On Tea Culture in Australia... with Sharyn Johnston

I’d heard a lot about Sharyn Johnston, the founder of Australian Tea Masters, even though we had never met until our first encounter at World Tea Expo in Las Vegas in 2019 — as you may have noticed, it was a great opportunity to meet a lot of inspiring people! Being very curious about her journey, we had a chat:

Your résumé is rather long and impressive! Perhaps the best question would be how it all started for you. How did you embark on this tea journey?

I had previously had a very dynamic, interesting and diverse corporate career, working and living in many different countries. At one stage I was group training manager of 24 countries so I travelled a lot, which provided the opportunity to experience many types of tea served in various ways. Coming from Australia — very much a British-style black-tea drinking culture — made me realise we knew very little about tea. When I decided to return to Australia, I wanted to open a small café and specialise in tea. First, I wanted to study tea but this was a lot harder than I realised. No one country offered training in all teas and origins. This lack of a quality, structured tea education programme gave me the fuel and drive to develop a solid tea training programme, which encompassed many sectors and origins of tea. We went on to develop what we believe to be the first online tea 101 training, a tea-flavour wheel (now in seven languages), the world’s first tea sommelier app, a government-approved tea sommelier course, our own certified tea blending course and, of course, our popular Tea Sommelier Handbook.

Tell us about Australian Tea Masters. What is the aim of the organisation?

There are two arms of the business. One is the tea education and consultancy side, and one is manufacturing. We offer education in modern tea mastery: a structured learning programme, and the experience of understanding not just the teas but also the different origins and cultures associated with them. We offer a blending training, sommelier training, masterclasses and consult on tea menu development with opportunities to showcase small farmers’ teas, which we try hard to promote. We have our own food-grade tea blending facility for export where we develop blends under a private label, offer single origin teas, blended teas and wellness blends. Our focus is on using only natural flavours and biodegradable packaging. We have two pyramid tea-bagging machines and only use biodegradable fabric. Consulting for various brands in many countries helps us to keep on top of tea trends. I am very lucky to be invited to speak at many tea conferences around the globe as well as judge teas internationally. 

What is the tea market like in Australia? It’s more of a land of coffee in my mind (not having been!).

We are basically a black-tea drinking country, taking after the British, but green tea is seeing some steady growth. We have an amazing coffee culture with some of the best cafés in the world and small micro roasters offering some amazing single-origin coffees. Large chains have not survived because of this strong culture. The interest in high quality coffee is helping our specialty tea industry to move forward in a positive way and begin to share the stories behind the cup.

Wellness and herbal blends have experienced good growth as has the RTD (ready-to-drink) area of tea. Australia prefers teas that are natural-tasting, so our blends are a lot less flavoured than those in other countries

How long have you been a speaking partner at the WTE and how did you get involved with this platform?

I have now been speaking at WTE for two years and this will be my third one coming up. I was so excited to be nominated in last year’s category of best tea educator. I had attended for the last six years and had great experiences, so decided to try and put my hand in the circle — it worked and I was invited. I am truly honoured to work alongside so many great tea educators. It is also an opportunity to meet so many enthusiastic tea people.

In 2019 in Las Vegas, you gave a talk on the Origins Tasting Tour in Korea. You have also been awarded by the Cultural Foundation in Korea for your contribution to the development and promotion of Korean tea culture. What is your connection with the country? What is unique about Korea in the tea world?

Korea was the first country to which I was invited as a formal delegate. After experiencing the teas, I realised that it was really not known for its amazing teas and passionate small farmers. I decided that I would learn everything I could about the teas and the growing regions, build Korean teas into my education programmes and support the almost unknown Korean tea industry outside of Korea. Their teas are amongst my favourite in the world and each time I present them anywhere, the feedback is always so positive. I am committed to help educate the world about these teas. Korean green teas are delicate in flavour, vegetal but not astringent at all with a natural sweetness; the black teas are so delicious with notes of honey and malt. I actually worked with 12 small Boseong farmers to develop a world’s-first Korean breakfast tea, so it is a country I am passionate about due to the care that is taken both in growing and manufacturing tea.

The other talk you gave in Las Vegas was on the Art of Blending: Basic for your Business. What’s your opinion on the “blended teas vs single-origin teas” topic? Do you think this is a good (or perhaps an easier) start for a new tea business?

Blended teas cannot be compared to single-origin ones but I believe they are a necessity in the market. I think it is always good to offer blended teas in any range or menu. When we look at the world of tea, the No. 1 selling tea in the world is English Breakfast — it is a blend. The second best-selling tea is Earl Grey — a blend as well. Blended teas often help people to get a start in tea drinking.

Are you working on any new projects within or outside the scope of ATM?

We have just opened our new ATM office in Korea. We are already well established in Singapore and Indonesia andare now also officially working in partnership with the Tea Industry Committee of China, having created the very first International Tea Blending Lab there. I am the International Head Judge of Tea Masters Cup which is held in 25 countries this year. This is a great competition to help countries showcase their teas and to involve young tea lovers. Our international private label consultancy and blend development business has doubled in the past 12 months which is very exciting for us as an Australian company. We also run the Australian International Tea Expo and manage the Golden Leaf Awards — Australia’s only international tea competition. This year I will be working with a couple of very special international people in coffee and wine to develop new tools for the tea industry. We are also working on two new specialist tea books which will be released in the next six months.

Do you think tea will soon have that special cultural moment which coffee had some ten years ago?

I am not sure it will have a special cultural moment but I think we will experience a lot more interest in the speciality tea industry. I think people will start to ask more questions about their tea and expect more than just “English breakfast”. People will want to know what is in the English Breakfast. I think tea offerings will increase in cafés, and tea menus in hotels, cafés and restaurants will improve, resulting in more interesting stories behind the cup. I believe we will be following closely in coffee’s footsteps.

What is your normal daily tea routine?

My first cup of tea is always Korean breakfast tea, followed closely by Himalayan Shangrila Gold from Nepal or another one of my favourite black teas. I have a green tea from my personal collection with my lunch which at this moment numbers around 200 amazing teas. I am so lucky I receive so many beautiful teas as gifts. I then proceed to choose an wulong or pu’er. I have one single-origin coffee in the morning and I enjoy a natural wine at the end of the day. I believe in experiencing all flavours, so my life is never boring!