Tea Council of the USA Awards Young Entrepreneur Global Internship

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tea Council of the USA, Inc. announced today the winner of the Sip of Success contest, created to award a young entrepreneur a once-in-a-lifetime global adventure and a world-class business and cultural experience. Twenty-one-year-old MBA student Taylor Caldron submitted the winning video and essay, creatively demonstrating the health benefits of tea and his passion for the world's second most consumed beverage. Taylor will live and work on tea plantations in Kenya, Sri Lanka and India, from mid-May through July of this year. For the internship finale, he will work with global tea entrepreneur Tracy Stern, of SalonTea in New York City, for eight weeks, to learn the retail and wholesale ends of the business.

"We created the Sip of Success contest to educate the public, including young people, on the strong science supporting the health benefits of drinking tea, and to give a young entrepreneur a leg-up in the tea business," said Joe Simrany, President of the Tea Council of the USA. "The Sip of Success contest offers a unique vehicle for this generation of young entrepreneurs to pursue a rewarding career path and gain global experience in the booming tea industry."

Many highly qualified, passionate young entrepreneurs applied for the internship via a creative two-minute video and essay touting the health benefits of tea and their unique qualifications for this position, which will include growing and harvesting tea, tea production, processing and cultivation, known as cupping, and learning about the tea varieties, including black, green, white and oolong tea. The video submissions, along with the essays, were judged by a panel of Tea Council representatives.

Taylor's winning submission, "The Breakup," cleverly conveys his choice of tea over coffee as his favorite beverage.  Taylor is pursuing a Masters degree at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, where he is the youngest student currently enrolled.  He is on his way to becoming an experienced entrepreneur, having parlayed his passion for tea into a position as marketing manager at a local, organic tea shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"I saw a video online announcing the contest and thought it would be a great opportunity for me to connect my previous experiences with tea and global travel," said Taylor Caldron.  "I am so grateful to the Tea Council of the USA, and its global partners in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya, who are making my dream a reality. I will be in a great position when I return home to the U.S. to bring my education and global experience to a career in the tea industry."

After his stint overseas, Taylor will return to New York City to work with global tea entrepreneur, Tracy Stern, at SalonTea, to learn about the marketing and business aspects of the tea industry.  Members of the Tea Council are pleased to support the growing interest in tea among a younger audience, not only for its health benefits but for the career opportunities presented by the tea industry.  Richard Enticott, President & CEO of Martin Bauer, one of the largest importers of tea into the U.S., said, "We are delighted to support the Sip of Success contest and to encourage young entrepreneurs to combine their passion for tea with a very gratifying career.  We are impressed with the many qualified, young entrepreneurs who applied for this unique internship."

Taylor will capture his experiences over the course of the internship via essays and pictures on a personal blog on the Tea Council Web site.  For more information about Taylor's journey or the health benefits of tea, please visit www.TeaUSA.org.

ABOUT THE TEA COUNCIL OF THE USA:

The Tea Council of the USA is a non-profit association that was formed in 1950 as a joint partnership between tea packers, importers and allied industries within the United States, and the major tea producing countries.  It functions as the educational arm of the tea industry with a primary goal of increasing overall awareness of tea by providing information about its many positive attributes.  One of the Council's primary objectives is the dissemination of key scientific findings about tea to the public.  The Tea Council does this in several ways including: funding scientific meetings to bring tea researchers from around the world together to share key information and identify next steps for future research projects; and working with health organizations and international scientists to disseminate information about potential positive health effects of tea consumption on a public level.  Additional efforts of the Tea Council include outreach to the health professional community, support and monitoring of key scientific meetings internationally, and ongoing interaction with leading tea researchers.

SOURCE The Tea Council of the USA