• Holiday Shoppers Lose Confidence | Tanzania Debuts Digital Tea Auction in Dar es Salaam | Tea Barter: Egypt Offers Kenya a Blank Check

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    Episode 143

    Holiday Consumers Lose Confidence Before Black Friday Sales Begin | YouGov Survey of American Shoppers Finds 52% Won’t Shop on Black Friday | Tanzania Debuts Digital Tea Auction in Dar es Salaam | Tea Barter: Cash Short Egypt Offers Kenya a Blank Check

    Tea News for the week ending Nov. 17
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap

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    Tanzania is the third-largest tea producer in Africa. Smallholders there farm 48% of the country’s 23,800 hectares under tea. Data from the Tea Board of Tanzania (TBT) estimates that 32,000 tea smallholders collectively produce about 40% of the country’s green leaf. As Director General, Theophord C. Ndunguru is the voice of the Tanzania Smallholders Tea Development Agency (TSHTDA). In October, I traveled to Dar es Salaam to talk with Theophord and fellow tea board members to better understand the state of tea smallholders. Today’s report is an excerpt from our discussion.

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    Theophord C. Nduguru, Director General Tanzania Smallholders Tea Development Agency
    India News Update
    India Update | Aravinda Anantharaman

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    Tanzania launches digital tea auction
    Tanzania launched a digital tea auction on Nov. 13 in Dar es Salaam, selling 1,320 packages (66,920 kgs) with one-third of dust, 72% of secondaries, and 44% of brokers unsold.

    Tanzania Debuts Digital Tea Auction

    By Dan Bolton

    Tanzania conducted the inaugural Dar es Salaam digital tea auction this week, fulfilling a government mandate to stop exporting locally grown tea through the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

    Four gardens sold a combined 1,320 packages (66,920 kgs), leaving 58% of tea unsold. Marks on offer include Arc Mountain, Chivanjee, Diddira, Kwamkoro, Kibena, Ikanga, and Itona.

    Download Auction Report

    The East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA), which runs the Mombasa tea auction, said the competing auction did not impact prices at its twice-weekly sales. The East African reported Mombasa could lose 25% of its current volume if Dar es Salaam meets its goal of selling 65,000 metric tons weekly. Mombasa is the world’s largest tea auction by volume and, in 1992, became the first tea auction outside London to sell teas from multiple origins. Sales of teas from ten countries are offered year-round. The auction handled as much as 545 million kilos before the pandemic, but volume fell to 482 million kilograms of tea in 2022.

    Tea Board of Tanzania (TBT) Director General Mary Kipeja said the Dar es Salaam auction will lower costs, increase transparency, and make Tanzania a regional hub providing services to tea-growing countries in East Africa. Agriculture Ministry Permanent Secretary Gerald Mweli attended the auction, which drew the praise of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

    The auction and related infrastructure improvements are part of the national 10-Year Industry Strategy adopted by Parliament. The program calls for increasing tea production from 33,000 tons of made tea to 90,000 tons annually by fiscal 2029/30.

    Players in the value chain will benefit, including buyers, brokers, warehouse operators, and transporters, and the port facilities at Tanga and Dar es Salaam, said Kipeja. “More Tanzanians will also be enticed with interests in tea cultivation and management, increasing production and quality of the produce,” she said.

    Sales of Tanzanian tea for export currently generate an average of $60 million in foreign exchange revenue. Direct employment is 50,000 and rising.

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    Episode 143 | Holiday Consumers Lose Confidence Before Black Friday Sales Begin | YouGov Survey of American Shoppers Finds 52% Won’t Shop on Black Friday | Tanzania Debuts Digital Tea Auction in Dar es Salaam | Tea Barter: Cash Short Egypt Offers Kenya a Blank Check | PLUS Tanzania is the third-largest tea producer in Africa. Smallholders there farm 48% of the country’s 23,800 hectares and collectively produce about 40% of the country’s green leaf. As Director General, Theophord C. Ndunguru is the voice of the Tanzania Smallholders Tea Development Agency. In October, I traveled to Dar es Salaam to talk with Theophord and fellow tea board members to better understand the state of tea smallholders. Today’s report is an excerpt from our discussion.

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  • Starbucks Global Expansion Plans | Bangladesh May Finally Break an Elusive Tea Production Record | Adding Sugar and Cream Does Not Diminish Tea’s Health Benefits

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    Episode 142

    Starbucks Announces Ambitious Global Expansion to Operate 55,000 Locations by 2030: Tea Played a Key Role in the Siren’s Record-setting Quarter | Bangladesh May Finally Break an Elusive Tea Production Record
    | Research Findings Challenge the Belief that Adding Cream and Sugar to Tea Negatively Impacts Health Outcomes

    Tea News for the week ending Nov. 10
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap

    PLUS | In October, Transworld, China’s first USDA-certified organic tea producer, and Firsd Tea, the US subsidiary of Zhejiang Tea Group, released the Chinese Tea Sustainability Report, a 12-page survey of perspectives and practices at Chinese tea farms and processing facilities. Jason Walker, marketing director at Firsd Tea in New Jersey and one of the architects of the sustainability report, joins Tea Biz for an in-depth discussion of the results of this ongoing survey.

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    Jason Walker, Marketing Director Firsd Tea

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    Tea is a standout in record-setting quarter at Starbucks
    Chai stands out in a record-setting $9.4 billion fourth quarter at Starbucks, which announced plans to operate 55,000 locations by 2030, with 75% overseas.

    Starbucks Announces Ambitious Global Expansion

    By Dan Bolton

    Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan announced a record $9.4 billion fourth quarter to close a $36 billion fiscal year. Revenue was up 12% year-to-year.

    The company will expand to 55,000 locations by 2030, 75% overseas.

    Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Rachel Ruggeri said, “Our customers continue to favor more premium beverages, creating a new normal for mix and customization. To fuel this, we continue to lean in with innovation, offering our Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte, which boosted tea sales, and Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam, which has become a customization favorite with our customers.”

    Gingerbread chai is a hit, I recommend it, Narasimhan told Mad Money host Jim Cramer. Cold beverages, including tea and coffee, are driving sales. Customers add modifiers to cold drinks at a greater rate than hot, and it’s an easier process through the app than anywhere else. These transactions raise ticket and produce personal branding for Gen Z to broadcast via social, according to Ruggeri.

    During the past five years, Starbucks opened 9,000 new stores, 7,000 outside the US. In 2023, foreign locations, including 1,429 in Canada, outnumber for the first time the 16,255 US stores. There are now 6,800 stores in China. Starbucks said it will open an average of eight stores daily, many specially purposed as drive-thru only, double-sided drive-thru, and delivery-only locations. Drive-thru transactions account for 50% of US sales; delivery orders expanded by 24% in 2022. During its year-end earnings call, Narasimhan said the company will spend $3 billion in capital expenditures and grow to 41,000 locations by October 2024.

    “Our reinvention [announced in September 2022] is moving ahead of schedule, fueling revenue growth, efficiency, and margin expansion,” said Narasimhan.

    BIZ INSIGHT – Tea accounts for about 10-20% of beverage sales at coffee shops. Locations serving a wide range of hot and cold teas can increase that share to 20-30% or more. Beverage sales at Starbucks, including tea, generated about 75-80% of revenue, totaling $19.6 billion in FY22, with food products totaling $5.8 billion. Packaged and single-serve coffees and Teavana teas, ready-to-drink products, serveware, and ingredients contributed $6.9 billion, according to the company’s SEC 10-K filings.

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    Episode 142 | Starbucks Announces Ambitious Global Expansion to Operate 55,000 Locations by 2030 | Tea Played a Key Role in the Siren’s Record-setting $9.4 Billion Quarter | Bangladesh May Finally Break an Elusive Tea Production Record | Research Findings Challenge the Belief that Adding Cream and Sugar to Tea Negatively Impacts Health Outcomes PLUS Jason Walker, marketing director at Firsd Tea in New Jersey and one of the architects of the Chinese Sustainability Perspectives report, joins Tea Biz for an in-depth discussion of the results of this ongoing survey.

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  • The Leafies Winners Revealed | Rooibos Tea Named a Top 10 Pantone Color for 2024 | India Tea Undergoes FSSAI Safety Analysis

    Episode 141

    UK Tea Academy Announces 2023 Winners of The Leafies | Rooibos Tea Named a Top 10 Pantone Color for 2024 | FSSAI Steps Up Safety Analysis of Indian Tea Factories

    Tea News for the week ending Nov. 3
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap

    PLUS | Tea was first cultivated in what is now Tanzania by German colonists early in the 20th century. Farms were planted high in the Usambara Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro rising vertically from the plains. The region was known as Tanga and would later, under British rule, become Tanganyika. The UK greatly expanded tea production through the 1960s and remains a major trading partner with the Republic of Tanzania. Joining us today is Steve Anyango, an expert strategist in commodity trading and logistics with deep ties to tea. Steve is Managing Director, Nemooneh Iranian Food & Beverage Industries.

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    Steve Anyango on the characteristics of Tanzanian Tea.

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    The Leafies Judging
    The Leafies Judging

    UK Tea Academy Announces 2023 Winners of The Leafies

    By Dan Bolton

    Winners of The Leafies are celebrating around the world this week following an award ceremony at the Asia House attended by 100 guests, including Tea Biz London correspondent and PMD Tea Managing Director Dananjaya Silva.

    Awards Ceremony
    Dananjaya Silva reports on The Leafies Awards Presentation and Tasting from the Asia House in London.

    This year’s competition attracted 320 teas. Contenders were divided by type, region, and processing into 48 categories. Twenty-five of the award-winning teas were sampled after the award presentation, which included judges, winners, and beverage executives from sponsor Fortnum & Mason.

    Twelve judges representing eight nationalities were awarded 13 Gold awards. Several individuals were recognized for special awards, and 36 teas were “highly commended” in citations that praised noteworthy characteristics. 

    Japanese teas dominated with five gold awards. India won two: Glenburn for its Darjeeling Moonshine and Rujani Tippy Reserve in Assam on the Aideobarie Tea Estate. Lumbini Tea Valley won gold for Sri Lanka, and Zen Zen took home gold for its Formosa Red Oolong tea. A Chinese Ya Shi Xiang submitted by Jantle Group also won gold.

    Yame Tea Kumaen’s Gyokuro Saemidori from Fukuoka foo·koo·ow·kuh Japan was the highest-scoring tea of the competition, earning the Fortnum & Mason Best In Show award. The tea will be sold at the company’s showroom. Kazumi Nakatani traveled from Japan to brew and pour the winning tea. Zealong Tea Estate was awarded prizes for its Aged Oolong and Aromatic Oolong. Zealong also received the UK Tea Academy Lifetime Achievement Award for its pioneering tea culture 25 years ago in New Zealand. CEO Gigi Crawford served the tea.

    New this year is a category for retailers selling fine tea. Chaki Co in Uji, Kyoto, Japan, won two retail gold awards. The tea venture was founded by tea farmers who are masters of “deconstructing and reassembling” tea. Dorothy’s Teas was named Best Seller of White Tea for its Shannong Estate Silver Needles.

    View all the winners at ukteaacademy.co.uk/the-leafies

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    2023 Gold Award Winners
    Retail Gold Winners
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  • Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns | Just Ice Tea Raises $14M | Wagh Bakri Executive Director Parag Desai Dies Fleeing Stray Dogs

    Episode 140

    Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns for Transit via the Straits of Hormuz and Suez Canal | Just Ice Tea Raises $14 Million to Expand Distribution | Wagh Bakri Tea Executive Director Parag Desai, 49, Dies Fleeing Stray Dogs

    PLUS | Tea Biz traveled to Tanzania last week to explore the tropical Usambara tea-growing region. There, I met with smallholder farmers, tea makers, traders, tea sellers, members of the Tea Board of Tanzania, and a tiny cooperative of 14 families deep in the jungle who invited me to watch as they hand-rolled and wood-fired organic black tea that always sells out on “market day” in the local village. I recount my adventure beginning today with Tahira Nizari, a savvy business school graduate and humanitarian who founded Kazi Yetu in 2018. This specialty tea brand advances the role of women in Tanzania’s tea industry. 

    Tea News for the week ending Oct 27
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-minute Tea News Recap

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    Tea Sea Lanes
    Tea land sea lanes

    Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns

    By Dan Bolton

    Tea shipping and logistics executives are closely monitoring Middle East unrest as tea sales to the region declined.

    Immediate concerns involve insurance premiums and pricing risk, but if Iran-backed Hezbollah escalates the Hamas conflict, Israel will likely retaliate against Iran. The Islamic Republic’s navy (IRGCN) has increasingly harassed international vessels, with 20 incidents in the past few years, including the seizing of tankers in the Strait of Hormuz (which spans Oman and Iran), a route traveled by 30% of the world’s oil and much of the world’s tea.

    Due to the violent and volatile Hamas-Israeli conflict, sales of orthodox tea at India’s Kochi Auction declined to 70% of the 2 million kilos on offer. Though Israel buys negligible quantities, exports to other destinations through the Suez Canal will be hit, according to a report in the Hindu BusinessLine.

    See: Middle East Conflict Threatens Global Growth (NYT)

    Traders who spoke to the newspaper cautioned, “Shipments to destinations through the Suez Canal are likely to be hit on account of the war.”

    They anticipate a further decline in demand and disruptions in tea procurement if the situation worsens.

    Iran is the center of attention. 

    Normally a discerning trading partner with a preference for orthodox black tea, imports to Iran spiked last year yet, “At the moment, there are signs that Iran does not have enough teas to last through the winter season,” writes one trader. 

    In an attempt to stockpile supplies, tea imports during the past fiscal year (ending March 30, 2023) rose to 90 million kilos. Payments, complicated by economic sanctions, are now past due. “So far, we have no clear import support from the government. As a result, a lot of teas consigned for Iran are stuck in Dubai and Kenya,” writes the Iran-based trader.

    Compounding the self-inflicted shortage is that domestic production declined to 20 million kilos this year.

    Iran produced about 26 million kilos last year, exporting 10,000 metric tons valued at $44.2 million, according to the Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), which valued imports at $665 million through March 30, 2023.

    Imports recovered from the pandemic to reach 35 million kilos in 2022. In the fiscal year ending March 2021, the country imported 21 million kilos valued at $201 million. India accounted for $96 million of tea imports. Sri Lanka shipped $75.8 million worth of tea to Iran, and Kenya shipped $19.2 million to round out the top three tea suppliers.

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  • Dark Tea Reduces Risk of Diabetes | Kagoshima Exports | Consumers Feel Culpable for Climate Change

    Episode 137

    | A Daily Cup of Dark Tea Reduces the Risk of Diabetes: Researchers Demonstrate How Tea Helps Control Blood Sugar Levels
    | Mintel Consulting: Consumers Feel Culpable for Climate Change
    | Kagoshima Benefits from Diverse Tea Exports

    PLUS | “We started the UC Davis Global Tea Institute Professional Tea Program at the request of the tea industry,” says GTI Founder and Director Prof. Katharine Burnett. Leaders in their fields from Finlay Beverage, Starbucks, Peet’s, ITI, Empire Tea, Mother Parkers, Ito En, and Hamburg Teehandel present the 15 two-hour weekly sessions across a wide spectrum of topics, from history and culture to science, business, and health. The program is aimed at industry members seeking to deepen their foundational knowledge of tea.

    Tea News for the week ending Oct 6
    Hear the Headlines | Seven-minute Tea News Recap

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    Researchers Demonstrate How Tea Helps Control Blood Sugar Levels

    By Dan Bolton

    Drinking dark tea, a fermented favorite in China, significantly decreases the risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes regardless of weight, age, gender, high blood pressure, and family history.

    Researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia and Southeast University in China found that compared to never-tea drinkers, those consuming dark tea daily had a 53% lower risk for prediabetes and 47% reduced risk for type 2 diabetes.

    The paper, presented this week at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), said tea lowers the risk of diabetes with a long list of known risk factors, including fasting glucose levels, drinking alcohol, smoking, high cholesterol levels, and regular exercise.

    Associate Professor Tongzhi Wu from the University of Adelaide said, “The substantial health benefits of tea, including a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, have been reported in several studies over recent years, but the mechanisms underlying these benefits have been unclear.”

    “Our findings hint at the protective effects of habitual tea drinking on blood sugar management via increased glucose excretion in urine, improved insulin resistance, and thus better control of blood sugar. These benefits were most pronounced among daily dark tea drinkers,” he writes.

    A release summarizing the research explains that people with diabetes often have enhanced capacity for renal glucose reabsorption, so their kidneys retrieve more glucose, preventing it from being excreted in urine and contributing to higher blood sugar.

    “These beneficial effects on metabolic control may lie in the unique way dark tea is produced, which involves microbial fermentation, a process that may yield unique bioactive compounds (including alkaloids, free amino acids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and their derivatives)

    These compounds exhibit potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, improve insulin sensitivity and the performance of beta cells in the pancreas, and change the composition of the bacteria in the gut.”

    The study included 1,923 adults (562 men and 1,361 women aged 20-80 years) living in eight provinces in China. Participants indicated the frequency and type of tea consumed. Blood and urine tests measuring glucose excretion and related favorable effects were most robust for dark tea drinkers. 

    According to Associate Professor Wu: “These findings suggest that the actions of bioactive compounds in dark tea may directly or indirectly modulate glucose excretion in the kidneys, an effect, to some extent, mimicking that of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors.

    This new anti-diabetic drug class is not only effective at preventing and treating type 2 diabetes but also has a substantial protective effect on the heart and kidneys.”

    The authors said drinking dark tea is a good blood sugar management tool, but you should consider your overall diet, too.

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