Tag: Tea

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Hong Kong International Tea Fair 2026 Opens Its Doors August 13-15

Asia’s largest tea trade fair, the Hong Kong International Tea Fair, returns August 13-15, 2026 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, bringing together more than 800 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions. This year’s edition leans into rarity and innovation, with exhibits including an extremely rare first-flush raw pu’er tea from a naturally mutated purple-bud varietal grown on Yunnan’s Kunlu Mountain, alongside white tea from Laos, premium Kenyan tea, and Sri Lanka’s renowned Ceylon tea. New this year is the “Chinese Mainland Matcha Pavilion,” dedicated entirely to matcha and backed by the Guizhou and Zhejiang provinces, showcasing everything from ceremonial-grade matcha to matcha desserts. The fair is open to both trade buyers and the general public, reflecting the growing global appetite for functional and specialty teas.

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Source: HKTDC

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Celestial Seasonings Expands Anytime Wellness Line with Three New Functional Blends

American brand Celestial Seasonings has expanded its Anytime Wellness collection with three new functional blends: Prebiotic Blend, Stomach Soother and Throat Soother. Each blend is designed for a specific benefit — supporting digestion, soothing the stomach, and calming the throat, respectively — using combinations of traditional herbs and plants.

The expansion comes at a time when functional tea is the fastest-growing segment of the global tea industry, with consumers increasingly seeking natural alternatives for everyday wellness in place of classic supplements.

Celestial Seasonings, one of the oldest American herbal tea brands, is leaning on its decades-long reputation to strengthen its position in this fast-expanding segment, in a market where more and more traditional brands are launching lines dedicated to functionality.

Source: GlobeNewswire

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Wipeout Beverages Launches a Functional Ready-to-Drink Tea Brand

American company Wipeout Beverages launched its own functional ready-to-drink tea brand this summer, debuting in Louisiana with three core flavors: Sweet Tea, Half-Pipe Lemonade + Tea, and Unsweetened Black Tea. The products combine real brewed tea with 160 mg of “clean” caffeine sourced from green tea and the recommended daily value of B vitamins.

The brand was founded by a team with decades of experience in the beverage industry, and its positioning leans on combining the classic taste of American iced tea with the functional benefits consumers increasingly seek — sustained energy without the “crash” typical of classic energy drinks.

The launch is part of a broader wave of RTD brands trying to cut sugar and add functional benefits to bottled teas, in a U.S. ready-to-drink tea market looking for new growth drivers after a slight decline in traditional sales.

Source: BevNET

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Hong Kong International Tea Fair Returns August 13-15

One of Asia’s largest tea trade shows, the HKTDC Hong Kong International Tea Fair, opens its doors from August 13 to 15, 2026, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s edition brings together more than 800 exhibitors from over 30 countries and regions, covering the entire industry chain — from cultivation and processing to packaging and specialized equipment.

Visitors will find loose-leaf and packaged teas, functional and organic blends, tea accessories, plus dedicated tasting areas and technical seminars. The event remains a benchmark for traders and producers looking to spot seasonal trends early — from functional teas to innovations in sustainable packaging.

With such broad international participation, the Hong Kong fair confirms Asia’s role as the main engine of innovation in the global tea industry, in a year when demand for functional and wellness blends keeps growing.

Source: HKTDC

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Ahmad Tea Wins Grocer Gold Award for Social Impact in 2026

Ahmad Tea, one of the British tea brands with a global presence, has won the 2026 Grocer Gold Award in the “Social Impact Initiative of the Year” category. The award recognizes the company’s “Hand-Picked Profit Shared” program, through which it redistributes a share of profit directly to the workers who pick its tea leaves — a rare practice in an industry where margins usually flow to middlemen and retailers rather than primary producers.

The Grocer Gold distinction, awarded by British trade publication The Grocer, is one of the most respected honors in UK food retail and places growing emphasis on sustainability and supply-chain ethics criteria.

Around the same time, the tea industry marked a similar moment: India’s Luxmi Tea received a national honor for the workplace safety standards implemented on its own plantations.

The trend points to a tea industry increasingly attentive to the conditions of upstream workers, not just to the quality of the final product.

Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Functional Tea and Matcha Lead Global Trends in 2026

The global tea industry is undergoing a visible shift in 2026, according to a recent market analysis. The organic segment keeps growing on the back of rising demand for pesticide-free products, and matcha remains a star category while diversifying further: new ceremonial-grade origins are appearing, alongside flavored versions (chai, vanilla) designed for lattes, and hojicha, a roasted Japanese green tea with lower caffeine content and a sweet, toasted flavor.

At the same time, interest is growing in caffeine-free alternatives — rooibos, fruit infusions, and decaffeinated teas — sought by consumers looking to manage sleep and stress. Functional teas, formulated for relaxation, digestion, or energy, are becoming a daily wellness ritual for more and more consumers, while younger drinkers in particular are chasing visual, shareable experiences rather than sticking to a single flavor long-term.

For more recommendations from the world of quality beverages, explore the Mister Tabaco range.

Source: Alveus

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The Republic of Tea Wins NEXTY Award for a Regenerative Assam Tea

The Republic of Tea received the 2026 NEXTY Editor’s Choice Award, presented at Natural Products Expo West, for its Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) Assam Black Tea. The announcement was made on March 25, 2026, recognizing one of the most rigorous sustainability standards in agriculture.

Regenerative Organic Certification, awarded by the Regenerative Organic Alliance, goes beyond standard organic farming: it evaluates soil health, fairness toward farm workers, support for farmers and animal welfare, through a farm-based, brand-driven certification system. For an Assam tea — typically grown on large, intensive plantations — such a certification is seen as a notable step toward more responsible practices in the tea industry.

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Source: New Hope Network

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Teapigs Launches Four New Blends, Its First in Five Years

British brand Teapigs has announced its biggest range expansion in five years: four new herbal blends. The lineup includes Ginger & Manuka Honey, Strawberry & Juniper, Chamomile Lullaby and Pumpkin Spice Chai.

Known for its biodegradable tea ‘temples’ and focus on quality ingredients, the company is leaning on unusual flavour pairings to appeal to consumers increasingly drawn to functional, caffeine-free infusions.

The launch lands as the global tea and infusions market goes through a wave of diversification, with brands constantly chasing new recipes and flavours to match increasingly varied consumer demand.

Source: Beverage Industry