Devan Shan, Tea Mentor

LOS ANGELES, Calif.

Devan Shah’s warm smile and generous spirit is evident at a distance.

The founder of International Tea Importers and Chado Tea Rooms is a familiar face at tea events where he is always surrounded by listeners animated by his energetic and passionate love of tea.

Born into a family of teachers in Mumbai, India, the role comes naturally. He is able to draw on a lifetime of tea experience that began at age seven during summers with his sister and brother-in-law on a tea plantation in Coonoor in the Nilgiri (Blue Mountains) of Southern India.

As an importer, wholesaler and retailer, Shah blends the various roles with a singular mission; tea education. Having spent his entire life in the tea industry, from the field to the international marketplace, he brings a dynamic perspective to the $2.6 billion specialty tea segment in the U.S.

Shah is best known as a wholesaler, one of the few who has exhibited at World Tea Expo every year since its inception in 2002. His classroom-style booths featuring speakers like author and tea expert James Norwood Pratt who spends hours on the show floor — visible evidence of Shah’s philosophy that education is the key to sales.