World Tea Expo 2026: An Honest Recap from the Floor

Third Year, Different Energy

This is my third year attending the World Tea Expo, and I want to be real with you: 2026 hit differently.

In 2024, everything was new. The discovery, the people, the sheer volume of tea from every corner of the world. In 2025, I came back with more intention, made deeper connections, and walked away feeling like I’d truly found my people in the industry.

2026? The event changed ownership. And you felt it the moment you walked in.

The World Tea Expo is now part of the Bar & Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas, and what used to feel like a gathering of tea lovers now feels like a tea corner tucked inside someone else’s trade show. The energy was slower, quieter, and honestly a little sad compared to previous years. No tea bar. Less floor space. And a sense that the organizers weren’t quite sure what to do with us.

But here’s the beautiful thing: the tea people still showed up. And that made all the difference.

Where Did All the Tea Go?

Let me put this into perspective. The exhibitor list for the combined Bar & Restaurant Expo and World Tea Expo had 468 companies. Of those, roughly 70 were tea-related. That’s about 15%.

The other 85%? ATM machines. Bowling equipment. POS systems. Liquor brands. Restaurant furniture. Fireworks companies. A swimsuit model search booth. I’m not making that up.

On the floor plan, the World Tea Expo section is pushed to the right side of the convention hall. The “World Tea Lounge” replaced what used to be a more vibrant tea bar. The T1 through T8 booths along the edge are tiny. Meanwhile, “The Bar,” “The Chef’s Stage,” and the “Restaurant Zone” take up the majority of the floor.

The physical shrinking of the tea section mirrors something deeper. When you walk past rows of cocktail shakers and beer taps to find the tea people, you can’t help but wonder: is this still the right home for the World Tea Expo?

The Japanese Tea Section: Still the Heart

Despite everything I just said, the Japanese tea producers showed up in full force, and honestly, their corner of the expo still felt like real tea culture. Like stepping into a different world.

Over 15 Japanese companies were exhibiting, most of them from the Shizuoka and Kakegawa regions. I visited nearly all of them, and I just love how the Japanese value excellence. Their products are incredible, their presentation is meticulous, and the care they put into every single cup is something the rest of the industry could learn from. There’s a reverence there that you can feel.

Osada Seicha was back (booth 1543), a connection I first made at the 2025 expo. It was so good to reconnect. Sugimoto Tea Company (booth 1868), one of the more well-known names in Japanese green tea exports, had a strong presence as always. And Harada Tea (booth 1542) was right next door to Osada.

Some of the smaller family operations were equally impressive: Kaneju Farm (booth 1646), Kanehachi Chaen (booth 1545), Suzuki Choju Shoten (booth 1648), Kagoshima Seicha (booth 1634), YAMAEI from Kakegawa (booth 1645), and Tea Capital Shizuoka (booth 1642). HARIO USA (booth 1768) was there too, representing on the tea accessories side with their beautiful craftsmanship.

Walking through the Japanese section, you’d almost forget the rest of the expo existed. This is where the depth was. This is where the passion lived. This is where my heart felt at home.

Discoveries Worth the Trip

Taiwan Tea Creative Industries Association (TTCIA)

Easily one of the highlights of the entire expo. I had the honor of meeting Eric Fan, the president of TTCIA, and Doris Chen, the secretary general. What wonderful, beautiful souls. Doris was serving tea at the booth and didn’t speak any English, but you know what? The connection through tea was immediate and real. That’s the magic of this world. You don’t always need words.

The Taiwanese teas they brought were just incredible: Dongding, Four Seasons, Ali Shan, High Mountain oolongs. TTCIA was established in late 2024 with a mission close to my heart: helping smaller Taiwanese farmers reach international markets. Seeing that mission come alive at the expo was genuinely inspiring. If you’re looking for authentic Taiwanese tea connections, visit ttcia.org.tw.

I also connected with Jack Chang from Tea Ali, another Taiwanese tea specialist with incredible oolongs. And Tealley (booth 1939), a Taiwanese tea brand crafting beautiful loose leaf teas, was exhibiting in the World Tea Expo section as well.

Honestly, the Taiwanese presence was so strong that I’m now seriously considering adding oolongs to my own tea brand, One with Tea, on Amazon. That’s the power of a great expo connection.

NAMHYA: Ayurveda Meets Tea

From India, I met Ridhiyama Arora from NAMHYA (booth 1736), and wow, what an energy she carries. Her Ayurvedic herbal blends were outstanding. NAMHYA specializes in functional teas rooted in Ayurveda, covering everything from women’s health to sleep support to daily energy balance. If you’re interested in the intersection of tea and traditional Indian wellness, keep an eye on this brand. Ridhiyama is building something special.

Misty Lava: Oolong Matcha from Vietnam

This was an interesting one. Francis Nguyen from Misty Lava (booth 2042) is doing something different: taking semi-oxidized oolong tea leaves from Vietnam and grinding them into a matcha-style powder.

Now, does it technically qualify as matcha? Probably not, since traditional matcha uses shade-grown tencha leaves that are deveined before grinding. Misty Lava’s process skips that, which makes production easier but changes the product fundamentally. That said, I really respect the inventiveness. The marketing is great, and the fact that a Vietnamese company looked at the matcha trend and said “what can we do differently?” is exactly the kind of creative energy the tea industry needs more of.

Other Notable Exhibitors

Fujian Oriental Tea / ORTEA (booth 1764) and Cloud Tea Orb (booth 1741) represented the Chinese tea sector. Nepal Tea Collective (booth 1556) continues to bring consistent quality from the Himalayas. And Yerba Madre (booth 1942) brought an interesting yerba mate crossover that shows how the boundaries of “tea” keep expanding.

And I have to give a heartfelt shout-out to the industry people I connected with across the floor: Noli Ergas, Gavin and Billy from Sugimoto, and John from BDH Consultants. These are the people who keep the tea world spinning behind the scenes, and I’m grateful for every conversation.

Is the World Tea Expo Still the Right Home for Tea?

I’ll say what a lot of people at the expo were probably thinking: honestly, I’m not sure anymore.

The ownership change brought it under the Bar & Restaurant Expo umbrella, and the result feels like tea got absorbed rather than elevated. The bar people are great at what they do, but they’re just not our people. Tea people want depth. We want connection. We want personality. We want to sit down, share a cup, and talk about the soil a leaf grew in. We didn’t feel we got that this year from the conference or the expo itself.

The real conversations still happened, of course. At the booths, between passionate producers and curious visitors. Between people who genuinely love this plant. But it happened despite the event, not because of it.

I’d love to see the World Tea Expo revive and find a younger, fresher energy. Because tea people are cool people. We’re amazing. And we deserve an event that reflects the depth and beauty of what this industry and this community represents. Whether that happens under the current format or something entirely new emerges, I’ll be watching with an open heart.

World Tea Expo 2026: Full Tea Exhibitor List

Here’s every tea-related exhibitor from the World Tea Expo section of the 2026 event. Out of 468 total exhibitors at the combined Bar & Restaurant Expo, these are the roughly 70 companies that were actually about tea.

Japanese Tea Producers

Taiwanese Tea

Chinese Tea

Indian & South Asian Tea

Other Tea Brands & Specialty

Tea Equipment & Accessories

Final Thoughts

Despite everything I’ve shared here, I want to be really clear about something: the people in tea are still incredible. The producers who flew across the world to share their craft. The small brands trying to carve out a space with heart and hustle. The industry veterans who keep showing up year after year because they believe in what tea can do for people. That community is alive, it’s warm, and it’s absolutely worth protecting.

The question isn’t whether the tea industry has energy. It has so much. The question is whether the World Tea Expo is still the right vessel for it. I hope the organizers hear the feedback and find a way to give tea the space and respect it deserves. Because this community is worth it. We all are.

If you want to see how the expo has evolved over the years, check out my World Tea Expo 2025 recap and World Tea Expo 2024 recap.

Until next time, keep steeping with intention. And if we crossed paths at the expo this year, thank you for being part of this beautiful community. It meant a lot.

With love and tea,
Christian Mauerer
Founder, Best Tea Leaves & One with Tea