HEAR THE HEADLINES – Easing COVID Restrictions Leads to Uncertainty in China’s Tea Industry | Millions of urban Chinese will return to their ancestral homes in rural China for the Lunar New Year, raising concerns about outbreaks and possible labor shortages in tea regions as the spring harvest begins. | The World’s Top Black Tea Producers Experience Export Declines in 2022 | Speakers at the January 19 Global Tea Initiative Colloquium at the University of California, Davis, to discuss Tea and Value. What do We Value about tea, and How Do We Value It?   | NEWSMAKER – Adam Thatcher ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – Ekaterra Tea Underway | India Steps up Efforts to Halt Illegal Imports | Chinese Archaeologists Discover Oldest Tea Yet | NEWSMAKER – John Davison, CEO ekaterra tea | FEATURES – This week Tea Biz travels to Singapore for a conversation with John Davison, CEO of ekaterra tea, soon to be the largest tea company in the world. Ekaterra is currently a division of Unilever that houses 34 tea brands including Lipton, PG Tips, TAZO, Brooke Bond, Pukka, and Red Rose. In November CVC Capital Partners, a multi-billion private equity firm headquartered in Luxembourg, paid $5.1 billion ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – Sri Lanka Abandons Fertilizer Ban for Tea | Kenya’s KTDA Sets a Minimum Price for Auctioned Tea | AVPA Announces Teas of the World Winners| NEWSMAKER – Harkirat ”Harki” Sidhu, Rainforest Alliance India’s Consulting Program Coordinator for Sustainable Landscapes & Livelihoods| FEATURES – This week Tea Biz travels to Calcutta, India for an in-depth conversation with Harkirat (Harki) Sidhu, Rainforest Alliance India’s Consulting Program Coordinator for Sustainable Landscapes & Livelihoods. Harki is an expert in mechanical tea harvesters. He makes a compelling argument ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – Kenya’s Price Floor is Sagging | Finlays’ Cites Tea in its Top Beverage Trends | The Pandemic Shuffles Tea Export Ranks, a TEAIN22 forecast.| GUEST – Aravinda Anantharaman, Tea Biz India Chief Correspondent India| FEATURES – This week Tea Biz travels to Bengaluru where India Chief Correspondent Aravinda Anantharaman reviews a momentous year for the tea industry in a country that produces 20% of the world’s tea. Her report is the sixth in the series of TEAIN22 year-end reviews and forecasts. | Reorganizing and Reinvigorating India’s Tea Sector –India’s tea industry in 2021 ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – India Conducts its First Bharat Tea Auction | DNA Disqualifies Five in Lugu Farmers’ Tea Contest | RTD Tea by Volume Continues a Five-Year Slide, a TEAIN22 Forecast | NEWSMAKER – Dr. Nada Milosavljevic, a Harvard-trained physician and faculty member at Harvard Medical School and founder of the integrative health program at Massachusetts General Hospital.| FEATURES: This week, Tea Biz travels to Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, where Jessica Natale Woollard discusses the medicinal power of tea with Dr. Nada Milosavljevic. Nada will deliver the keynote address on ..read more

| Hear the Headlines ― Economic Forecasters Predict Higher Tea Prices in 2022 | The Rush of Holiday Orders is Easing - Now a Delivery Crisis has Emerged | German Tea Drinkers Set a Consumption Record Last Year Despite Lockdowns | PLUS Frugal Innovation, Part 1| Guests ― Abhijeet Hazarika, @TeaSigma, Saurav Berlia, LR Group (Berlia Fresh Foods & Beverages) and Shekib Ahmad, managing director Koliabur Tea Estate.| Features ― This week Tea Biz travels to Assam, India to explore "Frugal Innovations" that utilize simple technology to address some of the most vexing challenges facing the tea ind ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – In the Black: Holiday Sales are Surging | CVC Capital Pays $5.1 Billion for Unilever’s Tea Portfolio | A Climate Change Adaptation Essential for Tea | NEWSMAKER – Evy Chen, founder of newly rebranded Evy Tea, Boston, Mass.| GUEST - Kym Cooper, co-founder of East Forged tea in Brisbane, Australia.| FEATURES – This week Tea Biz travels to Brisbane, Australia where East Forged Tea co-founder Kym Cooper reminds us that innovation need not be at the expense of the timeless taste of tea. East Forged preserves that taste ― with no sugar, coloring, or artificial flavoring ― in a c ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – EU Bans Imports that Drive Deforestation Including Coffee and Cocoa | tea on forest land cleared after 2020 cannot be imported | Hindustan Unilever Shortlists Two Potential Chief Executives | Falling Yields Hold Down Kenya Tea Prices | NEWSMAKER – Sandip Thapa, founder and CEO CuppaTrade | FEATURE INTRO – This week, Tea Biz travels to Kolkata, India, a global hub for tea commerce, where South Asia Correspondent Aravinda Anantharaman discusses innovations in digital trade with Sandip Thapa, founder of CuppaTrade, an eMarketplace that enables small growers to sell their tea ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – Iran Has Suddenly Stopped Importing Indian Tea and Rice. The abrupt halt remains unexplained | A World Bank Report Predicts Unbearable Heat for India | China Eases COVID Restrictions | NEWSMAKER – Sabita Banerji, Founder, and CEO of THIRST | FEATURE INTRO – THIRST has completed its initial assessment of human rights in the global tea sector and is now seeking to understand the root causes. THIRST founder and CEO Sabita Banerji says the non-profit will conduct confidential surveys of tea producers during the New Year. Understanding the Tea Supply Chain and How it all Works ..read more

HEAR THE HEADLINES – The Tea Industry Welcomes The Climate Summit’s Damage and Loss Fund as wealthy nations agree to pay to repair monumental damage | Solidaridad Asia Hosts India’s First International Small Tea Grower Convention | Japan Expands the Reach of its National World O-CHA Festival | NEWSMAKER – Rudra Chatterjee, Managing Director, Luxmi Estates | FEATURE INTRO – Rudra Chatterjee, the dynamic managing director of Luxmi Tea, has expanded and diversified the venerable 30-million-kilo bulk tea producer into direct-to-consumer retail. Luxmi, which operates 25 estates in India and Africa ..read more