Tea Biz

Dan Bolton
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Business News
  • Updated Weekly

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. 19h ago

    Ep 247 | Darjeeling Exports | Kenya Tea Bonuses | India Bans Paraquat

    Rebuilding Darjeeling Export Value | Rising Costs Squeeze Kenya Tea Bonuses | India Removes Paraquat from Tea Protection Code NEWSMAKER – Vale Farms CEO and Founder Luke Larson PLUS | American Matcha | Can the Pacific Northwest grow exceptional matcha at commercial scale? Seattle-based Vale is putting that question to the test. Founder and CEO Luke Larson says Vale Farms has planted twelve thousand tea plants on three acres on Whidbey Island, Washington. Plans include a greenhouse and a thirty-thousand-square-foot processing facility in nearby Oak Harbor. The first harvest is still about five years away. In the meantime, Vale will continue sourcing tea from Japan while developing its growing and processing operations. But Larson’s ambition extends beyond one farm. Inspired by Napa Valley and Oregon’s Willamette wine region, he hopes other growers will help build a regional tea industry. Tea Biz correspondent Jessica Natale Woollard explores the plans—and the patience required—in this week’s SPOTLIGHT | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Ep 247 | Darjeeling Exports | Kenya Tea Bonuses | India Bans Paraquat

  2. 1d ago

    Tea Price Report | Week 39 | Ending 25 September

    Tea markets closed ISO Week 39 with good demand in Kenya and Sri Lanka, and fair demand in North and South India and Indonesia. Colombo offered about 4.8 million kilograms, its smallest catalog since April 2024. Reduced availability supported competition for better teas. North India’s latest official CTC average was almost unchanged in rupee terms, showing a stable headline market even as buyers remained selective by quality. Mombasa maintained good general demand, while Indonesia remained fair but thinly documented. Here are this week’s price benchmarks. In Colombo, prices averaged approximately $3.80 per kilogram this week, up ↑ $0.04 per kilogram versus the prior indicative benchmark. In North India, prices averaged approximately $2.20 per kilogram, → broadly unchanged. Tea Board India reported ₹203.84/kg for North India CTC for the week ending 19 September versus ₹203.43/kg previously. In Mombasa, prices averaged approximately $2.24 per kilogram, up ↑ $0.05 per kilogram versus Week37. In Indonesia, prices averaged approximately $1.14 per kilogram, up ↑ $0.02 per kilogram versus the Week35 benchmark. The interplay of quality and availability continues. Smaller offerings can strengthen seller resistance, but buyers still won't lift secondary teas indiscriminately. Costs reinforce that discipline. Freight, energy, packaging, and finance remain embedded in delivered values, especially for inexpensive bulk teas. The Week 39 takeaway is that catalog size, clearance, and quality spreads matter as much as the headline average. Better teas continue to capture competition; secondary descriptions still depend on accurate pricing and buyer need. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Tea Price Report | Week 39 | Ending 25 September

  3. 1d ago

    Tea News Recap | Rebuilding Darjeeling Exports | Kenya Tea Bonuses Squeezed | India Removes Paraquat

    Rebuilding Darjeeling Export Value | Rising Costs Squeeze Kenya Tea Bonuses | India Removes Paraquat from Tea Protection Code | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Tea News Recap | Rebuilding Darjeeling Exports | Kenya Tea Bonuses Squeezed | India Removes Paraquat

  4. 1d ago

    Spotlight | American Matcha

    Can the Pacific Northwest grow exceptional matcha at commercial scale? Seattle-based Vale is putting that question to the test. Founder and CEO Luke Larson says Vale Farms has planted twelve thousand tea plants on what will eventually grow to two hundred acres on Whidbey Island, Washington. Plans include a greenhouse and a thirty-thousand-square-foot processing facility in nearby Oak Harbor. The first harvest is still about five years away. In the meantime, Vale will continue sourcing tea from Japan while developing its growing and processing operations. But Larson’s ambition extends beyond one farm. Inspired by Napa Valley and Oregon’s Willamette wine region, he hopes other growers will help build a regional tea industry. Tea Biz correspondent Jessica Natale Woollard explores the plans—and the patience required—in this week’s SPOTLIGHT. BIO: Our guest is Luke Larson, founder and CEO of Vale, the Seattle-based matcha business developing Vale Farms on Whidbey Island, Washington. Larson grew up on a farm on the Olympic Peninsula. His interest in matcha became a business venture with Chef Jeffrey Hayden, Vale’s head of Craft. Working with agricultural specialists and tea-growing partners, Larson is pursuing commercial tea cultivation, matcha production, and a hospitality experience centered on tea education. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Spotlight | American Matcha

  5. Sep 18

    Tea Price Report | Week 37 | Ending 11 September, 2026

    Quality Widens the Price Gap | Tea markets ended ISO Week 37 with prices increasingly determined by quality rather than broad market direction. Across the major auction centers, buyers remained active but selective. Colombo recorded fair general demand, but stronger teas separated from weaker Western and Orthodox descriptions. North India remained under pressure relative to earlier-season highs, even as production constraints provided some underlying support. Mombasa showed one of the clearest quality signals, with better Kenyan manufacture attracting substantially stronger competition. Indonesia remained broadly stable, although limited public weekly data make it the least transparent of the four benchmarks. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Tea Price Report | Week 37 | Ending 11 September, 2026

  6. Sep 18

    Spotlight | How Recognition Adds Value to Tea

    Tea producers seeking higher returns are often advised to add value through improved processing, certification, packaging, or branding. Independent recognition of the finished tea’s quality is another part of that conversation. AVPA, the Paris-based organization behind the international Teas of the World competition, evaluates entries through blind sensory assessment. For producers moving beyond bulk sales, that recognition can help convey what makes a particular tea distinctive. In this SPOTLIGHT, we explore how producers can connect quality to the market, what French consumers value, and where recognition fits alongside the commercial work of building a brand. Our guest today is Ksenia Hleap, Chief Operating Officer of AVPA — Agence pour la Valorization des Produits Agricoles, the Paris-based organization that conducts international competitions recognizing the gastronomic quality of agricultural products. Ksenia joined AVPA in October 2017 as Director of Communications and Business Development and was named Chief Operating Officer in July 2026. She is closely involved in AVPA’s international Teas of the World competition, which welcomes producers from established and emerging tea origins and evaluates entries through blind sensory assessment. She earned a master's degree in business development from UPEC Université Paris. Her work at AVPA focuses on producer recognition, product quality, and market development—particularly helping agricultural producers communicate their products' identity, quality, and added value. | Podlink sign-up: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Spotlight | How Recognition Adds Value to Tea

  7. Sep 18

    Tea News Recap | Africa Pushes Value Over Volume | Europe Pays More for Better Tea | ISO Advances Tea Standards

    Africa Pushes Value Over Volume | Europe Pays More for Better Tea | ISO Advances Tea Standards | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Tea News Recap | Africa Pushes Value Over Volume | Europe Pays More for Better Tea | ISO Advances Tea Standards

  8. Sep 18

    Ep 246 | Africa Adds Value | Europe Buys Better Tea | ISO Sets Standards

    Africa Pushes Value Over Volume | Europe Pays More for Better Tea | ISO Advances Tea Standards NEWSMAKER – Ksenia Hleap, Chief Operating Officer of AVPA in Paris PLUS | Certification can tell a buyer how a tea was produced. But does it taste good? Ksenia Hleap explains how independent sensory recognition can help producers distinguish their teas in the market. Later in the program, we discuss what the French palate rewards, why recognition matters for emerging origins, and how a tea can move from an anonymous commodity to a product with an identity. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153 Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Ep 246 | Africa Adds Value | Europe Buys Better Tea | ISO Sets Standards
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

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
    498
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Tea Biz