Keynote Speaker: James Norwood Pratt
James Norwood Pratt – “Norwood” – has served the cause of tea around the world for more than thirty years. Since the first edition of his classic Tea Lover’s Treasury appeared in 1982, he has been a presence on the international tea scene, becoming Honorary Director of America’s first traditional Chinese tea house and International Juror of India’s first-ever tea competition and a force for excellence as educator and authority on tea and tea lore. He is author of James Norwood Pratt’s Tea Dictionary, the world-wide tea trade’s seminal reference work and is America’s acknowledged Tea Sage. He lives with his wife Valerie Turner Pratt in San Francisco.
Mr. Pratt is quite possibly the world’s most widely-read authority on tea and tea lore, thanks to books translated into multiple languages and numerous columns, articles, and print and TV interviews in US and overseas media. His landmark James Norwood Pratt’s Tea Dictionary was named Best New Publication by the World Tea Expo in 2010. He appears in several films and theatrical productions. Visit his website.