News from World Tea Expo

Greetings to everyone: I just returned from 3 days in Las Vegas at the World Tea Expo where I was able to meet old friends and make new ones. The Expo is the only place I can meet my suppliers in person. The rest of the year it is phone or fax. So it is a treat to meet and greet, so to speak. Here are a few of the highlights:

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PAY $25.00 FOR AN OUNCE OF TEA? Tea grown in Hawaii is available!!! Developed as a replacement for the failing sugar cane industry, Tea has adapted and developed to the stage where it is available commercially. This will be the first year of commercial production and the tea tastes great!! There are green, white, oolong and black teas available. The price is quite steep, so I would like to know how much interest there might be in this initial offering of what promises to become a staple of the US Tea Industry. This is the Ground Floor of this venture. Please email me (tealadies@perennialtearoom.com) or phone 888-448-4054 with your response.

Steve Smith, Creator/Developer of Stash Teas and TAZO Teas is back in Portland creating Tea again. This time, he has created Steve Smith Teas, a new and exciting group of tea blends that are entirely hand made and packaged in "silk" bags that are finer mesh than I have seen elsewhere. He blends only enough tea to sell in a month's time and places a supply code on each box that can be looked up on his website to see when the ingredients were purchased and blended. Freshness and flavor are his hallmarks. I look forward to making these bags available soon.

Tao of Tea in Portland is packaging Tulsi, a basil grown as a houseplant in India where it is considered almost sacred. It is used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine and contains anti-oxidents but no caffeine. There are two varieties, purple and green leaf. It is available blended with ginger, as a chai, with lemongrass and plain. It comes in bags and in bulk. Some of the proceeds are being used to help educate underprivileged children in India. We will be promoting this drink as a summer beverage both hot and over ice. Stop in and check it out!

Tea grown in the Pacific Northwest is seeming closer to commercial production. I met Richard Sakuma, President of Sakuma Brothers Farms in Burlington, WA and will be visiting his field of tea within the next few weeks to see his set up. I will let you know here first as soon as his product is commercially available. Pretty Exciting Stuff!!

I'd love to talk to you more about the faces and events of the expo, drop into the shop and let's chat over a cup of tea.

Julee