Why Tea Is Booming Globally: My Guest Appearance on CGTN America's China24"

Hi, friends!

Something really incredible happened last week- I was on national, live television as a special primetime guest for CGTN America’s China24 program, hosted by Diego Laje. CGTN America is the English-language news channel of China Global Television Network (CGTN), or China’s state broadcaster available in over 130 countries with headquarters in Beijing, production hubs in London, Nairobi and Washington DC. I was invited to share my thoughts on the global tea scene and how Chinese tea culture, and specialty tea itself, are spreading rapidly. This was an extremely memorable experience and it gave me a chance to engage with a global audience about my passion, sharing tea and tea culture far and wide.

Screengrab from the Segment

What is China24?

CGTN America is a global news network, focusing on the Americas, reaching millions of people across the planet. As part of their programming, they host China24, a primetime news program with a focus on stories happening in or relating to China. To be honest, I had already been following CGTN and CGTN America as I love their coverage of all things cultural in China- they have produced some great content on tea culture and traditional cultural heritage within China that I’ve enjoyed watching over the years, so being contacted by them was like a dream come true. 

What was the Experience like? 

Well, for starters, I was contacted by one of the producers for CGTN America and asked to appear on their Friday night segment (5/23/2025) at 7:30PM MST (9:30PM EST), to discuss the spread of tea culture globally. They wanted to produce a segment on tea culture as the 7th China International Tea Expo was occurring at the same time as the interview (5/21-5/25). Of course, I quickly agreed. I spent a while on the phone with the producer who contacted me and was briefed on what the segment was about. They then sent me a list of questions to go over so I was prepared for the interview. Honestly, it was an extremely smooth experience.  When the time came, I joined the Zoom link that had been sent to me, started up my webcam and made sure that my background was okay- which the production team helped with. They were honestly incredible- I could hear the CGTN America coverage in my earphone, so I was aware of what was occurring at that time- this is also how the production team communicated with me. They then indicated that it was almost my hit time and to standby.

My View during the Interview

Diego was such an amazing host! I loved getting to chat with him and his questions were so great- he and his team had clearly done their research beforehand and were asking questions related to my specialties, specifically around things like WuyiShan teas and global tea culture. I appreciated how respectful and engaged he was as a host, as well- I have seen other live TV interviews where the host would interrupt during the guest’s answers, and Diego was amazing- he let me finish each answer and gave me ample time to address his questions. I watch a lot of news and I can confidently say that I have not seen a primetime news host as courteous as Diego was- it was such a great experience.

Questions from the Interview

Here are the questions Diego asked me and their respective timestamps:

• How has the global tea scene evolved in recent years, particularly with younger generations embracing tea culture? (0:04-0:43)

• Will Americans pay as much for tea and how much of a factor is price? (0:50-1:25)

• What regions or types of tea are driving these trends? (1:31-1:51)

• What’s one unexpected place where tea is thriving or undergoing a revival right now? (1:59-2:25)

• How are tea producers and consumers responding to environmental challenges in this industry? (2:30-2:54)

Where can I watch the interview?

I have embedded the video below, but here is a link to the video on CGTN America’s YouTube channel.

My China24 Segment: "Why Tea is Blooming Globally"

I appreciated the opportunity to talk with CGTN America and to dive into the global spread of tea culture- it was great having the time to talk about Chinese tea culture and focus on the areas of interest to me, like sustainability and traditional tea culture in WuyiShan especially. If you’re interested in more coverage like this, give CGTN America a follow at @cgtnamerica on Instagram or subscribe to their YouTube channel for more.