The author of El Té Gourmet Argentino in July 2023 released an English-language version of the book, an exhaustive analysis of the origin, customs, and practices of gourmet tea in Argentina.
The work profiles all of the country’s major tea suppliers and brands. Author Horacio Bustos, a professional water taster and CEBA-certified sommelier who studied Anthropology, says he spent ten years researching the book, which he describes as “a historical tour documenting the amalgamation of perceptions, desires, needs, and links that gourmet tea consumers are building from shared daily experiences and practices.”
The protagonists are gourmet tea producers who produce these types of tea, as well as those investigating the improvement of the plant, he said. The Spanish language edition debuted at ExpoTé in May. Bustos, who founded the Gyokuro Tea Academy and trained in Sensory Analysis at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry at UBA, is the author of “An Initiation Journey with Tea.”
“It is an honor to precisely coincide with this date of the centenary of tea in the country and with respect to what has been happening in Argentina in 100 years, there is still a long way to go because Argentina is not an ancient country like the countries of origin. The evolution that the tea is taking in these years is fabulous, so it is an honor to contribute and also to be able to be in Misiones to be able to share it with all the people who are in the world of tea”
– Horacio Bustos, on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the plantiong of tea in Argentina
Dr. Analia Yamaguchi writes that El Te Gourmet Argentio “begins with the history of tea worldwide and reaches Argentina. It tells a little about the history of Argentina and what the plant is and begins with the research work hypotheses.”
Yamaguchi adds that Bustos investigates this group of consumers over time and finds that they have an identity and a sense of belonging and consume tea differently with respect to other people. He then analyzes these new groups, how they are linked with the producers, and how the producers begin to change their customs by opening factories and companies for these consumers to visit. Therefore, You begin to see a relationship between the consumer and the producer, as was the wine route as it is in Mendoza.
“These consumers come to Misiones wanting to travel, to know more about making their own teas and how INTA is important in improving the plant. So in the book, after all the analysis, research, and hypothesis are done, there is also an analysis of the interviews with both the producers and the consumers, with the people from INTA, and it ends with a conclusion about these new consumers,” writes Yamaguchi.
| Decade Old Oil Debt to be Settled in $5 Million Monthly Installments of Tea | India Exporters Expect Iran to Resume Buying Tea Halted Since November | Israel Declares Wissotzky Tea a Monopoly | Rohit Jawa Takes Charge at Hindustan Unilever
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Hear the Headlines | Seven-minute Tea News Recap
PLUS
Organizers of the annual Teas of the World contest hosted by AVPA, the Paris-based Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products, announced Aug. 31 is the deadline for submitting monovarietal teas, tea blends, and infusions. Ksenia Hleap, responsible for development and communications at AVPA, updates us on the 6th annual competition.
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Ksenia Hleap, development and communications at AVPA (Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products)
Barter Eases Constraints Imposed by Sanctions on Iran
By Dan Bolton
Iran and Sri Lanka in July will resume bartering tea.
In a related development, Indian exporters say a resumption of tea shipments from India to Iran is expected soon.
The barter agreement with Iran is to settle an outstanding debt incurred in 2012, effectively bypassing Western sanctions and easing financial hardships in both countries caused by politics, economics, and war.
Terms of the agreement with state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp. call for Sri Lanka’s treasury to transfer the equivalent of USD 5 million monthly in rupees to the Tea Board of Sri Lanka. The funds will then be paid to exporters. According to Tea Board Chairman Niraj de Mel, Iranian tea importers will pay the National Iranian Oil Company in riyals.
Sri Lanka’s plantation ministry issued a statement assuring all parties that the agreement “will not violate UN or US sanctions since tea has been categorized as a food item on humanitarian grounds. None of the blacklisted Iranian banks will be involved in the equation.”
Trade will begin in July as Sri Lanka exporters initially ship an estimated $2 million worth of tea per month to offset $251 million owed Iran, according to the publication Iran International. The announcement resurrects an agreement signed in December 2021 with Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization to replay the debt in 48 installments.
De Mel explained that barter is a mechanism by which Sri Lanka will make good on its debt. The more pressing concern is production. QUOTE “This year to date, Sri Lanka has fared poorly in supplying Iran largely due to the sharp rise in tea prices for Ceylon tea and, therefore, to the benefit of India. There is at least a good $2 to $3 difference in price between us,” he wrote. In past years, Iran spent as much as $125 million buying Sri Lankan black tea, an expenditure that declined to $70 million in 2022.
In November 2022, Iran stopped issuing a Register Proforma on invoices from Indian suppliers. The Proforma document is mandatory to land tea at Iran’s ports. Anshuman Kanoria, chair of the India Tea Exporters Association, said he expects that trade will soon resume.
Kanoria cautioned “not to read too much into this. Indian tea remains the preferred cup in Iran. Iranian importers have clearly resumed purchases, and a full resumption of registration of contracts for the import of Indian tea by Iran seems imminent. Sri Lanka will find a way to retain space in the Iranian market via this barter agreement. We believe that the Indian Government’s push to increase trade in the Indian rupee will give us the edge in the near future. Rest assured, India will remain Iran’s favorite cuppa, and they will continue to import lots of it.”
India expects tea exports to drop by almost 10% in 2023. In the past, Iran purchased 30 to 35 million kilos of tea annually, about 40% of Indian tea exports. In 2022 for the ten months ending October, exports declined by 9% to 19.5 million kilos compared to 21.5 million kilos during the same period in 2021. This spring (January-March), total tea exports were down 6% to 48 million kilos. Exports totaled 228 million kilos in 2022-23, an increase of 18% compared to 2021, according to the Tea Board of India.
BIZ INSIGHT – In a related development, to preserve foreign exchange reserves and reduce smuggling, the government of Pakistan this month authorized private barter agreements for 26 commodities with traders in Iran, Afghanistan, and Russia and is currently bartering rice for tea with Kenya and East African tea growers.
Wissotzky Tea
Israel Declares Wissotzky Tea a Monopoly
By Dan Bolton
Wissotzky Tea Company, Israel’s dominant brand, was declared a monopoly by regulators and must now cease practices that restrained competitors.
Israel’s Competition Authority designated Wissotzky, once the largest tea manufacturer in the world, as a “large supplier” with a market share of 77% in the categories of green and herbal teas. The Authority found that Wissotzky’s market share was less than 50% in black and flavored black tea categories, so neither category nor their related brands were restricted.
The ruling means that Wissotzky can no longer demand retail shelf space or make sales of one brand contingent on purchasing other teas. The company is prohibited from interfering in the final price charged to customers at retail locations.
The authority examined the 250 million shekalim ($68 million) tea category during an 18-month investigation followed by months of hearings. The black, green, and herbal segments each account for about one-third of the total market — which Wissotzky dominated. In their finding, the Authority confirmed that competitors had for years complained that Wissotzky unduly influenced prices, preventing rivals from increasing sales even in cases where they offered lower prices and in situations where successful overseas brands failed after entering the new market.
The announcement declared that Wissotzky’s “significant market power” in green tea allowed the company to charge higher prices than competitors. The company has the option of appealing the decision in the court system.
Wissotzky, founded in Moscow in 1849, dominated the world market from the early 1900s to 1917, when it was forced to relocate to London following the Russian Revolution. Headquartered now in Tel Aviv with a manufacturing and packaging factory in Galilee, the company’s teas are exported to the UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, and the US.
BIZ INSIGHT – It has been 20 years since the Authority declared a monopoly in Israel. Sixty-one legally defined large suppliers must comply with restrictions to prevent exploiting the public, only a few of which manufacture food, including Coca-Cola (Central Bottling), Strauss Milk, Osem pasta, Tivol margarine, and Elite chocolate bars. The country’s economy and industry minister said he is “happy to see the Competition Authority waking up from a long sleep.”
Rohit Jawa, CEO, and Managing Director HUL
Rohit Jawa Takes Charge at Hindustan Unilever
By Dan Bolton
Rohit Jawa took charge as managing director and chief executive officer of Hindustan Unilever this week following a long career as an HUL executive.
Jawa joined the company in 1988. His 35 years of experience is the most of any incoming CEO since 1990. In a LinkedIn post following the formal retirement of Sanjiv Mehta, Jawa wrote, “India is full of opportunities, and the consumer story is getting more exciting as it evolves.”
During his ten years as CEO, Mehta nearly doubled the number of brands with turnover exceeding Rs 1000 crore to 19. He oversaw a fourfold increase in market capitalization, making HUL India’s 5th most valuable business. The India subsidiary accounted for more than 10% of global sales during his years. During his last year, turnover grew 11% on volume growth of 3%, “significantly ahead of the market,” according to Unilever.
Tea is an important part of the 35-brand portfolio, Brook Bond Red Label is one of six FMCG brands that generate more than Rs. 2000 crore (about $250 million in US dollars), but tea is not as fast-growing as Dove, Lux, Lifebuoy, Vim, Wheel, and Surf laundry brands. Nine in 10 Indian households use HUL brands. The company employs 29,000.
Mehta predicted in 2022 that India would become the top market by value among Unilever markets. He predicted local brands would grow to challenge Unilever stalwarts such as Lipton tea and Magnum Ice Cream.
“As a nation and in this generation, we’re leaving behind the colonial past. There is pride in India, which is very apparent,” the Financial Times quoted him as saying. “Now Indian brands get as much respect, if not more respect, than imported brands.”
Jawa has extensive experience in India and global insights from his decades of managing low-priced, high-volume brands. He is well-positioned to exploit the rush to expand India’s almost $4 trillion market.
FEATURES
AVPA Teas of the World Contest Winners 2022
A Call for Entries for AVPA’s 6th Teas of the World Contest
By Dan Bolton
AVPA is a non-governmental, non-profit organization mainly composed of producers and taste enthusiasts. AVPA’s annual Teas of the World contest offers more value than a medal. Services include tasting workshops, technical support, and distributor staff training.
During the past six years, the organization has elevated the status of tea and herbal producers, large and small, not only on the global stage but in their local markets. Teas must be traceable from origin and cannot be chemically flavored. A technical jury of professionals evaluates the teas, followed by a gastronomic jury of enthusiasts that mirror consumer preferences. The deadline to enter is Aug. 31, 2023.
Register at AVPA.FR (Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles)
Over the last five years, there’s been a steady increase in how many producers entered the competition, says Ksenia Hleap, Development and Communications Director at AVPA. “Last year, we had more than 300 participants, 33% more than the previous year,” she said.
This year is very rich in possibilities for us. We are in contact with all producing countries for monovarietal, infusion blends, and herbal teas. Unfortunately, not all tea boards respond. The difficulties sometimes are just the way of communication because we contact the tea boards in every country. We are also contacting the associations and tea cooperatives. So, it depends on the countries and their desire to promote tea producers,” she said.
Hleap said the product recognition in Paris, the capital of gastronomy, gives contest winners a big possibility to communicate about this, to showcase the logo of the medal on their packaging, and to promote their tea or their products all over the world but first of all in their local market because this is an international recognition. Even those who do not earn a medal benefit, she explains.
“All our participants are winners because they dare to register for the contest and sell their products. Unfortunately, not all of them are winners this year, but they will probably be next or another because they are doing a very great job. They are putting their hearts and time into what they are doing,” she said.
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Ksenia Hleap manages development and communications at AVPA (Agence pour la Valorisation des Produits Agricoles)
India’s small tea growers (STGs) and bought-leaf factories (BLFs) split the average auction prices within growing regions according to a formula last revised in 2013.
| Consultants BDO India has six months to complete an extensive report on cultivation and processing costs | US Fast-food Outlets Have Yet to Rollout Boba Nationally | The European Speciality Tea Association Offers Tea Barista Foundation Certificates to Coffee Shop Staff
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Hear the Headlines | Seven-minute Tea News Recap
PLUS
Tea Biz travels to Sri Lanka to attend the Dilmah School of Tea hosted by Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company CEO Dilhan C. Fernando. The school teaches that knowledge inspires passion. In this interview, Fernando shares his passion for modernizing the tea experience for consumers ordering tea at restaurants, hotels, and resorts.
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Dilhan C. Fernando, CEO Dilmah Ceylon Tea
India Tea Board to Review Tea Price-Sharing Formula
By Dan Bolton
Raw leaf price sharing, implemented in 2004 and revised in 2013, protects tea smallholders and ensures that bought leaf factories (BLF) retain enough of the final auction price to operate profitably.
This week the Tea Board of India hired consulting firm BDO India to review the current split, which varies by region—smallholders in the West Bengal tea belt currently receive 58%, and BLFs received 42% of the average auction price paid for tea. In Assam, the formula is 60% for STGs (small tea growers) and 40% for the factories that process smallholder tea.
Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, President of CISTA (Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association), has pressed for a revision of the formula for several years.
Chakraborty told the Hindu Businessline, “The cost of production has changed substantially in the last ten years.” The share paid STGs should increase to reflect these costs, he said.
In 2007 the Center for Education and Communication calculated the cost of green leaf cultivation ranged from Rs. 6.29 in Assam and 6.27 in West Bengal to Rs. 5.33 in Tamil Nadu, with a high of Rs. 7.62 rupees per kilo in Himachal Pradesh.
The data for this analysis was collected from the United Forum of Small Tea Growers’ Associations. The 33-page CEC study breaks out the cost of cultivation (STG) and processing (BLF)—the cost of production is the total. In North India at that time, CEC calculated the cost of production at $1.62 per kilo. In South India, the cost was calculated at $1.48 per kilo. The CEC calculations assume a 2000 kilograms per acre yield, at least 12,000 kilos harvested.
Since that time cost of labor, fuel, and fertilizer has soared. In 2007, for example, the price of urea, the world’s most common nitrogen fertilizer, was $280 per ton. On June 1, the average urea price was $623 per ton, costing $.68 per pound of nitrogen. The tea industry is India’s largest private-sector employer, estimated at 10 million workers.
Productivity varies significantly. The output per person in Assam is estimated at 2.2 kilos per worker per day. In Kerala, productivity averages six kilos per workday.
Last October, Nalin Khemani, the chairman of Bharatiya Cha Parishad (BCP), told the BCP Annual General Assembly that the cost of labor per hectare in running a tea garden in Assam is Rs 787.5 as against Rs 341.8 in the southern state. BCP is an association of tea planters and factory owners.
“’The cost to the company (composite value of wage and social responsibility) of a man-day beyond a certain point is an economic impossibility for the industry. Over 60% of the total budget of a tea company is allocated to wages,” said Khemani.
Smallholders have much lower fixed costs. The Tea Farming Project in 2018 reported smallholders could turn a profit in the fourth year after planting based on sales of 3,7000 kilos of the raw leaf at Rs. 17 per kilo to earn Rs. 22900 profit (about $280 in US dollars). Researchers used India’s price-sharing formula to determine the Rs. 17 per kilo rate.
The BDO contract gives the consultancy six months from June 2023 to conduct field visits to gather relevant data on the cost of doing business from farmers in the major tea-producing regions. Growers in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim will be asked to participate online, completing surveys and interacting in virtual meetings.
The board mandated visits to Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Tripura, where the concentration of small tea growers is sufficient for conducting primary research. The contract calls for discussions with Tea Board officials, Tea Research Associations, STGs, and BLF associations, all producers’ associations across India (estate factories), and individual surveys with growers and factories.”
Chakraborty is concerned that because so much of India’s tea is purchased directly, the study will not adequately assess the price paid for tea. India’s price-sharing formula “was based on the Sri Lanka model, which has succeeded because 100% of their teas are routed through auctions. But in India, only 40-42% of sales happen through the auction. PSF will only be popularized when 100 percent of tea is sold via auction,” he said.
Jack-in-the-Box introduces three bubble/boba tea drinks.
US Fast-food Outlets Have Yet to Rolllout Boba Nationally
By Dan Bolton Jack-in-the-Box, a San Diego-based fast-food chain with 2,200 locations, is testing bubble tea. It is the latest large US-based chain to experiment with black tea with sweetened milk and tapioca pearls.
None have announced a national rollout despite the growing popularity of bubble/boba drinks.
McDonald’s introduced bubble tea in Austria and Germany in 2012, and in 2021 added Brown Sugar Boba McFlurry. Milk tea is on the menu in Hong Kong (first offered in 2020), Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines but not in the US. Overseas customers can also buy Ovaltine boba and, in Japan, matcha boba. Milk tea was tested at several US stores but never rolled out nationally at McDonald’s 13,500 US locations.
In December 2021, Starbucks tested two iced coffee drinks made with coffee pearls. Baskin-Robbins introduced a Tiger Milk Bubble drink in May 2022. Dunkin featured popping bubbles in June 2021 but does not offer milk tea boba.
Forty-two percent of boba tea globally is black tea paired with fruit purees (the favorite) or herbals. Bases can also be coffee, chocolate, or vegan- and lactose-intolerant-friendly plant and nut milk.
The website Chew Boom, which tracks boba tea expansion, writes that Jack-in-the-Box recently added three brown sugar boba drinks to its menu to test demand in Long Beach, Torrance, and San Diego.
One is a classic milk tea with boba, the second is an iced coffee with boba, and the third is a vanilla shake with brown sugar boba.
Boba chains are expanding. The global bubble tea market was valued at $2.29 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from $2.46 billion in 2023 to $4.08 billion by 2030, according to Fortune Business Insights. Fortune projects a combined annual growth rate of 7.5% through 2030. The Asia Pacific market is the largest at $1 billion in 2022.
The largest boba retailers are in Taiwan and China. Bubble tea suppliers are concentrated in Taiwan, where customs reported a 330% increase in sales of boba products in 2021, according to Nextrends Asia. According to The Business Times Newspaper, beverage companies spent $3.7 billion launching milk tea brands. North America has emerged as the second-largest market. Taiwan-based Gong Cha recently opened its 200th US location. Demand in Europe is growing, with Chatime Group (China) and Bubbolitas operating since 2009. African, Middle Eastern, and South and Central American markets trail.
The Jack-in-the-Box teas are priced at $4.74 for 16 oz boba drinks, and the shake is advertised at $6.24, according to Chew Boom.
ESTA’s Launches Tea Barista Foundation Course at World of Coffee, Athens
ESTA Offers Tea Certificates to Coffee Shop Staff
By Dan Bolton
The European Speciality Tea Association (ESTA) will offer an education module to teach coffee shop and café staff the fundamentals of tea service at next week’s World of Coffee event in Athens.
ESTA Executive Director David Veal writes that Tea Barista Foundation is one of the basic modules of the association’s education initiative, the Tea Certification Programme.
ESTA aims to provide the leading authoritative tea education program in Europe and beyond, explains Veal.
“One of my personal and professional goals is to be able to go into a coffee shop, look at the menu, and see specialty tea have equality with specialty coffee in terms of presentation and choice, quality of product and skill, passion and knowledge that the barista can pass on to the customer,” said Veal. The module is an important step in achieving that goal, he added.
The course teaches practical skills, including brewing and tasting tea, and will further cover basic knowledge of tea, hygiene, and workflow behind the bar and touch on customer service skills and menu building.
Tea Barista Foundation can be followed as a 4-hour course in the classroom or two sessions online. To earn a certificate, students must pass an online written exam and receive a positive skills report from the authorized tea certifier teaching the course.
Course Content
Tea vs. Coffee | Tea plant, leaves and beverage | Botanicals | Blends| Storage understanding | Hygiene | Workspace management | Importance of water | Tea Brewing Fundamentals | Brewing Methods | Tea Tasting Tools | Café Management | Common Brewing Tools | Customer Service | Popular tea menu extensions | Learn more…
FEATURES
Dilmah School of Tea 75th Edition, Dilhan C. Fernando on stage.
Teaching Hospitality Pros to Share The Magic of Tea
By Dan Bolton
Dilmah Ceylon Tea CEO Dilhan Fernando was energetic on the Colombo Hilton’s grand ballroom stage, inspiring a room filled with chefs, restauranteurs, and mixologists with insights into the “magic” behind camellia sinensis. This was the 75th edition of the Dilmah School of Tea, a training program which has graduated 6,000 alumni during the past 15 years.
Dilmah Ceylon Tea was founded in 1988 by Dilhan’s father, Merrill, who recently celebrated his 93rd birthday. Merrill was one of six Sri Lankan tea tasters selected in 1950 to replace British tasters following the country’s declaration of independence. Forty years later, Dilmah launched the first native producer-owned brand to offer tea handpicked and packed at its origin. Dilmah teas are authentic, ethically sourced, and packaged unblended; many are sold as single estate and served at some of the world’s finest hotels and resorts.
Fernando recorded this interview between sessions.
| As Temperatures Rise, Tea is Ideally Suited to Quench the World’s Thirst Consumers favor boldly flavored, non-sweetened blends | Kenya’s Costly Tea Crisis | The Tea Association of India Lists Industry Concerns
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Hear the Headlines | Seven-minute Tea News Recap
PLUS
Tea Biz traveled to Sri Lanka in May to speak with Romesh Walpola, CEO of Tea Smallholder Factories, at his offices in Colombo. Walpola later arranged a visit to the Neluwa Madagama Tea Factory, one of the company’s seven bought-leaf factories. Combined, these factories produce three million kilos of black tea a year. Walpola explains that investing in training, wellness, and educational programs, including internships for second-generation farmers, earns the loyalty of thousands of small tea growers and is one reason why the company’s teas get top dollar at auction.
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Romesh Walpola, CEO, Tea Smallholder Factories
Cold Brew is Steaming Ahead
Globally as temperatures rise, thirst-quenching iced and cold-brewed teas are experiencing a boost in demand. The global market for cold-brewed teas, estimated at $215 million in 2020, is small but fast-growing, with cafes, on-tap, and ready-to-drink opportunities.
Consumers prefer low or non-sweetened brewed teas (not from powder or concentrate) with bold natural flavors—teas fused with health-enhancing ingredients such as black tea and coconut milk, for example, or green teas and citrus. Black tea blends well with berries and herbs; think strawberry basil and mint with melons or cherries and thyme.
Cold and ambient teas brewed in carafes and served in wine glasses are featured in trendy restaurants and in formulations for hard seltzers and clean energy drinks. The brewing process produces a clean, mild taste without astringency or the carbonic acidity of soft drinks and ciders. The trend is away from hard alcohol and high-ABV beverages. IWSR Drinks Market Analysis writes that globally RTDs grew by only +2% last year compared to historical growth of +20% from 2018-2021. “The key US market decelerated sharply,” according to IWSR, noting exceptions for hard iced tea, cocktails, and flavored alcoholic beverages (FABs). IWSR identified India, Mexico, and Brazil as the new volume growth drivers, while the “US and China remain key to the industry’s value growth.” India and Mexico accounted for more than half of all volume growth in 2022. Top sources of future RTD growth include hard tea in the US.
“RTDs are constantly evolving in the US due to changing consumer demand and interest. One trend that remains solidly entrenched is premiumization,” writes IWSR CEO Mark Meek. IWSR expects a relative shift in treating oneself to higher priced products from on-premise outlets to at-home consumption, a behavior learned during the pandemic and evident in tea. “In most mature markets, premiumization looks to be embedded into consumer purchasing behaviors and will continue to add value in most price tiers, albeit at slower growth rates,” notes Meek. “Consumers continue to trade up in developing markets as incomes rise.”
Vandalism, theft, violent protests, police investigations, and a media exposé depress sales.
Kenya’s Costly Tea Crisis
By Dan Bolton Lockouts after violent street protests, vandalism, and the organized theft of green leaf could cost Kenya’s tea industry an estimated 350 million shillings a week in lost production.
Auction prices are stable, but uncertainty led Tanzania to abandon Mombasa. The Ministry of Agriculture announced that its teas would be sold at the digital auction based in Dar es Salaam beginning in June. Transactions at the Kenya Tea Auction totaled more than KSh130 billion shillings in 2022 ($1.07 billion US dollars).
Much of this tea was grown in Nandi, Nyamira, Bomet, and Kericho counties, where tea workers confronted police on May 26 after destroying harvesting equipment. One person was killed, a reporter was stuck in the forehead by a stone, and more than 100 protestors were arrested. Police charged 11 people for destroying nine harvesting machines, tractors, and a police car, according to The East African.
Ekaterra Tea has indefinitely halted operations in Bomet and Kericho counties, idling 16,000 workers. Growers, including James Finlay Kenya, have scaled back operations across the region due to security concerns. Discussions are underway with growers, local authorities, elders and youth representatives, and labor leaders jointly seeking a solution.
Last week at a press briefing in Mombasa, Arthur Sewe, who chairs the East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA), said tea produced in Kenya accounts for 40% of sales at the Mombasa Auction. According to Sewe, closing the nation’s tea gardens would cost Kenya $2.5 million weekly in lost foreign exchange currency (KSh350 million). He expressed concern that idled workers facing high inflation are evolving into organized criminal groups.
“Invaders illegally pluck the green leaf in broad daylight. This means there could be some factories buying from them,” according to The Star. EATTA sent a warning to members to stop processing leaves from unknown suppliers. “Any of our members running these tea factories found absorbing stolen leaf will be dismissed or de-registered and not allowed to trade at auction,’’ he said.
In related news, The Rainforest Alliance withdrew its certification of Kenyan tea estates implicated in a BBC report that led to an ongoing police investigation of sexual exploitation. The BBC exposé led some retailers to halt purchases, compounding lower demand from major trading partners Egypt and Pakistan.
BIZ INSIGHT – It is difficult to assess the damage to the reputation Kenya’s tea industry is experiencing against the backdrop of a general uprising that began in March with anti-government protestors angry over the rising cost of basic goods. During weeks of unrest, Nairobi police arrested hundreds of protestors who defied a government ban on public rallies. Kenyan opposition leader and former prime minister Raila Odinga encouraged protestors after losing his fifth presidential campaign.
This week, a Tea Association of India report identified a long list of concerns.
The Tea Association of India Lists Industry Concerns
By Aravinda Anantharaman
The Tea Association of India issued a press statement this week listing the challenges faced by the tea industry in Assam and North Bengal, where a prolonged extreme temperature and insufficient rainfall significantly reduced tea production.
TAI estimates that crop reduction in Terai, Dooars, and Darjeeling in May has been 25%, 30%, and 40%, respectively. In south India, UPASI reported that April saw a 12% decrease compared to the same period in 2022. The Tea Research Institute has estimated a reduction of 50% in rainfall in the Dooars in May which has impacted production and increased pest attacks.
Exports have taken a hit. Iran, which accounts for 25% of tea exports, has yet to sign contracts for existing orders this year. TAI also said that the industry faces subdued demand in both international and domestic markets, attributed to the oversupply of tea in the global market and shifting consumer preferences.
Auction prices are also showing a downward trend. In South India, tea prices have shown a 12 percent decrease from January to May 2023, while North India shows a 7% dip from April to May. The average prices for Sales 1 through 20 in 2023 have decreased by 5-9% (for North India, orthodox, and Darjeeling teas).
The TAI has called for the industry to work collectively to explore new market opportunities, promote the unique qualities of Indian teas, and address any regulatory barriers that hinder trade.
FEATURES
Romesh Walpola, CEO of the Tea Smallholder Group, Sri Lanka
The Smallholder Factories Cultivates Supplier Loyalty and Respect
By Dan Bolton
Romesh Walpola, Chief Executive Officer of Tea Smallholder Factories, at his offices in Colombo. He later arranged a visit to the Neluwa Madagama Tea Factory, one of the company’s seven bought-leaf factories. Combined, these factories produce three million kilos of black tea a year. Walpola explains that investing in training, wellness, and educational programs, including internships for second-generation farmers, earns the loyalty of thousands of small tea growers and is one reason why Smallholder Factory Teas get top dollar at auction.
Tea Biz traveled to Badulla, Sri Lanka, in early May to participate in the annual Fresh Tea Festival. Hundreds of local tea growers each carried an offering of intricately arranged tea leaves on a ceremonial plate or a small sack of processed tea. Accompanied by Geta Bera drummers and Wadiga Patuna dancers, they paraded through the city streets to the ancient Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara Temple courtyard, where a Buddhist monk blessed the season’s first harvest.
Caption: The Ven. Wachissara Hamuduruvo, a Buddhist Monk and senior lecturer in the Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management at Uva Wellassa University, presides over the first harvest blessing at the temple in Badulla.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board’s Regional Office in Bandarawela organizes the annual Fresh Tea Festival.The tea community paraded through Badulla to offer Buddha their first teas of the season. Photo by Chathura Fernando/Sri Lanka Tea Board
Tea Planters and Pluckers Present First Harvest Offerings
By Dan Bolton
Badulla is an ancient city of 50,000 located in the remote central mountains of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of Uva Province, where tea is grown on steep hillsides alternately exposed to the northeast and the southwest monsoon winds.Plantations are located between 3000 and 5000 feet above sea level. Here, Thomas Lipton cultivated the world’s most popular tea blend. The district’s distinctive, aromatic high-grown broken orange pekoe (BOP) grades have earned a top price at auctions for over 150 years.
The city is a picturesque tourist location with guest inns, small hotels, resorts, and bungalows. The rail station is the remote terminus of the upcountry railway built by the British in 1924 to transport tea to Colombo.
Tea is the major employer with a mix of plantations and smallholders. Once a year, the tea community gathers for the annual First Tea Festival.
Entering the temple gates
Geta Bera drummers
Kandyan dancers in traditional garb perform a ritual dance initiated centuries ago.
Kandyan (upcountry) dancers
Badulla Tea Community Celebrates First Harvest
Temple guardians. Sri Lanka is one of the three island nations where the Asian Elephant breeds in the wild.
Offering the first leaves of the harvest
On Saturday, May 6, I joined Sri Lanka Tea Board Director of Promotions Pavithri Peiris and staff members for the annual First Tea Festival Parade. The Tea Board’s Regional Office in Bandarawela organized this year’s festival.
Parallel lines of pluckers and tea planters formed ranks at the Badulla administration building with tea offerings in hand. Masked dancers costumed in bright yellow skirts readied themselves to perform the Wadiga Patuna, along with Kandyan men wearing Ves Netuma chain vests adorned with silver ornaments. On a large flatbed truck, workers readied a silk-covered platform that supported a huge brass urn to receive offerings of finished tea. Musicians took their places, and the parade began to the beat of Geta Bera drummers.
A Buddhist monk in bright saffron robes motioned for me to walk with him along streets lined with onlookers. He explained to the curious that I had traveled 12,000 kilometers to convey the gratitude of tea drinkers in the West.
The parade route was less than a kilometer.
Barefoot we approached the temple grounds guarded by four Asian elephants. The sacred site honors Siddhartha Gautama (who lived from 563 to 483 BC). Known as the Buddha, he was a prince born in what is now Nepal who traveled to Sri Lanka 2500 years ago during the eighth year after his enlightenment.
On Station Road, near the temple entrance, a small herd of goats grazed at a roundabout near the clock tower as the drummers and dancers in bearded masks performed in the town square. Vendors sold lotus flowers to the crowd. Stands with fruit and fresh coconut lined the temple walls within sight of a brilliant white dome-shaped stupa built to preserve the Buddha’s relics.
The white-domed stupa at Muthiyangana Raja Maha Vihara Temple holds the tears of the Buddha turned into pearls and strands of his hair. Photo by Chathura Fernando/SLTB
The sand-covered courtyard was peaceful and cool, shaded by palms and bodhi trees of massive girth. The largest tree, surrounded by a gilded enclosure, its limbs braced by ornate support brackets, was planted by an early Ceylon King, Dewanampiathissa, who converted to Buddhism during his 40-year reign from 247 to 207 BC.
Altar overflowing with leavesThe first leaves of the harvestA gift for a deityMore than a hundred tea growers presented offerings at the temple
On arrival, celebrants carried the brass urn to a long marble altar and unveiled it. Planters then began tearing open small bags of tea and pouring the tea into the urn. Pluckers brought fresh leaves, forming a large pile near a statue of the Buddha. The crowd was devoted, joyous, and eager to present their teas before sitting cross-legged in the sand to join a meditation led by the monk.
Pavithri PeirisKandyan DancersCostumed Wadiga Patuna dancers performed for the crowd. Photos by Chathura Fernando/SLTB
The monk’s harmonic chants calmed the crowd, who joined in. He then spoke of the harvest before blessing the tea on the altar.
He explained to the crowd that Buddhist blessings rely on energetic cultivation, not simply prayer. Buddhists earn merit through mindfulness, meditation, chanting, and performing rituals. To be blessed requires practical actions to accumulate merits and good deeds.
Everyone then socialized over tea with snacks and fruit near the museum on the temple grounds and were on their way back to the fields by noon.
The altar under the ancient bodhi tree is laden with offerings.
Harvest blessings originated centuries ago. Tea was first cultivated in Ceylon in 1867 and has since become one of the nation’s most important agricultural products. Sri Lanka is only 500 miles from the equator, so the harvests are not categorized as flushes. The harvest begins in May and peaks from June through September at this altitude. Production of high-grown tea in five provinces totaled 65 million kilos in 2021. Auction prices for these teas averaged $3.90 per kilo in May. Badulla’s rural economy is dominated by tea, making the blessing of the first harvest one of the more important observances on the calendar.
Blessing the first tea of the harvest
“The monk’s harmonic chants calmed the crowd, who joined in. He then spoke of the harvest before blessing the teas on the altar.”
– Dan Bolton
Dan offers a leaf and shares a laugh with the Venerable Wachissara Hamuduruvo, Senior Lecturer at Uva Wellassa University in Badulla. Photo by Chathura Fernando, Market Analyst, Sri Lanka Tea Board, Colombo.
Dan traveled more than 1,500 kilometers during a 10–day visit to Sri Lanka in May 2023. My travels were sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, chaired by Naraj de Mel, with accommodations at the Tea Research Institute courtesy of Dr. K.M. Mohotti. “I’m deeply grateful for the joyful days spent with Pavithri Peiris, the tea board’s Director of Promotion, Gayan Samaraweera, Market Promotion Officer, and Chathura Fernando, Market Analyst. Gayan and Chathura photographed the scenes above.
