Toronto Tea Festival 2026
Speakers
Speech Topic: The true Price of tea and how to change the narrative, with tips from Uttarkand
This talk will explore how traditional tea value chains are not good for farmers and what we can do about it to build brand health and fairness. Not just a theoretical session but introducing us to Uttarkand, a lost tea origin, and the Kumaon factory which is on a journey of fairness and tea brilliance (which may be tasted!)
John has spent over 40 years in tea, working from bush to cup in various parts of the world.
Having worked in Branded and Private label CPG packing companies, spent 15 years in global trading and several heading up sustainability projects for large coffee and tea enterprises, John feels well place to “Have a view”.
Via his consultancy NMTeaB John works to help others “Who would like to avoid 40 years trying” as well as being regularly called on by FAO.
More recently and, as a bad retirement plan, he launched his blending and packing company Elas Tea Inc on the cusp of Covid and fully understands the firefights, pivots and squeezes that are the lifeblood of the small business community.
Despite the majority of new SKUs, packed through Ela’s Tea, being botanicals, John remains a fan of true teas whose benefits, diversity and quality have gone largely underappreciated, undersold and unexplored by the majority of consumers.
Speech Topic: Bucket List Teas: The Top Teas You Can’t Live Without
Learn about some of the world’s most favourite teas. From oolongs that develop their unique taste from a brief frost to standards that are in tea drinker’s cups every day. Make sure to come prepared to share what your “Bucket List” tea is.
Shabnam Weber is the president of the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada and the Tea Association of the U.S.A. Inc. She is also one of the co-authors of 101 Teas to Steep Before You Die: The Ultimate Bucket List for the World’s Most Popular Beverage (Page Street Publishing, 2025). Shabnam has dedicated over 25 years to the tea industry, starting with her own innovative tea company in Toronto. Her passion for tea led her to join the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada, where she developed the Tea Sommelier® program. Since becoming President in 2018, Shabnam has transformed the association into a global industry leader. She is the Canadian representative and Vice-Chair of the UN FAO’s Intergovernmental Group on Tea, actively contributing to key working groups and co-founder of the International Alliance of Women in Tea. With a focus on diversity and a sustainable global tea community, Shabnam is committed to advancing the industry through collaboration and fostering meaningful connections.
British tea taster Kevin Gascoyne has spent every Spring in Asia as a buyer for 30 years. Taster/co-owner of Camellia Sinensis, his catalogue has gained World renown. Award-winning writer, he lectures all over the planet, runs 2 tea schools, workshops, conferences, field consulting, trade development and seminars. Co-Founder of the Tea Studio, Director of the Canadian Tea Association and Tea Masters Cup Canada. Aside from his obsessive quest for Darjeeling’s finest leaf, he has a passion for shop keeping in his stores. According to his colleagues his daily tea consumption compares to the flow of some small rivers.
SESSION INFO: An Inside View of the Tea Studio Project
The Tea Studio project, in India’s Nilgiri Hills, was founded by an international group of tea professionals back in 2015 and has produced tea since 2017. In that short time, they have received attention World-wide for their innovative approach to environmental power, socio-economic development as well as their state-of-the-art artisanal tea-making. Co-founder and director, Kevin Gascoyne, gives us a video tour of the Tea Studio followed by a Q&A session to introduce this new approach to tea manufacture and how it evolved in reaction to developing markets, struggling social structures and environmental necessity. Essential learning for all tea enthusiasts. (teastudio.info)
Speech Topic: How to taste like a pro. Use Master of Wine Framework to understand tea quality
Edward Qu is both a tea sommelier and an oenologist (specialist in the science and craft of winemaking), and is known as an educator in tea culture and wine production.
At Niagara College Teaching Winery, he manages the winery lab and winemaking projects. He teaches Vineyard Management courses and assists with a variety of courses relating to winemaking, including sensory evaluation, wine chemistry, lab analysis, etc. Concurrently, he is the wine educator for Southbrook Vineyards (Biodynamic/Organic Certified) in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He is also WSET Diploma candidate.
Edward’s journey into wine began with a profound passion for tea culture. He holds the prestigious designations of Advanced Sommelier of Chinese Tea and Advanced Tea Critic in China, experiences that have taken him across China, Sri Lanka, and Nepal in pursuit of tea mastery. After relocating to Canada in 2017, Edward has become a prominent figure in tea education, leading events at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Brock University, Niagara College, and the Toronto and London Tea Festivals.
Through SIMILARMINDSTASTING, Edward bridges the worlds of tea and wine by curating sensory-focused tasting experiences that highlight their unique and shared qualities. He also leads intimate tea tours in China, offering participants a rare opportunity to explore the country’s rich tea culture through his extensive connections and expertise.
Speech Topic: Why so Serious? How I learned to Loosen up and Enjoy my Tea
Linda Gaylard is a Tea Sommelier based in Toronto.
She is author of the international bestselling,
THE TEA BOOK, Winner of the 2017 World Tea Award for Best Tea Publication
Published by DK, a division of Penguin Random House, The Tea Book is a world tour of the art of tea. It has been translated into 12 languages.
Linda is chair of the Tea Guild of Canada. She appears in media interviews, is a consultant and spokesperson for the food and beverage industry, lectures, and hosts tea events.
She is currently instructor of the George Brown College Tea Sommelier program.
Website: The Tea Stylist Social @theteastylist
Speech topic: The Basics of Authentic Masala Chai: India’s Beloved Tea Tradition
Join Preena Chauhan, Indian cooking instructor and co-founder of Arvinda’s Spices & Chai, for an inspiring session all about India’s most cherished tea—Masala Chai.
Whether you’re a masala chai aficionado or new to India’s beloved spiced tea tradition, Preena’s lively demonstration will transport you to the heart of Indian culture through this warming beverage.
For three decades, Preena and her mother, Arvinda, have been perfecting the art of traditional home Indian cuisine and chai-making through their Indian cooking classes. With her experience of running a chai café and creating premium spice blends, Preena will guide you through the essential steps of crafting the perfect cup of Masala Chai—from selecting the right tea and spices to balancing the flavours to make it your own.
In this presentation you’ll learn:
1. The secret to making a rich, aromatic Masala Chai from scratch
2. The significance of each spice and its role in masala chai
3. Tips and tricks to personalize your chai ritual at home
4. How to pair your chai with traditional Indian sweets and savoury snacks from the award-winning cookbook, New Indian Basics.
Discover the craft behind every step, from blending spices to brewing the perfect cup, embrace a cherished Indian tradition that brings people together, one spiced cup at a time.
Preena Chauhan is an entrepreneur, Indian food expert, cooking instructor and award-winning author who runs popular cooking classes in the GTA through Arvinda’s where local, seasonal ingredients and fresh spices is the key to creating delicious, modern and traditional Indian menus.
She is co-founder of Arvinda’s, a line of premium Indian spice blends, and aspires to share her multi-textured, mouth-watering food moments with an audience enamoured with the foods and spices of her culture.
Preena is co-author of the award-winning New Indian Basics cookbook (2022, Appetite by Random House) and wants to inspire others to create delicious spice infused masala chai and menus for joy, good health and eating pleasure!
Speech topic: Tasseomancy: The Art of Telling Futures and Fortunes Using the Tea Leaves.
Tea is steeped in history and a healthy smattering of superstition, and reading fortunes with it hearkens back to days of the old divinatory art forms of the Geomancy; interpreting symbols and formations made by random objects. Tasseomancy (tea leaf reading) is the Art and Practice of divination by the interpretation of symbolic patterns made by tea leaves in a teacup. Join Amy as she talks about how this form of divination came to be the Art it is today. She will cover its rich history, mystery and origins, the tools used and the forms it is done in. This presentation is an interactive, fun and informative session and is open to all ages!
About Amy Lou Taylor; For 30+ years Amy has been a Tea Enthusiast and a professional Tea Leaf and Card Reader. She is the sole owner of TAOTAT’s Mystic Tea & Brooms, est. 2009. Amy is a Certified TAC Tea Sommelier Professional, Tea Educator and Broomsquire. She also was a contributing writer for the Tea and Herb Association of Canada’s Herbal Modules for TAC Certified Tea Sommelier courses. Amy has contributed to many magazines, media outlets and blogs as an authority on Tasseomancy (however she feels she is always learn more about the Art) and is also in the process writing two books about the mystical side of tea. Find her on the web at www.taotat.ca.
Speech Topic: The Old Ways – Forwards How Wild Orchard’s Regenerative Farming Returns to Tea’s Roots – Jeff Fuchs and Michael D.Ham
A dynamic and conversational keynote with Jeff Fuchs, renowned tea explorer and author, and Michael D. Ham, Co-Founder of Wild Orchard.
As interest in sustainability, sourcing, and flavor continues to grow across North America, this session explores how some of tea’s most forward-thinking ideas are deeply rooted in its oldest traditions.
Drawing from Wild Orchard’s regenerative organic tea gardens on Jeju Island, South Korea, Michael will share how rebuilding living soils, restoring biodiversity, and re-centering farmer wellbeing are not only improving environmental outcomes, but also producing exceptional, award-winning teas. As Wild Orchard tea maker Mr. Jeong often says, “Good tea starts with good soil and a good environment. It is that simple.”
Jeff will bring decades of firsthand experience documenting tea cultures across Asia, including long-term work in Yunnan’s ancient tea forests and a recent stay at Wild Orchard’s Jeju Island gardens. He will highlight the strong parallels between traditional tea cultivation practices and modern regenerative approaches, and explain why revisiting these “old ways” may be essential to tea’s future.
Together, Jeff and Michael will explore what regeneration truly means for tea, why it matters now more than ever, and how producers, buyers, and tea drinkers in North America can think differently about the tea they choose.
This keynote is designed to be accessible, engaging, and thought-provoking, blending storytelling, lived experience, and practical insight into where tea has been and where it is headed.
Himalayan explorer and Puerh procurer, Canadian Jeff Fuchs has spent the last 20 years documenting Himalayan trade routes and tea for publications on three continents. He is the only documented westerner to have travelled the entire length of the 1300-year-old Tea Horse Road.
Author of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, and ‘The Tea Sessions’, Fuchs is host of the award-winning documentary film, ‘The Tea Explorer’. While living in Yunnan province for a decade, he served as the Asian-Editor-at-Large for Outpost Magazine and was an invited Scholar-in-Residence at the East-West Center in Honolulu.
Fuchs has led tours into southern Yunnan province’s tea cultivation heartland with Wild China and was a co-founder of Jalamteas, which focused raw ‘sheng’ Puerh teas.
He is co-founder and Director of Outdoor Programming at the Akahiao Nature Institute on Hawaii’s Big Island and has added tea times to each program in an effort to remind participants “to take the time to take time”.
Fuchs is currently working on a documentary film focusing on a master tea maker in southern Japan.
Michael D. Ham is the Co-Founder and President of Wild Orchard, a pioneering tea
company rooted in regenerative organic agriculture. Under his leadership, Wild
Orchard, with tea gardens on Jeju Island, South Korea, became the world’s first
Regenerative Organic Certified® tea gardens, setting a new standard for
environmental stewardship, soil health, and fair labor practices in the global tea
industry.
Michael’s work sits at the intersection of tea, sustainability, and human health. At
Wild Orchard, he helps bring visibility, market access, and long-term partnerships to
farming practices initiated decades earlier by the founding farmers, who began
restoring soil and ecosystem health in the late 1990s. Today, that work is recognized
and celebrated globally through 27 international tea awards and Wild Orchard’s
receipt of the 2025 CPG Conscious Business Award.
With a background in kinesiology and nutrition, and professional credentials as a
WELL AP and Faculty member, Michael brings a systems-based perspective to tea,
viewing it not only as a beverage, but as a catalyst for healthier people, communities,
and the planet.
Through Wild Orchard, he works with chefs, cafes, hotels, retailers, brands, and
institutions across North America and Europe, while advocating for transparency,
conscious business practices, and deep respect for origin in the tea trade.
Speech Topic: A journey of Pu’er tea
Franco Li, founder of Chin-Tea. come from Yunnan, the homeland of Pu’er tea, located in the southwest of China. With deep roots in this ancient tea-growing region—home to centuries-old tea forests and a rich tea heritage—my personal connection to tea is both a passion and an identity.
At Chin-Tea, we focus on bringing the finest Pu’er, black tea, and white tea directly from the tea mountains of Yunnan to Toronto. By bridging the source and the cup, we share authentic, high-quality tea with fellow enthusiasts, inviting more tea lovers to enjoy the true taste of Yunnan, one sip at a time.
Speech Topic: Bamboo Tea-From High Mountain of Vietnam
Ngọc Tuấn Nguyễn – also known as Robert Nguyễn – currently lives and works in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
He is a traditional tea artisan, officially honored by the Vietnamese Handicraft Association. Since 2004, he has founded and led the tea brand Song Hỷ Trà, which celebrates the spirit and heritage of Vietnamese tea.
For over two decades, he has contributed to bringing Vietnamese tea to the world through the Vietnam Cultural Days Abroad programs organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. He has introduced and demonstrated Vietnamese tea in countries such as China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, France, Austria, Algeria, Canada, and many others.
Beyond being a tea maker, he is also a dedicated researcher of Vietnamese tea culture. His published works include four specialized books:
54 Giai Thoại Trà – 54 Tea Tales (2020)
Phác Thảo Danh Trà Việt Nam – Sketches of Famous Vietnamese Teas (2020)
Thưởng Trà Thật Đẹp Thật Vui – Tea Enjoyment – Beauty & Joy (2022)
Tìm Trà – What is Tea (2024)
Today, he regularly hosts tea gatherings and cultural exchanges at the Embassy of Vietnam in Ottawa and within local communities. He also leads workshops and tea education programs that help introduce Vietnamese tea to tea lovers across Canada.
To him, tea is not just a beverage – it is a living expression of culture, memory, and human connection.
Through each cup of tea, he hopes to create a quiet space where emotions are heard, stories are shared, and roots are remembered.
Through the art of Vietnamese tea, he continues his journey to preserve cultural identity and share the gentle beauty, elegance, and harmony of Vietnam with friends around the world.
Connect with Robert Nguyen
Facebook : robert.nguyen.tea
Website: www.songhytra.com
Speech Topic: The Economics of Tea in 2025
Tealet FOUNDER/CEO Elyse Petersen is an experienced international development worker in the area of food security, natural resource management, and sustainable food preservation, having served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa and Antigua and Barbuda. Elyse graduated from Shidler College of Business with a Japan-focused M.B.A and from Cal State Pomona with a B.S. in Food Science. Tealet was launched in 2012 as a culmination of her work and experience and serves the entire tea industry as a transparent marketplace for independent producers to connect directly with buyers. Petersen livestreams daily on Tiktok and advocates for creators in the metaverse.
Speech topic: Matcha Shortage!? What Has Actually Been Happening in the Japanese Matcha Market
In recent years, headlines and social media have been flooded with talk of a “global matcha shortage.” But what is really happening behind the scenes in Japan?
“Matcha shortage” is everywhere — but the real story is far more complex. In this session, Rikko Osaki cuts through the noise to reveal what’s actually happening inside Japan’s matcha market. From exploding global demand and labor shortages to climate pressure and production limits, she breaks down the forces reshaping matcha — and what they mean for the future of your cup.
Rikko Osaki is the founder of Hokusan Tea Canada, a premium wholesaler specializing in Japanese green tea and matcha. Hokusan has been awarded Best Japanese Green Tea for four consecutive years, reflecting its consistent commitment to quality.
In 2021, Rikko trained at a 450-year-old heritage tea farm in Japan and also worked at the Japanese tea auction market, gaining rare, behind-the-scenes insight into how matcha is grown, priced, and traded. With a strong focus on sustainability and traditional tea practices, she is passionate about helping Canadians understand what’s really happening behind today’s matcha shortage conversations — and what it means for the future of Japanese green tea.