Bill's Story
| THE TEA GUY Hi, I'm Bill Waddington, the owner of TeaSource. I have been a tea drinker my whole life and about 20 years ago I became serious about it. It seemed to me that there had to be great teas in the world: great wines, great chocolates, or even great coffees. Thus began my pursuit of great tea, and I have been at it ever since. It began very tentatively with my doing research and eventually contacting people in the tea trade: for instance a tea brokeage in Calcutta, tea blenders in Germany, tea growers in India, tea exporters and importers throughout the world etc. Over the years I had a chance to sample teas and learn from these and others in the tea trade (many of whom grew up in the tea trade). So that over the years my knowledge increased and sources for my personal consumption of great teas grew extensively. But I was still frustrated, because while I was having the opportunity to drink some of the best teas in the world, there was still very few places where they were readily available to the general public. That is what drove me to launch TeaSource: the conviction that tea is perhaps the most amazing beverage in the history of mankind, and that if other people had the chance to explore this world as I had, they would become as fascinated as I was. And that is what continues to drive me today: appreciation and fascination of this simple leaf and its endless possibilities. |
BIOGRAPHY
Bill Waddington is a world recognized authority on specialty tea. He is the founder and president of TeaSource (1996). As such he imports, blends, and wholesales some of the finest specialty teas from around the world.
Bill's mission is to seek out the very best and most unique teas in the world, make them available in the U.S., and help Americans learn to appreciate them.
Bill is a frequent guest on the National Public Radio show, The Splendid Table: hosted by Lynne Rosetto-Kasper.
Bill has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Premium Tea Institute, was Chairman of the 2004 Specialty Tea Institute Symposium, and was the keynote speaker at the China International Tea Expo, Beijing, China Oct. 2005.
