US
Incoming president Angela McDonald says that in 2013 when the US League of Tea Growers (USLTG) was founded “a lot of people were excited, but they did not want to share secrets.”
“That approach ends up holding everybody back,” she says. In time, members realized they are not competitors and they are learning from each other and collaborating. “In the end, she says, the goal is to establish viable products for the marketplace. They all have one thing in common: a passion to grow specialty tea in their own locales.
“It’s important to have research done, collaborate and create an industry. The league exists to assist in creating that industry, so everyone has a place to sell their tea.”
USLTG is comprised of 85 growers on the US mainland and Hawaii. Some are hobbyists but several overate commercial tea production facilities, she says.