Bio: Philip Parda, Student of Tea...

Tea Advocate & Tea Educator

Serendipitous is how Philip Parda descries his unlikely life-long, compelling, and fascinating connection with tea. Like a force within, filled with intrigue and timeless wonder, Philip’s humble allegiance to the study of tea began in his college days of the early 1970’s.  It was then Philip discovered that the antioxidants he was hearing about, and their abundance in this “green” tea, was not actually from a modern-day adaptation of black tea, but was part of a culture dating back almost 5000 years.  No, green tea was indeed not a “new invention”, but something wise people had been consuming and admiring for centuries.

This fascination initiated by a quest for well-being, now fueled by nature and knowledge of ancient tea drinkers, created an early awareness in Philip of both the powers of this gift of nature called tea, but also the degree to which man has shown his adornment of the leaf through the development of artisan techniques. Philip discovered the adapted leaf material was combined with technique developed over centuries to create uniqueness and gastronomic bliss.

Over time, tea became an ingrained part of the fabric of Philip’s daily life, moving beyond ritual to daily sustenance. In 1977 as a young entrepreneur, Philip founded a manufacturing firm in the plastics industry which within several years led him to China where his fledgling passion for tea grew from a flame to a blaze. This chance development created the opportunity for Philip to frequently travel to Asia, eventually leading to the establishment of a Hong Kong office which became a perfect hub in Asia for Philip’s entry as a tea purveyor and educator.

After years of enjoying and studying tea as a healthy habit and passion, in 2004, Philip launched WorldSource International, a tea company specializing in the selection, importation and wholesaling of fine loose-leaf tea from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Viet Nam, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.  

Since 2004, Philip has been a regular guest speaker and instructor at the Specialty Tea Institute's tea certification courses, a guest lecturer at a wide variety of tea expos and healthy living seminars throughout the country, Including the World Tea Expo, and an active leader in regional tea tastings. 

Philip provides expert information on “Artisan Teas”, their parallel with wines, their health benefits, and on how tea is the “liquid thread” that stitches together the Asian culture. Philip is dedicated to researching, sourcing, selecting and introducing to his customers artisan teas with a focus on small growers and family farms.   

Philip has served on the Specialty Tea Institutes Advisory board, for 10+ years was co-chair of the STI education committee and was an STI “Mentor” teaching certification classes in the Northeast region.

Philip joined the International Tea Master’s Association in 2019 and now instructs in both their Tea Sommelier Certification and Tea Master Certification Programs.

Philip also provides consulting services for a wide range of customers from tea education & training programs, tea selections and menu development for start-ups, to advising on operations of tea businesses, training and education of staff, customer messaging and many related topics. 

Philip acts as a personal buyer, bringing back rare and exotic teas for select clients, sourcing specific requested tea types, custom blending herbs and teas to meet customer requests and advising on suppliers and tea quality standards.

In 2007, Philip conceptualized developing a platform to educate consumers about the benefits & opportunity of “Specialty Teas” and the “Healthy Tea Lifestyle” which became the basis for Savvy Tea Gourmet, an award-winning teahouse, tea education center, and tea showroom as well as DrinkGreatTea an online platform and resource for the tea selections Philip sources around the world. 

Philip and his partner Judith Parda have set a lofty goal for themselves of making their customers the most knowledgeable and “Savvy” tea community in the country, bringing their customers Health, Enjoyment and Quality of Life Through Tea…and Improving the lives of people through tea…One Sip At A Time.

Together, Philip and Judith are blending and integrating their life’s work with their daily lives and passion for tea, gardening, the natural world, and a healthy lifestyle. At their home in Killingworth Connecticut they have created an organic herbal and tea farm & gardens which produce ingredients for their teas and custom herbal blends. 

Please visit Philip’s Facebook Page “Philip Parda Tea Advocate & Educator”.

You can also reach Philip if needed at pparda@worldsourceintl.com . For "The Savvy Tea Gourmet," his passion is tea, and tea is his business!

Philip Parda, Tea Purveyor, Tea Educator, Master Blender, Master Gardener, Bee Keeper, founder & President of WorldSource International, (a consumer & wholesale tea import business), and Student of Tea.

Philip is also creator of Zhong Guo Cha, (“Middle Kingdom Tea) the company’s tea brand, and co-founder of Savvy Tea Gourmet, an award winning Tea Market in Connecticut. Philip has national presence for his tea selections through “DrinkGreatTea.com”, an on-line store featuring teas Philip has found on his tea travels. Philip has spent over 50 years as a student of tea, researching, discovering, and enjoying tea.