Iced Tea Time

More than 2,600 of the world’s most-renowned tea experts and aficionados gathered to
increase their tea knowledge by performing for each other, networking, cooking, testing new
equipment, and discovering unusual varieties of the world’s most popular drink—second
only to water.
And back by demand, the festive Iced Tea Shake-off, held in partnership with the Tea
Association of the U.S.A., showcased iced tea from 40 companies. A huge growth area,
eight new companies came on board just in the past year, according to George Jage,
president of the World Tea Expo.
“Sixty percent of the U.S. tea market is iced tea,” says Jage. And the strongest iced tea
trends, he says, are “herbals, such as the increasingly popular antioxidant-rich South African
Rooibos tea; exotic tropical flavors, like mango; caffeine- free; and energy tea drinks, which
are showing up more and more in hotel mini-bars . . . and there’s a big interest in children’s
tea drinks.”
Servingware and garnishes for iced tea are getting attention, too. The year-round drink may,
for example, come in a martini glass, pint glass, champagne flute, have a sugared rim, or be
packaged like wine. Lemons and oranges are still favorites for garnishes—but so are
cinnamon sticks, pineapple, sugar sticks, and drink umbrellas. You can
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