Tea Biz

Dan Bolton
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The Voice of Tea Lands | Tea Journey Magazine, founded in 2015, and the Tea Biz Blog | Podcast are favorites of tea enthusiasts and professionals worldwide. Content is authentic, timely, and exclusive, a collaborative effort that enlists 40 voices skilled in 12 languages to tell the story of tea. Coverage spans tea discovery and preparation to tea tourism, lifestyles, health and wellness, meditation, culinary tea with recipes, and terroir. Our business coverage offers insights for commercial producers supported by rich market data and scientifically backed research. Transparency is rooted in authentic storytelling, featuring nuanced articles about the places and people who passionately live a life in tea. As a niche publication, Tea Journey relies on reader contributions for most of its income. Please consider donating to support the writers and staff who bring you our unique tea content from around the globe. We appreciate your support. In 2025, we teamed up with our good friends at OverSubscribe, a platform that lets our fans make real financial investments in our future. By contributing as little as $25 to Tea Journey, you’re not just supporting our publication—you’re joining a lively global community and earning a return on your investment. | https://teajourney.oversub.me/

  1. Tea Price Report | Week 21 | Ending 22 May 2026

    2 days ago

    Tea Price Report | Week 21 | Ending 22 May 2026

    Quality Holds, Averages Ease | Tea markets closed ISO Week 21 with functional demand but a wider separation between quality teas and secondary descriptions. The market is not distressed, but it is more selective. Colombo saw fair demand, though the total sales average eased from the previous week. North India remained active, especially for improved teas and dusts, but Sale 21 averages moved lower from Sales 20. Mombasa stayed orderly against the latest available official benchmark, while Indonesia showed the clearest demand tone, with Van Rees reporting good demand for the week. | In Colombo, prices averaged $3.62/kg this week, ↓ -$0.20/kg vs the previous sale average, Sale 19 / 20 May 2026. In North India, prices averaged $2.47/kg this week, ↓ -$0.13/kg vs reconstructed prior auction benchmark, Sale 20. In Mombasa, prices averaged $2.18/kg this week, → 0.00/kg vs last available official average, EATTA Sale 17 CTC. In Indonesia, prices averaged $2.41/kg this week, → 0.00/kg vs prior indicative benchmark. | The structural drivers remain familiar: buyers are covering needs, not building speculative positions; exporters are defending prices where quality allows; and cost pressures from freight, energy, and FX remain a swing factor, especially for lower-value teas. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    2 min
  2. Spotlight | The Power of Feedback

    2 days ago

    Spotlight | The Power of Feedback

    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 advantage. Glassmarks attempts to address that gap by creating a continuous, anonymous worker feedback system focused on three indicators: Safety, Fairness, and Voice. Workers complete a one-minute survey in their own language. Results are aggregated into public-facing signals designed to help workers, managers, and buyers identify and improve workplace conditions in real time. In this Tea Biz Spotlight, Chambers discusses why he believes traditional audit systems are failing, why “the information layer” has disappeared from global supply chains, and how anonymous worker feedback could eventually become a competitive market signal within tea sourcing. Bio: Glassmarks founder and Executive Chairman Guy Chambers has spent more than three decades in the global beverage industry, including leadership roles in China’s ready-to-drink tea sector and as former CEO of Finlays. His current work focuses on building transparency, worker feedback systems, and continuous improvement models for supply chains. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    27 min
  3. Tea News Recap | Sri Lanka Slumps, Assam Struggles, Türkiye Rises

    2 days ago

    Tea News Recap | Sri Lanka Slumps, Assam Struggles, Türkiye Rises

    Middle East Conflict Dramatically Lowers Sri Lanka Tea Exports | Assam Unrest Reveals Deeper Industry Strains | Turkish Tea Finds a Bigger Export Market | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    10 min
  4. Ep 241 | Sri Lanka Slumps, Assam Struggles, Türkiye Rises

    2 days ago

    Ep 241 | Sri Lanka Slumps, Assam Struggles, Türkiye Rises

    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 the people closest to production — the workers themselves — became the source of continuous improvement? Guy Chambers, former CEO at Finlays and founder of Glassmarks, designed the not-for-profit platform around three simple ideas: Safety, Fairness, and Voice. Workers complete a one-minute anonymous survey. The results are aggregated and shared to encourage continuous improvement. The idea is simple. Could worker feedback become an information layer that tea has been missing? | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    45 min
  5. Tea Price Report | Week 19 | Ending 15 May

    15 May

    Tea Price Report | Week 19 | Ending 15 May

    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 this week, ↑ by $0.04/kg vs the last reported average (Week 18), reflecting steady buying support for stronger liquoring North Indian teas and improved demand from blenders and exporters. In Mombasa, prices averaged $2.23/kg, unchanged from the previous week (Sale 18 benchmark), supported by broadly stable buyer participation and orderly market clearance conditions. In Indonesia, prices averaged $2.43/kg this week, ↑ by $0.02/kg vs the prior benchmark, reflecting improved support for orthodox teas and tighter available supply. The broader market structure remains unchanged. Buyers continue to prioritize execution quality and blend reliability, while exporters remain disciplined because freight, financing, and energy costs continue to support pricing floors across the major origins. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    3 min
  6. Spotlight | Regenerative Farming Begins by Doing Less

    15 May

    Spotlight | Regenerative Farming Begins by Doing Less

    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 Korea, Wild Orchard Tea grows tea without irrigation, synthetic fertilizers, or intensive intervention. The objective is not simply sustainability, but long-term biological resilience. In this SPOTLIGHT conversation, Ham discusses soil microbiology, biodiversity, root depth, and why the tea industry may need to rethink how it measures success beyond short-term yield. | BIO Michael D. Ham is the founder of Wild Orchard Tea, a regenerative organic tea company sourcing from Jeju Island, South Korea. He is an advocate for regenerative agriculture in tea and works closely with growers focused on soil health, biodiversity, and long-term ecological stewardship. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    10 min
  7. Tea News Recap | Fertilizer Crisis | Tea Day | India Auction Mandate

    15 May

    Tea News Recap | Fertilizer Crisis | Tea Day | India Auction Mandate

    Fertilizer Shock Threatens Tea Quality, Yields, and Costs | International Tea Day Events Expand Across Global Markets | India Pushes Ahead with Contested Tea Auction Mandate | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    13 min
  8. Fertilizer Crisis | Tea Day | India Auction Mandate

    15 May

    Fertilizer Crisis | Tea Day | India Auction Mandate

    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. 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 Korea, Wild Orchard Tea grows tea without irrigation, synthetic fertilizers, or intensive intervention. The objective is not simply sustainability, but long-term biological resilience. In this SPOTLIGHT conversation, Ham discusses soil microbiology, biodiversity, root depth, and why the tea industry may need to rethink how it measures success beyond short-term yield. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    31 min
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About

The Voice of Tea Lands | Tea Journey Magazine, founded in 2015, and the Tea Biz Blog | Podcast are favorites of tea enthusiasts and professionals worldwide. Content is authentic, timely, and exclusive, a collaborative effort that enlists 40 voices skilled in 12 languages to tell the story of tea. Coverage spans tea discovery and preparation to tea tourism, lifestyles, health and wellness, meditation, culinary tea with recipes, and terroir. Our business coverage offers insights for commercial producers supported by rich market data and scientifically backed research. Transparency is rooted in authentic storytelling, featuring nuanced articles about the places and people who passionately live a life in tea. As a niche publication, Tea Journey relies on reader contributions for most of its income. Please consider donating to support the writers and staff who bring you our unique tea content from around the globe. We appreciate your support. In 2025, we teamed up with our good friends at OverSubscribe, a platform that lets our fans make real financial investments in our future. By contributing as little as $25 to Tea Journey, you’re not just supporting our publication—you’re joining a lively global community and earning a return on your investment. | https://teajourney.oversub.me/

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Bolton
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    474
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Tea Biz