Enthusiasts flock to Saudi tea expo

Enthusiasts flock to Saudi tea expo

RIYADH: Tea aficionados got the chance to taste all manner of varieties of their favorite beverage at the Tea Colors International Exhibition, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. There was strong competition between various Sri Lankan and Kenyan teas at the event, attended by producers from the region and beyond, including Kuwait, Qatar, and local entrepreneurs. Tea, along with coffee and dates, is one of the drinks traditionally offered as a show of hospitality in Saudi Arabia. The four-day exhibition featured approximately 40 local and foreign enterprises specializing in producing and importing tea from all over the world. The exhibition also displayed nuts, citrus fruits, and a variety of other goodies that go with tea, the favorite drink of millions of people worldwide. Visitors were eager to try teas without sugar in particular, because it “makes you appreciate the actual taste” of tea, according to Fawaz Al-Daoud from Al-Kharj, tea drinker since childhood and a devotee of Kenyan tea. Al-Daoud’s colleague, Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, accompanied him, though he admitted he was more interested in coffee than tea, and was pleased that there were plenty of stalls that displayed coffee as well to cater to