March 1/Las Vegas/PRNewswire -- Organizers of World Tea Expo recognize quality tea, growth in tea retail, cold brew green tea, green tea popularity, Matcha lattes and tea-enhancing wares as six of the key tea trends for 2012. World Tea Expo, which covers the latest retail developments, will take place June 1-3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Registration and information is available at www.WorldTeaExpo.com. More than 4,500 delegates from around the world are expected to attend, to learn about the newest tea product launches and business issues, including these six trends for 2012:
1. Quality Tea on the Rise
World Tea Media says, "The tea industry is educating tea consumers about quality, thus improving their palate and desire for better tea. We're still a bit behind here, but many retailers and manufacturers are making progress, and consumers are increasingly looking to buy better teas; they want to know what makes certain teas high-quality rather than relying on the manufacturer's word or enticing packaging," explains Jage. "At the same time, industry members continue to discuss and ask one another, 'How do we internally define quality,' and that's fabulous. We're scrutinizing our own product; we're asking what Fair Trade really means; and we're asking if products calling themselves ready-to-drink [RTD] tea should contain a minimum of tea's total dissolved solids, or if tea-flavored sugar water should be allowed to call itself tea." Jage adds: "We're also seeing big tea buyers take notice of the high-quality winning teas from the North American Tea Championship, a professionally-judged tea competition. A win here means quality has been assessed by a third party professional, and that's making a significant difference for manufacturers when closing major deals."