Tea Biz

Can Anonymous Worker Feedback Become a Market Signal in Tea? | Glassmarks founder Guy Chambers believes the tea industry is approaching a structural turning point. For decades, ethical sourcing systems relied heavily on audits, certifications, and private compliance reports. But consumers increasingly want transparency, while producers who invest in better working conditions often receive little recognition or commercial adva...

Middle East Conflict Dramatically Lowers Sri Lanka Tea Exports | Assam Unrest Reveals Deeper Industry Strains | Turkish Tea Finds a Bigger Export Market - Guy Chambers, Founder, Executive Chairman, Glassmarks

PLUS | The Power of Feedback | What if anonymous worker feedback became reliable and pervasive? Could feedback be powerful enough to reshape tea sourcing?

For decades, ethical tea relied on audits and certifications. But what if...

In Sri Lanka, stronger competition persisted for cleaner, high-grown, well-manufactured teas, while secondary descriptions continued to encounter resistance. | In Colombo, prices averaged $3.24/kg this week, ↑ +$0.03/kg vs the previous week (Week 18), supported by continued supply tightness and stronger competition for select high-grown and well-manufactured leafy teas.

In North India, prices averaged $1.93/kg thi...

Regenerative agriculture has become one of the tea industry’s most discussed concepts, but definitions often remain vague. Producers, traders, and brand owners generally agree that healthier soils and more resilient ecosystems matter. The harder question is what regenerative farming actually looks like in practice on a working tea farm.

For Michael D. Ham, the answer begins with restraint. On Jeju Island in South ...

Fertilizer Shock Threatens Tea Quality, Yields, and Costs | International Tea Day Events Expand Across Global Markets | India Pushes Ahead with Contested Tea Auction Mandate

NEWSMAKER – Michael D. Ham, CEO of Wild Orchard Tea

PLUS | Regenerative Farming Begins by Doing Less

Regenerative agriculture has become one of the tea industry’s most discussed concepts, but definitions often remain vague. Prod...

Tea markets closed WEEK 17 with prices edging firmer across the major auction centers, but the underlying signal remains quality, not volume. | Across Colombo, North India, Mombasa, and Indonesia, buyers continued to participate, but with discipline. Competition focused on clean, well-manufactured teas needed for immediate blending and export commitments. Secondary grades remained more difficult to secure, requiring price adj...

On Earth Day, it’s easy to talk about sustainability in broad terms—but much harder to connect those ideas to what’s actually happening on the ground. | For tea producers, climate pressure is no longer abstract. It’s showing up in yield, cost, and long-term viability. | What we’re exploring today is a different approach—one that attempts to measure soil health, biodiversity, and resilience, and link those directly to economic outco...

Middle East Instability Threatens Blending Hubs | A Refund Rush is Underway in US Trade | China’s US Ambassador Praises Tea Harmony

NEWSMAKER – Tea Rebellion Founder Annabel Kalmer, and a RegenTea Trustee

PLUS | Regenerative Tea Moves from Sustainability Claims to Farm-Level Economics | Tea Rebellion Founder Annabel Kalmar explains how RegenTea is testing whether soil health can translate into measurable return on ...

Tea markets closed ISO Week 15 with conditions still stable—but with a subtle shift in what is driving that stability.

Across the major auction centers—Colombo, North India, Mombasa, and Indonesia—buyer activity remained steady, but highly selective. Demand continues to focus on teas needed for immediate blending and export commitments, with well-made teas attracting consistent competition. | At the same time, secondary teas continu...

Specialty tea has long defined quality through craftsmanship, origin, and terroir. These pillars have shaped how producers grow tea, how buyers evaluate it, and how consumers understand value in the cup. But a new layer is emerging—one that shifts attention beneath the surface. As environmental pressures intensify across global agriculture, regenerative farming is entering the tea conversation. Its focus on soil health, biodiversit...

War Costs Mount | China Opens Zero-Tariff Access—But Compliance Decides Who Benefits | US Tariff Refunds Begin April 20: What Tea Importers Need to Do Now |

NEWSMAKER – Bernadine Tay, President of the European Speciality Tea Association |

PLUS | Specialty tea has long defined quality through craftsmanship, origin, and terroir. These pillars have shaped how producers grow tea, how buyers evaluate it, an...

Tea markets closed ISO Week 13 with prices still largely influenced by quality, buyer selectivity, and disciplined exporter behavior rather than any broad increase in demand. Reports from the current week suggest a generally stable but uneven market across all major auction centers, with strength mainly in well-produced teas and growing pressure on secondary descriptions.

Colombo (Sri Lanka) Prices averaged $3.21/...

World Tea Expo was once the center of gravity for the specialty tea trade in North America—a place where retailers, importers, and producers aligned around a shared vision of quality, origin, and education.

In 2026, that center has shifted.

The show floor is busier. The audience is broader. Matcha and Japanese green tea suppliers were highly visible thanks to Government-backed export programs. The Tea ...

One Year After Tariffs: The Tea Industry’s Costly Lesson | ONTHEFLOOR at World Tea Expo l Regulatory Shock: EU Tightens MRL Enforcement

NEWSMAKER – Host Dan Bolton

PLUS | World Tea Expo - A Show Transformed | This week, we’re on the floor at World Tea Expo in Las Vegas—where the show has quietly transformed.

No longer a standalone tea event, it’s now embedded inside a broader bar an...