2026 event

Jane Pettigrew

UK Tea Academy Founder, tea author and expert

Jane Pettigrew has worked in the world of tea since 1983. After owning her own tearoom in London with two friends, she became a freelance editor, writer, trainer and consultant to various organisations and tea companies, including the UK Tea Council, the Indian Tea Board, and Twinings.

Over the years, Jane has written for various magazines and websites, including Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, Tea and Coffee Asia, Fresh Cup, Tea – A Magazine, STiR, World Tea Media, and TeaTime Magazine, for which she is a contributing editor. She has spoken at tea conferences and events in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Russia, Georgia, Spain, France, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Argentina.

Jane has also trained staff and given presentations in five-star hotels and tea rooms around the world and until 2015, she taught tea master classes in the UK under the auspices of The UK Tea Council. Jane helped found the UK Tea Academy, which teaches courses at different skill levels in London and throughout Britain. From 2016 to December 2025, she was the UKTA’s director of education.

She has published 17 books on tea, the last of which, Jane Pettigrew’s World of Tea, was published in June 2018 by Hoffman Media and won Best Tea Publication 2019.

Jane also received a British Empire Medal from Queen Elizabeth II.

Victoria Cordi

Director of Strategic Partnerships, Rainforest Alliance

Victoria Cordi is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Rainforest Alliance, bringing over 20 years of experience in conservation, sustainability, and international development. She leads the organisation’s engagement with new corporate sectors to advance global impact, drawing on deep expertise in fundraising, program design, and systems‑change strategy. Prior to this role, she spent a decade shaping and delivering landscape and community initiatives across Latin America, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Victoria holds a biology degree from the Universidad del Comahue in Argentina and an MA in conservation biology from Columbia University in New York.

Katy Woollard

Product Specialist, Whittard of Chelsea

Katy Woollard is a tea specialist with over a decade of experience in the tea and coffee industry, dedicated to deepening the understanding and appreciation of exceptional teas. Since joining Whittard of Chelsea in 2014, Katy has led global tastings, developed product education, and trained teams to bring the story of each tea to life – from origin and processing to flavour and brewing.

Having worked across brand experience, marketing, and training, Katy specialises in translating complex tea knowledge into engaging, sensory-led experiences. Her visits to tea origins and packing locations around the world have given her first-hand insight into the journey from field to cup.

As Katy says, “I’m passionate about guiding others to taste with intention, understand quality, and discover the craftsmanship behind every infusion.”

Hannah Nunn

Founder & CEO, Kickstart Coffee

Hannah Nunn is the Founder and CEO of Kickstart Coffee, a purpose-led social enterprise and UK charity that funds education and community development in Uganda through speciality coffee sales.

After spending time working in Uganda as a paediatric nurse, Hannah saw first-hand the barriers children face in accessing education. Determined to create a sustainable solution, she built Kickstart Coffee on the belief that business can be a force for good.

Through ethical sourcing, transparency, and long-term partnerships, Hannah is passionate about connecting commercial growth with meaningful social impact — proving that every bean truly counts.

Joyce Maina

Head of Tea, Bird & Blend

With a career in tea beginning in the 90s, Joyce has gone from trainee to various management positions in the industry, travelling to many tea origins all over the world and creating dozens of blends for markets including America, Europe and the Middle East. Joyce was the first female tea factory manager in Kenya, and the first female principal tea buyer in the Mombasa Auction. She has sat on various boards as director including the UKTIA, Silverback Tea Company, ESTA, Rwanda Tea Packers and her own consultancy business. She is now a globally recognised tea expert, speaker, trainer, taster and tea judge, and spends her time developing blends at Bird & Blend and helping women and SMEs from developing countries to access markets and build sustainable tea solutions in their businesses.

Frances Musgrave, Tea Sourcing Manager

Finlay Beverages

Frances leads global tea sourcing, working closely with producers and retailers to support responsible and resilient supply chains. In recent years, she has strengthened producer relationships through meaningful on‑the‑ground conversations and worked with retailers to encourage a shift away from transactional, cost‑driven sourcing toward more open and collaborative partnerships that can help drive positive, lasting change across the tea trade.

Rebekah Kettrick, Coffee Buying Manager

Cafedirect Group 

Rebekah Kettrick has more than a decade of experience in the coffee industry, with a particular focus on sourcing and supply chain strategy. She currently works at Cafédirect, the UK’s pioneering fair trade social enterprise, founded to challenge an industry in which many farmers do not earn a sustainable income. Rebekah’s experience bridges commercial realities and sustainability, giving her a practical perspective on the importance of close collaboration for building resilient, transparent and impact-driven coffee supply chains. In an era of constant challenges across global agricultural supply chains, she is continually reminded that the longer you work within coffee, the more you realise how much there is still to learn.

Bryony Osmond, Master Blender

Twinings

Bryony Osmand entered the wonderful world of tea after stumbling across a Trainee Buyer role at Twinings while searching for a sales position for a friend. Eighteen years have flown by, and during that time, she’s had the privilege to experience every corner of global tea and herb buying. I’ve spent considerable time at origin, gaining a deep understanding of the supply chain—from the fields, all the way through to blend development and retailer engagement. As part of the Master Blending team, she now leads the sourcing of new herbal materials for Twinings globally and help inspire the next generation of Master Blenders on the Master Blending Academy.

Noelia Villalobos Soto, Executive Director

Specialty Coffee Association of Costa Rica and Sintercafé

Noelia Villalobos Soto is a recognised leader in the specialty coffee industry in Costa Rica and a prominent international advocate for Costa Rican Coffee. She currently serves as  executive director of the Specialty Coffee Association of Costa Rica (SCACR) and Sintercafé – International Coffee Week, two key institutions dedicated to the promotion, education, and global positioning of Costa Rican coffee. 

Kerrina Thorogood, Partnerships Director

Fairtrade Foundation

Kerrina Thorogood is the Partnerships Director at the Fairtrade Foundation, where she leads a dynamic team driving strategic partnerships with major retailers, brands, and international funders. With over three years of experience at Fairtrade, Kerrina has been instrumental in developing innovative, high-impact responsible sourcing solutions and sustainability programs, to deliver positive change for farmers and producers globally. Previously, Kerrina led partnership development at WWF-UK for over 10 years, and worked with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry to promote Japan as a key investment destination for British multinationals. Her extensive experience in cross-sector collaboration and sustainability positions her as a driving force in the global ethical trade movement.

Amy Powell, R&D Food Technologist

Ecotone (Clipper Teas)

Amy Powell is an R&D Food Technologist for Ecotone (Clipper Teas) specialising in new product development projects and developments of branded teas and infusions from initial concept to launch. With over a decade of experience, Amy has a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding all the processes needed to take any tea from concept to cup.

Amy has a first class degree in Food & Consumer Management, alongside a strong foundation in food and baking which she has demonstrated throughout her career, winning numerous competitions and awards for her excellence in cake decoration.

Before joining Ecotone in 2014, Amy spent several years in the desserts and dairy manufacturing industries, for Senoble UK and Yeo Valley Farms. Since joining Ecotone she has been directly involved with projects such as the integration of the Fairtrade Foundation and Soil Association’s certification submissions for artwork and recipes, as well as managing tea and infusion recipe blends on a daily basis to ensure that every blend maintains a consistent high quality.

Amy’s experience in product development and innovation positions her as a driving force in shaping the future of tea and infusion products.

Valentina Molano Paredes, Strategic Planning Coordinator

SKN Caribecafé S.A.S (NKG)

Michele Arias, Sustainability Manager

UNEX (Guatemala) SA

My primary role has been as a coffee trader for 37+ years. I have also worked in specialty coffee branding, merging into social project development. For the last 10 years I have been working at the coffee exporter, UNEX in Guatemala as trader and marketing manager.

In May 2025, my role changed to sustainability manager. I had been working on sustainability activities for several years now, but factors such as climate change and farmer migration to the US and Mexico, among others made the company refocus its efforts even more, tasking me to work fully on this. My main mission now is to work with 4000+ farmers, improving their livelihoods by arranging some 15+ one-week medical brigades and 15 Recreational Centers to mitigate any risk of child labour in our supply chain, and to work with roasters such as illycaffè, Starbucks Coffee and Peet’s Coffee, among others, and to engage them in this noble work.

I co-created the Farmer Aid Initiative to procure sound alliances with partners around the world and provide education, health, and climate-smart practices for 4000 small smallholders within the coffee supply chain.

Gender equality has been in the forefront for me, and this year I identified 770 women in our coffee supply chain. I am striving to connect with women leaders in the coffee world to procure programs to: gain market access, provide medical clinics that include specially designed services and bring training and projects to diversify incomes.

Laura Metcalfe, Coffee Trainer

Pact Coffee

Laura Metcalfe has spent 12 years in coffee, seven of them in specialty, and in that time, she has gone from learning her craft in Canada to training baristas and competing at the highest levels of the industry in the UK.

Since 2023, she has competed in the Barista Championship, Brewers Cup, and Cup Tasters Championship, and on 14 May 2026 she will participate in the London Coffee Masters.

Her favourite coffees are Finquita and Janson Family estates, both exceptional Geisha coffees from Panama.