| April 3, 2006 World Tea Expo A Huge Success, Record Attendance |
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WORLD TEA EXPO A HUGE SUCCESS, RECORD ATTENDANCE Las Vegas, NV – April 3, 2006 – The World Tea Expo, the premier marketplace for the tea industry and the largest tea trade show and conference in the World, closed last week on its most successful year ever. The Expo experienced tremendous growth in 2006, far surpassing expectations, with 4,122 participants “The record attendance we experienced is evidence of the exponential growth the industry is experiencing,” explained George Jage, World Tea Expo founder and president. Always a catalyst for the tea industry, the Expo was the perfect forum for tea companies to display new and interesting products and to connect with thousands of buyers, both large and small. This year’s significant buyers included Whole Foods Markets, Nestle Beverage, the Kroger Company, Cadbury Schweppes Beverages, Bath & Body Works, Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, United Natural Foods, H.E.B., Cost Plus, Jamba Juice, and Hyatt Hotels. This year’s Expo also featured a full program of entertaining events and educational seminars for attendees. Among the highlights were stunning performances of Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies, Chado Chef cooking with tea demonstrations featuring top chefs such as Rick Moonen and Kerry Simon, and a keynote address from founder, CEO, and president of Jones Soda Co., Peter van Stolk. Nation’s First Tea Auction Breaks a World Record This year, the World Tea Expo also played host to the country’s first Tea Auction, in which teashop owners and tea connoisseurs were able to purchase 5- and 10-kilogram lots of one-of-a-kind premium teas from the Nilgiri region in India. 42 different teas from 14 different Nilgiri estates were auctioned. The evening before the auction, a special tasting event was held, giving buyers a chance to see, smell, and taste the teas they would be bidding on as well as a chance to meet the growers from Nilgiri. A stunning success, the Tea Auction had already set a world record by the time the first lot was sold. After a spirited bidding war on Glendale SFTGFOP leaves, Jennifer Cauble, who hosts tea tastings in Fort Worth, Texas, purchased the first ever tea sold at auction on US soil. The tea sold for $600 per kilogram, which may be the highest price ever paid for black tea in an auction. The Third Annual Iced Tea Shake-Off: The envelopes please! The Expo kicked off with the third year of its ever-popular Iced Tea Shake-Off competition. Never a disappointment, the Shake-Off was full of grand theatrics and great iced blends. All entrants were judged by a panel of experts, including chef Rick Moonen and Jeffrey Hattrick, Afternoon Tea Maitre d’ at the Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix. And the winners are:
Ready-To-Drink Category
Commercially Brewed Category Teas made fresh in front of the judges, presented simply in glasses
Freestyle Category Teas made fresh in front of the judges, presented however competitors choose
In 2007, the World Tea Expo will be held on June 9-11 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia. More information on the World Tea Expo can be found on the website, www.worldteaexpo.com.
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