When I was running my tea shop, Phoenix Pearl Tea, I looked forward to World Tea Expo (WTE) each year. It was a place to connect with vendors, network with my blogger buddies, learn about all that was new in the world of tea, and gather fresh material for Tea with Gary. I wrote about the Tea Bloggers Roundtable in 2013, and the expo in 2014 and 2015. Then I got lazy and haven’t updated you with much about the show recently.

As some of you may know, my wife Kathy and I turned the management of the tea shop over to our daughter Gwen when I took over the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary about six years ago. That left me little time for Tea with Gary. Gwen moved Phoenix Pearl to Great Falls, Montana and switched to an online-only model. She’s now partnered with a local coffee shop and shares space with them in downtown Great Falls.

Now that I’m semi-retired and no longer running YWS, I’m getting back to my sorely-neglected tea writing, working on a new tea book (more on that soon), and preparing to launch a tea-related podcast. And I’m heading back to World Tea Expo this month in Las Vegas with Gwen and Kathy!

I’ve watched a lot of changes in WTE over the years, including the variety of logos in the banner above (the purple one at the top is this year’s). They’ve partnered with other conferences, and WTE passes have gotten us into healthy beverage expos, coffee shop exhibits, and this year, bar and restaurant stuff.

I’m excited about getting back into it and seeing what’s new, but even more excited to reconnect with old friends that I haven’t seen in a while. Are you going? Let me know in the comments below. Maybe we can meet at the tea bar on the show floor!