Last week's World Tea Expo went by so very quickly. The tea intensive show was jam-packed with activity and seemed to speed by. Our booth this year had a stronger presentation of our loose tea offering and this certainly seemed to attract more booth visitors.

It seems nary a moment when by without a great conversation about tea business and everyone's needs and aspirations. Those we spoke with who are starting or just started tea businesses seemed solid in their plans with realistic views of what is needed to succeed. It was also good to hear of established tea businesses continuing to be strong with all the recent economic strife.

Notably, some regular WTE attendees were absent this year, most likely due to focusing on their own businesses and being fairly set with their suppliers and such. The announcement of World Tea East may have also contributed to this, as many east coasters will no doubt prefer the shorter and likely more affordable trip closer to home. If you are planning on attending World Tea East in September, we would love to hear from you.

Besides meeting so many passionate tea people and getting re-energized tea-wise for the coming busy season, it is always great to get to chat with our competitors and see what is new with them. It is most gratifying to see them flourishing and helping to build a solid specialty tea industry. The mutual respect and sense of cooperation will certainly ensure continued steady growth! As they saying goes, "all boats rise in a high tide."