STiR coffee and tea magazine

6 STiR coffee and tea | 2025 Quarter 2 Summer (Jun/jul/Aug) Executive Editor Emily Mclntyre emily@coffeetea.media Associate Editor Diana Jendoubi diana@coffeetea.media Tea Correspondent Dan Bolton Contributing Writers Mainbayar Badarch (Mongolia) Seth Griffin (Vietnam) Bhavi Patel (India) Fionn Pooler (UK) Art Director Somjet Thitasomboon snt@octobermultimedia.com Administrative Assistant Sommai Jekaram asj@octobermultimedia.com Subscriptions Malisa Kongkatitum malisa@stir-tea-coffee.com Sales Director Emerson Leonard edl@octobermultimedia.com Director, October Inter Co., Ltd. Boonthin Tubsongkroh brt@octobermultimedia.com Founding Editor & Publisher Glenn Anthony John glenn@coffeetea.media c/o October Inter Co. Ltd. 159/19 Soi Ramkhamhaeng 110, Saphan Sung, Bangkok 10240 THAILAND. Tel: +66818299409. www.coffeetea.media Published by A Member of In This Issue A Subscribe to STiR Coffee and Tea Magazine 1 Year – US$60.00 2 Years – US$110.00 3 Years – US$150.00 For inquiries, contact: accounts@octmm.com Secure online payment: https://www.stir-tea-coffee.com/subscribe round the world, the word on the lips of coffee and tea professionals everywhere is "tariff". A new President in the White House with an aggressive agenda is bringing new meaning to the old cliche, "When America sneezes, the world catches a cold." Regardless of stance on the topic, everyone in the world is implicated in the unfolding sprawl of international trade relationships. This issue of STiR focuses on tariffs, with two features by Dan Bolton on the topic and a cover story. In his feature Reciprocal Tea Tariffs (page 34), Dan provides several viewpoints and histori- cal context on how tariffs affect tea producers, exporters, wholesalers, and retailers world- wide. He then shares his own provocative take on the topic in his Perspective, US Tariffs Desecrate Rules-Based Trade (page 46). Check the sidebar for an overview of how US tariffs have historically affected tea. In Brewing Tensions: The Global Impact of 2025 Tariffs on the Coffee Industry (page 22), we discuss how US and reciprocal tariffs shift the already difficult ground under the feet of a coffee industry rocked in recent years by instability and economic contraction. More momentous news in the world of specialty coffee: SCA and CQI's historic new partner- ship around the educational certification for Q Graders. Announced at the recent SCA Expo in Houston, this is just part of the news covered in the Coffee Report (page 8). The Tea Report (page 14) includes the annual China Tea Export Review, new grading systems in Taiwan, and an exciting new IPO from Chagee Tea, among other topics. Emilio Bonnet examines the ongoing developments surrounding EUDR regulations in Eu- rope's ESG Regulations Face Turbulent Times (page 40). While you're thinking about Eu- rope, turn your attention to a little-known tea origin: Scotland. Fionn Pooler writes The Elu- sive Promise of Scottish-Grown Tea (page 28). Associate Editor Diana Jendoubi covers some of the complexities and solutions in single- serve coffee capsules in The Intricacies of Coffee Capsule Production and Marketing (page 38), and writer Bhavi Patel dives into some remarkable technology in Clean Roasting Emis- sions with Electrostatic Precipitation (page 30). Travel to Myanmar to learn about this exceptional coffee-producing origin in Myanmar Pro- duces Quality Coffee Despite Adversity (page 44) by Mainbayar Badarch. And meet the fas- cinating tea producer, tea sommelier, and sensory professional, Dona Aideau, from Assam, India, the topic of this issue's Q&A (page 18). Tariffs and unexpected mergers; technological developments and export upheavals; stories and supply chains: the coffee and tea industries are as resilient and challenged as ever. Your attention on the stories that count is just the beginning of the part we all play in keeping it moving forward. Emily McIntyre Executive Editor

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