the premium tea market responsibly.
Speaker: Maria Uspenski, Founder and CEO, The Tea Spot

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Understand the unique product niche that premium tea occupies in the US, straddling the line between a specialty product and a health food product.
2. See the premium tea industry's tremendous future in the US market, and how business decisions made today will shape how the industry looks ten to twenty years from now.
3. Understand the Triple Bottom Line, and what makes a business socially responsible.
4. Articulate the nutritional benefits of premium tea that differentiate it from premium coffee.
5. Recognize both the opportunity as well as the responsibility of entering an emerging market with a healthy and sustainable product.

A New, Exciting Dawn for Japanese Tea!

9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

Following a turbulent 2011 harvest year filled with much confusion and misinformation regarding radiation contamination, Japan is poised to resume its growing presence in the tea industry. 2012 Japanese harvests brings a new dawn, and you will need to be prepared! It is an era to be excited, opportunities are brewing!
Speaker: Chip Creitz, Program Developer/Coordinator, Tastings Coordinator, Moderator, TeaChat.com

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Illustrated, unbiased, and factual information regarding the most current status of 2012 Japanese harvests.
2. 2011 History awareness with 2012 focus forward. Why you should be excited?
3. Generate interest, excitement, anticipation, activity with your 2012 Japanese teas.
4. For 2012, know your sources! Know the origins. Safe, improved sourcing.
5. 2012 will herald great news! Conveying information to your customers.

Supply Chain Transparency: 3 Part Panel Discussion

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Join this in-depth discussion covering sustainability and supply chain ethics. The conversation begins with certifying organizations and a look at self-certification, followed by the cost-benefits to the licensees; their missions, their brands, and their bottom lines. Finally, a panel of producers will discuss if the promise of transparency is making a positive change in the industry.
Moderator: Dan Bolton, Editor, World Tea News

Panelists:

Maya Albanese, Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator, Rainforest Alliance
Anu Huhtisaari, Programme Manager, Ethical Tea Partnership
Keith Hutjens, Director of Tea Procurement, Tazo
Beth Johnston, Founder & CEO, Teas Etc.
Joshua Kaiser, CEO, Rishi Tea
Hugh Lamond, President, Herbal Teas International
Nora Pittenger, Business Development CPG, Fair Trade USA
Sudhir Prakash, Grower, Glenburn Tea Estate
Kavi Seneviratne, Managing Director, Kelani Valley Plantations PLC
Sanje Widyaratne, Walters Bay Bogawantalawa Estates

Customer Advisory Boards: A Good Business Move

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Your frequent, loyal customers are perhaps one of your most under-utilized assets. Loosely organizing these devotees into a Customer Advisory Board will easily yield immediate, and unforeseen, benefits. This group holds insights and expertise into areas that are definitely ‘outside-the-box’ input for your business that will improve your bottom line.
Speaker: Carl Easton, Owner, Chris' Tea Cottage

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Why having an Advisory Board is a good business/advertising move.
2. The benefits of having non-employee ‘champions’ for your business.
3. Opportunity to obtain non-tea-related expertise to benefit your business.
4. How to use the means at your disposal to keep Advisory Board costs to virtually nothing.
5. Increasing your ability to keep thinking ‘outside the box’ in order to succeed.

Daoist and Buddhist (Zen) Tea Culture

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

In China, Daoists and Buddhists built temples on sacred mountains that were ideal environments for tea cultivation. Today, they still produce tea and promote tea culture, including a new Buddhist ritual, the "Wu-Wo" (not-self) ceremony, which ritually expresses group equality, and encourages participants to to forget differences in wealth and appearance.
Speaker: Jean DeBernardi, Professor, Anthropolgy Department,  University of Alberta

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Knowledgably discuss the history of the relationship between Daoism and Buddhism and Chinese tea culture.
2. Better understand the values expressed in Daoist and Buddhist tea culture, including naturalness, simplicity, and self-cultivation.
3. Explain how different styles of tea drinking are material expressions of Daoist and Buddhist values.
4. Better understand how contemporary Chinese tea sellers are marketing teas grown at sacred mountains like the Daoist World Heritage site Wudang Mountain.
5. Identify Buddhist and Daoist temples and monasteries that are linked with tea plantations, which would be potential places to visit for tea tourism.

How to Put Together a Comparative Tea and Wine Tasting

Focused Tasting

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Wine and tea professionals share many similar techniques when tasting their beverage of choice. By examining the similarities between these two beverages, a team of Master Sommeliers and Certified Tea Specialists has designed a wine and tea tasting that uses commonly available products. Several pairings will illustrate the concepts presented.
Speaker: Kyle Stewart, Owner, The Cultured Cup with James Tidwell, Beverage Manager and Master Sommelier, Four Seasons Resort and Club

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. Understand the similarities between tasting wine and tea.
2. Understand the differences between tasting wine and tea.
3. Identify a common procedure and vocabulary that can be used to describe wine and tea.
4. Explain how the similarities and differences between tasting wine and tea can be structured into a tea and wine tasting.
5. Identify commonly available wines and teas that could be used for a wine and tea tasting.

Developing a QA Plan from Beginning to End

Skill Building Workshop

1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

This hands-on class will help any business develop a quality assurance plan from the development stage through purchasing of raw ingredients through production of finished goods through passing all third party audits. A comprehensive QA plan is vital to successfully maintaining consistency for cup to cup.
Speaker: Scott Svihula, Teasmith, China Mist Brands

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Each attendee will walk away with actionable steps to take back to their operation to improve or start their QA plan.
2. Attendees will have a full understanding on what is needed to pass the major third party audits; including Organic, Kosher and FDA Inspections.
3. Attendees will learn the basics of how to improve upon their sensory skills from recent research in the science of cupping.
4. Attendees will learn how to spot QA issues even before the product is received or purchased by their customers.
5. Attendees will learn what to do if something goes wrong with a product to minimize exposure.

Sunday, June 3

Strategies for Marketing to Millennials Panel Discussion with Market Leaders

8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Dynamic discussion between leading young industry innovators that are successfully introducing tea to the 18 to 30 year old millenials.
Moderator: Tyler Gage, President, Runa LLC

Panelists:

Chris Cason, Tea Sommelier, Tavalon Tea
Emeric Harney, General Manager, Harney & Sons Soho
Dan Klein, CEO, Tiesta Tea
Sarah Segal, Buyer, DavidsTea

By the end of this panel discussion you will be able to:

1. Learn marketing tips for attracting millenials to your tea room and brand
2. Demographic & Psychographic Analysis of Millenial Consumers
3. Explore online and social media strategies that speak to millenials
4. Understand longer term industry growth trends related to this demographic
5. Understand blends and teas that are best suited for a younger audience

Save Money and Your Sanity by Hiring, Training and Retaining the Right People

8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Learn easy, effective and useful tips on how to recruit the RIGHT people for your business. Take away interview skills to hire the right person for the job. Learn to effectively train new team members with a proven program that works. Realize what it takes to retain your best people. This interactive workshop teaches the confidence and skills necessary to hire, train and retain quality people.
Speaker: Ellen Leaf-Moore, Owner, Fezziwig's Marketplace

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Discover interview questions that will prove useful in choosing the right people.
2. Learn attributes to look for before, during and after interview that will be key in choosing the right person.
3. Create clear and successful training agendas that will lead to success.
4. Learn proven methods to retain your best people.
5. Learn what employee turnover REALLY costs you. 

Design Elements for a Tea Shop

8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Many solid business plans have fallen short when implemented because they failed to create an identity for the project. Elements of a successful shop for today’s consumer include format and floor plan, developing a customer appropriate “menu”, mapping the order process, and more. This session includes suggestions of distinguishing features to make your modern tea shop pleasantly memorable. 
Speaker: Margaret Heery, Vice President, Strategic Marketing, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Create your inventory and displays by knowing your customer.
2. Importance of documenting all the steps (financial and traffic) from when a customer places an order to “out the door”. 
3. How a product is presented represents your brand.
4. Accessing your volume goal to capacity. 
5. The importance of colors and proportioning of color.

Tea Lattes

Focused Tasting

8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

With tea being the hottest thing in the coffee industry, coffee shops are introducing new specialty tea beverages to bridge the gap for the dark cup loyalist.  Learn the tricks of the trade for making tea-based lattes to lure the coffee customer into your store and win them over.
Speaker: Mim Enck, President, East Indies Coffee and Tea Company

Make Money with Events

8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Skill Building Workshop

This energizing, interactive class is filled with hands on exercises, live demonstrations, and displays you can touch and understand. Leave this session ready to schedule your next event sure to generate new clients, customer loyalty, and plenty of revenue! Spend three hours learning to plan, market, and execute a successful event acquiring the skills and language to sell tea, present material and demonstrate quality and value, establishing you as an expert.
Speaker: Beth Johnston, Founder & CEO, Teas Etc.

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Determine who your customer is and create events tailored to them.
2. Sell out your event and your products!
3. Walk away with a real plan to efficiently organize staff roles, set up, materials and logistics.
4. Engage customers with fun, interactive demonstrations and content that’s doable.
5. Determine and evaluate your event ROI (Return on Investment).

Tea, Nutrition and Health: Myths and Truths for the Layman

9:45 - 10:45 a.m.

This session will provide an overview of tea components and their health benefits, review peer-reviewed studies related to tea and health and refute and correct commonly held myths about the relationship between these tea components and health.
Speaker: Kyle Stewart, Owner, The Cultured Cup and Neva Cochran, Nutrition Consultant

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Describe the basic components of tea: Essential oils, Polyphenols, Nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids), Enzymes (polyphenol oxidase) and Methylxanthines (caffeine, theophylline & theobromine).
2. Dispel commonly held myths about the relationship between tea and health.
3. Explain L-Theanine, EGCG and Anti-Oxidants.
4. Explain the health benefits of tea based on current scientific research.
5. Explain how tea can be part of a balanced and healthy diet.

How to Develop your Mission, Vision and Strengths for Success

9:45 - 10:45 a.m. 

Every business owner should have a mission statement along with a clear vision statement of where they want their business to succeed. This will help you to learn when to say no. Discover your strengths and stop trying to correct your weaknesses-hire out for those!
Speaker: Lisa Boalt Richardson, President and Author, Lisa Knows Tea

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. How to write a mission statement.
2. How to develop a clear vision Statement.
3. Discover your strengths to stay in your comfort area.
4. Learn when to say no.
5. Discover valuable resources to read to develop these skills.

Savoring - and Saving - China's Artisan Teas

9:45 - 10:45 a.m. 

I will introduce the concept of local, artisan teas, as opposed to widely cultivated generic varieties. I will explain how isolated communities develop teas with unique characteristics, giving numerous examples of heirloom teas I have encountered. I will explain the need to preserve artisan teas before they are lost.
Speaker: Jean Alberti, Founder/President, Wild & Bare Co.

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Distinction between generic and artisan teas.
2. Explanation of geological differentials in artisan teas.
3. Explanation of cultural variations in artisan teas.
4. Description of how a particular artisan tea developed its unique character.
5. Explanation of need to preserve artisan (heirloom) teas before they evolve and are lost.

An Introduction to Yixing Clay Teapots

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

In this introduction to Yixing clay teapots will learn about the history and classifications of Yixing teapots. Learn to appreciate the artistic value of Yixing teapots. Learn how Yixing clay is unique, its classification and production processes. The session will conclude with an authentic Chinese Tea Ceremony performed using Yixing teaware.
Speaker: Fei Wu, Senior Designer, Jingxi Pottery Studio, China

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. History and classification of Yixing clay teapot.
2. The ways to appreciate the art value of Yixing clay teapot.
3. Why is Yixng clay unique.
4. Processes of making Yixing clay.
5. Classification of Yixing clay.

A Step Toward Caffeine and Antioxidant Clarity 

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

In 2011 the CAMELLIA SINENSIS team collaborated with TransBIOTech, in an extensive $25,000+ laboratory series to study the levels of antioxidants and caffeine in a large diversity of premium teas. Testing was based on regular cup content in the context of daily consumption. Kevin talks us through the very surprising results.
Speaker: Kevin Gascoyne, Owner, CAMELLIA SINENSIS

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Have up to date knowledge in the field of caffeine and antioxidants.
2. Speak about the subject with confidence.
3. Unravel and dispel the mass of dated and confusing theories and stories available on the internet.
4. Take home a clear and comprehensive study to show and share with their clients.
5. Work a legitimate, scientifically based study into their sales pitch.

How to Brew Tea Without a Chart 

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Pouring hot water over tea leaves unleashes a world of variables more complex than any chart can express - a matrix of tea leaf, time and temperature. After looking at the principles of extraction and solution, we'll examine how the physical characteristics of the tea leaf itself hold the secret.
Speaker: Donna Fellman, Director, Tea Education Alliance

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

1. Understand the variables of infusion extraction.
2. Define solution, solute, solvent and dissolution.
3. Recognize the physical characteristics of the tea leaf that influence and determine infusion.
4. Understand the interplay of temperature, time and leaf style.
5. List the soluble components of tea and describe the characteristics they contribute to the cup.

Bubble Tea: What is it and is it for You?

Focused Tasting

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Learn about the Taiwanese dessert drink called Bubble Tea. We will talk about its origin, how it is made, what it actually has to do with tea, and how to add it to your product offering.
Speaker: Nick Nguyen, CEO, Steepery Tea Bar

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. Explain what bubble tea is.
2. Create basic bubble tea drinks.
3. Order from bubble tea suppliers.
4. Decide if this is a product you want to offer.