Australia Celebrates International Tea Day

May 21st has been declared by the United Nations as "International Tea Day"! Cheers to all with a cup of tea from us.

Our Story

It’s refreshing. It offers real health benefits and you can enjoy it all day long... On International Tea Day, we invite you to discover the world of tea!

Greetings,

Do you remember your first international dining experience? It was new...It was different...It was exciting! Well, there’s another world of culinary sensations awaiting foodies –the palate pleasing range of teas from around the world.

Right now there’s a great reason to experience that diversity of taste. Friday May 21 is International Tea Day and you can host your own ‘Tea Party’, featuring teas you’ve never tried before. Enjoy the experience with a friend, your partner, or the family. You can even host a tea party at your workplace! Tea is more than a beverage... It’s an experience that brings people together!

My name is James Shen and my background is Chinese medicine. That’s why the health-giving properties of tea are my passion and that’s why I created the Australia Tea Association. The Association establishes a unique position for Australia in the global tea industry.

In May 2018, I was Australia's first representative to the 23rd session of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea -Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Here, several countries discussed and proposed the plan of an International Tea Day (ITD) to the UN. In November 2019, the UN General 74th Assembly adopted Resolution 241, setting May 21 as International Tea Day.

There are some very important reasons for that resolution which go beyond tea’s taste, the companionship it can provide and it’s proven long-term benefits to health and wellness:

ITD raises awareness of the importance of tea cultivation for sustainable rural development.
It recognises that tea production constitutes a vital source of income for millions of families in poor and developing countries, provides a major source export revenue and creates jobs in remote and economically disadvantaged areas.
It recognises that tea production contributes to the fight against hunger, the reduction of extreme poverty, the empowerment of women and sustainable Eco-management–tea being one of the world’s most important cash crops. So what can you do on International Tea Day? Consider conducting a tea party in your home, your workplace, in a park, at a kindergarten or school, at Uni or even an aged care facility.

Most importantly, register your Party on the Australian Tea Association’s website in the below field!

With your permission, we’ll film your activity so it can be shared with the rest of Australia and of the world. In that way, we can keep building the value and relevance of ITD.

When you celebrate International Tea Day, you’re not just celebrating health and wellness for yourself, but also for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on tea for their economic well being.

So, enjoy a cuppa and celebrate: Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy developing economies AND the UNITY of a shared experience.

Thank you.

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In order to promote Tea culture and the concept of healthy Tea drinking, Australian Tea Association cooperated with Australia Chinese Museum and funded Tea-Heaven, a Tea culture promotion platform. At the same time, we also cooperated with Monash University and funded the "New Fronters for Tea 2021", aim to research and discover the tea market and marketing in Australia, so as to better publicize the Tea culture and cultivate the tea consumption market.

Here is a video produced by Monash University in support of and in collaboration with us to celebrate “International Tea Day.”