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Desirée Nelson

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  • Facilitating the exchange of best practices among growers, traders, and researchers.
  • Marketing, brand building, practical experience in retail and wholesale, import and export and logistics.
  • Tasting, blending, formulation, packaging, product life-cycle

What most interests me in tea is the intersection of origin, relationships, and real-world demand. I care deeply about how tea moves from farm to finished product—who grows it, who processes it, who buys it, and where value is created or lost along the way.

I bring a strong, practical understanding of what consumers actually want and how to translate that into products and brands that sell—not just sound good on paper. I’ve worked across sourcing, formulation, manufacturing, branding, and go-to-market, so I naturally operate as a connector between farms, manufacturers, and buyers who often aren’t speaking the same language yet.

At this stage, tea isn’t just about flavor or trends for me. It’s about building durable supply chains, aligning origin realities with market expectations, and making smart introductions that lead to better products, stronger brands, and long-term partnerships.

My comments on the most critical threats/opportunities facing the tea industry globally.

  • I don’t like to grip about it I believe in planting trees and creating micro climates
  • It’s important to have good supplier relationships, and spot back ups
  • It’s important to educate the market and customers through storytelling
  • Well, right now it’s protein do you want to put protein in your tea? OK just kidding value auditions are important though. Hydration plus functional benefits is where it’s at.
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Dan is an editor and publisher, a podcaster, blogger, and beverage retail consultant. He is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences (virtual and in-person). Dan was the first editor and publisher at World Tea News and has worked as editor and publisher of Tea Magazine and managing editor of STiR coffee and tea. His work appears online and in many magazines. In 2016 he organized the collaborative group of tea journalists and experts who founded Tea Journey magazine and in 2021 launched the Tea Biz podcast. He began his publications career in 1974 as a newspaper reporter.