Las Vegas, NV – March 2006 – The World Tea Expo, the nation’s premier marketplace for the tea industry, returns this month with more exciting, entertaining, and educational programs than ever. The three-day Expo, kicking off on Monday, March 27 at the Las Vegas Hilton, will be an extremely valuable resource for members of this fast growing industry. Two not-to-be-missed highlights from this year will be the star-studded Chado Chef Cooking with Tea Demonstrations and the return of the annual Iced Tea Shake-Off Competition.

CreativiTEA in the Kitchen
Using tea as an ingredient in cooking is an ancient tradition that has caught on as a growing trend in many of the nation’s top kitchens. This year, the World Tea Expo will pair an all-star roster of chefs with specialty tea companies to demonstrate tea’s many culinary uses. The Chado Chef demonstrations (chado is a Japanese phrase meaning “the way of tea”) will feature some of the country’s hottest chefs, including:

• Rick Moonen of restaurant rm in Mandalay Bay Resort - Considered one of the country’s finest seafood chefs, Chef Moonen will be using Sungarden Specialty Teas to create Lapsang Souchong Crispy Brandade Cakes and Matcha Buttermilk Panna Cotta.
• Kerry Simon of Simon Kitchen and Bar in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino - The “Rock & Roll Chef,” one of the country’s most exciting and innovative culinary minds, will be using ITO EN’s Shiso Sencha in preparation of Blue Fin Tuna Tartar with Green Tea Foam.
• Richard Chen of Wing Lei in the Wynn Las Vegas - Chef Chen will bring his acclaimed “reverse fusion” techniques to the Expo as he uses Numi Tea’s Moonlight Spice (orange spice white tea) to prepare Smoked Moonlight Spice Tea Duck.
• Chef William Jarvie of Johnson and Wales University - Chef Jarvie will bring his extensive culinary background to the Expo where he will use serendipiTea teas in preparation of Pu-erh Deviled Eggs and Darjeeling Bearnaise Sauce.

Cool Concoctions
Competition will heat up as the teas cool down at the Third Annual Iced Tea Shake- Off. In this wildly popular event, created by World Tea Expo and co-sponsored by the Tea Association of the USA, tea companies enter their finest teas and blends into competition to see which iced teas will come out on top. Food and tea industry judges (including Chef Moonen) will evaluate each competitor on taste, presentation, technique, and creativity. This year’s competition categories include: Best Flavored, Best Packaging, Most Creative, and the new tea cocktail category - Best Mar“Tea”ni.

Bigger than ever, the World Tea Expo will feature 70,000 square feet of tea, over 200 exhibitors, 80 new companies, 50 international companies, and hundreds of new products. In addition to the Chado Chef demonstrations and the Iced Tea Shake-off, the Expo will offer a host of other fun and educational programs and events, including:

• Special authentic Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies
• World Tea Auction, the first ever tea auction held on US soil
• 45 educational seminars featuring expert speakers from the industry
• Keynote speaker Peter van Stolk, founder, CEO, and president of Jones Soda Co.

Media Contact
For additional information or interviews
Please contact Jonathan Werle or Stephanie Teuwen
Teuwen One Image, 212-244-0622
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