Blending Tea, Business, and Flavour: An Interview with William “Billy” Dietz
- Lorela Lohan
- Aug 9
- 6 min read
Introduction
I met Billy quite casually during a business holiday trip in Bordeaux. What started as a brief encounter quickly turned into one of the most insightful conversations I’ve had in the tea industry. Billy’s strategic thinking, product knowledge, and ability to connect market realities with tea culture were impressive. I invited him for a follow-up conversation to dive deeper into the intersections of tea, business, and education. Here’s what I learned.
About Billy Dietz
William “Billy” Dietz is a seasoned tea expert, business consultant, and author who has spent over 18 years immersed in the global tea industry. He is the co-founder of BDH Consultants, where he advises both startups and established players on navigating the complexities of product development, supplier sourcing, and market strategy. A former R&D lead at DAVIDsTEA, Billy has developed hundreds of blends and overseen the creative direction for one of North America’s most well-known tea brands. In 2023, he authored Spill the Tea: Unveiling the Mysteries of Blended, Flavored, and Herbal Teas, a go-to reference for professionals looking to understand and succeed in one of the most commercially significant segments of the tea business.
Lorela: Billy, you’ve been in the tea world for over 18 years, and by age 17, you were already a Certified Tea Specialist. What sparked your interest in tea so early?
Billy: It started with the people. I found myself drawn to the diversity of backgrounds and experiences within the tea industry. That common thread—tea—connected everything. The product fascinated me, but it was the conversations and sense of community that pulled me in and never let go. As I put it in another conversation,
It was about the product, sure—but it was more about the pleasure of the conversations I had with people in the industry.
Lorela: In college, you actually bought a tea business from another student and ran it while still studying. That’s pretty entrepreneurial. What did that experience teach you about the tea business?
Billy: That experience was foundational. I was studying business and entrepreneurship, and running a tea company gave me a real-time laboratory to test what I was learning. I met the original founder, shadowed him for a while, and eventually took over the business.
“It was really fate and fortune,” I often say.
It taught me a lot about how hard it is to manage operations, especially as a student. But it also gave me confidence. I used that business as a case study in school, which made it incredibly practical.
Lorela: After graduation, you joined DAVIDsTEA and spent nearly a decade in research and development. What was one of the most memorable innovations or lessons from your time developing new teas at DAVIDsTEA that you carry with you today?
Billy: DAVIDsTEA was an incredible training ground. I worked on everything from flavour innovation to trend forecasting to supplier management. It was a very entrepreneurial culture, so I was allowed to wear multiple hats. One key lesson was aligning internal creativity with external customer expectations. That and learning to work within supply chain constraints.
It was everything from flavour development to marketing content to supplier relations and everything in between.
Lorela: What inspired you to leap from working at a major tea company to co-founding your consulting firm, BDH Consultants? What vision did you have for BDH when you set out to “transform the tea-drinking experience across all formats and industries”?
Billy: I saw the same challenges repeat across brands: navigating the supply chain, scaling blends, understanding MOQs, packaging, flavour regulations—you name it. BDH was created to help businesses, especially smaller ones, avoid common pitfalls and support established companies expand into different product lines or formats with ease. We wanted to become a trusted bridge between vision and execution. We help tea brands move faster from idea to shelf by reducing the time it takes to navigate the complexity.
BDH Consultants was founded together with Don Ho to help beverage and hospitality businesses grow by combining leadership team coaching, product development expertise, and operational efficiency strategies to deliver scalable, sustainable success.
Lorela: You published your first book, Spill the Tea: Unveiling the Mysteries of Blended, Flavoured, and Herbal Teas, in 2023. What inspired you to write this book? Was there a specific experience or gap in the industry that motivated you to share your knowledge in print?
Billy: Because there wasn’t one. Most of the information around tea focuses on traditional or single-origin leaves. But flavoured and blended teas make up the majority of the market. I kept asking my mentors and suppliers, “Was there a book or a resource where you learned all this?”—and the answer was always no.
So I have compiled my experience into a structured book, which is an overview of the industry and its inner workings.
Lorela: Your book is a comprehensive guide for tea professionals, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts to the world of blended and flavoured teas. What’s one surprising thing in Spill the Tea that even seasoned tea lovers might not know? Is there a favourite story or lesson from the book that you love to share with others?
Billy:
How blurry the line is between natural and artificial flavouring. Chemically, they can be almost identical.
The classification depends on the source material. For instance, apricot pits can be used to create an almond-like flavour, but unless it's extracted from actual almonds, it can’t be labelled as natural almond. Vanilla flavouring is often made from cloves because they both contain vanillin or at least molecules that can easily become vanillin —it’s the same molecule, just a different source.
Lorela: How did the process of writing Spill the Tea change your perspective on tea or your role in the industry? Did organising all your insights into a book teach you anything new, or have you received any feedback from readers that was especially meaningful to you?
Billy: It clarified just how fragmented the industry is. You have people focused on speciality tea, others on commercial formats, and rarely do those groups interact. But each segment plays a role in growing tea consumption.
I spoke to Kevin Gascón from Camellia Sinensis, and he said something profound— flavoured tea is the gateway. People often start there and then move deeper into the tea world.
Lorela: You've travelled extensively to immerse yourself in tea cultures around the world. Is there one trip or cultural tea experience that stands out as especially impactful? I'd love to hear about a memorable tea tradition or moment from your travels that shaped how you view tea.
Billy: Visiting Taiwan and experiencing high mountain oolongs was a turning point. It gave me a deeper appreciation for process and terroir. But just as impactful were supplier visits in Europe and North America.
Seeing how large-scale tea blending facilities work taught me how much complexity exists behind a seemingly simple cup.
Lorela: Despite all your professional work with tea, at the end of the day, you’re also a tea lover. What does your daily tea ritual look like? Do you have a favourite tea or brewing routine that helps you unwind or stay inspired?
Billy: My daily ritual varies, but I always start with something grounding—usually an oolong. It helps reset my palate and mind. Some days it's functional, other days it’s exploratory. But I’m also honest about saturating. There are days when I don’t even want to drink tea. And that’s okay, too. It’s part of maintaining a healthy relationship with the product.
Lorela: You wear many hats – consultant, author, and tea connoisseur – all driven by your love of tea. How do you blend these facets of your life? For instance, does your passion for tea influence the way you run your business?
Billy: They all support the same mission: improving how people understand and experience tea. Consulting gives me real-world feedback, writing helps me articulate those lessons, and education allows me to scale that knowledge. It’s a feedback loop.
I don’t want to be everything to everyone, but I do want to meet people where they are in their tea journey—whether that’s launching a product or drinking their first cup.
Conclusion
Billy Dietz’s career path exemplifies what happens when passion and business strategy intersect with clarity and purpose. From his earliest days as a teenage tea specialist to co-founding BDH Consultants and writing one of the industry’s most practical books, Billy has stayed grounded in both curiosity and execution. His pragmatic approach—meeting brands where they are while pushing for innovation and education—offers a roadmap not just for those in tea, but for anyone navigating a niche market with integrity. If there’s one key takeaway from this conversation, it’s that behind every successful product is not just a process, but a person deeply invested in elevating the experience for everyone involved.
All pictures are credited to Billy Dietz.
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