• Timely Tea Delivery

    Early harvests in China, India, and Kenya sent new teas to market early this year – a fortunate head-start. Unlike last year, labor availability is good despite COVID-19 restraints, tea regions report fine weather, and orderly processing is raising expectations of a bountiful crop. In this segment Jason Walker, spokesperson for Firsd Tea, the US division of the largest green tea supplier in the world, discusses two remaining challenges impeding timely tea delivery.

    Jason Walker on obstacles to timely tea delivery.
    Map shows ships idled for days waiting a berth at ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles, Calif.

    Finally Under Way

    Early harvests in China, India, and Kenya sent new teas to market early this year – a fortunate head-start. Unlike last year, labor availability is good despite COVID-19 restraints, tea regions report fine weather, and orderly processing is raising expectations of a bountiful crop. Two hurdles remain. Transport is stretched to the breaking point as reinvigorated economies stir from pandemic weariness. The second hurdle is cost. Wholesalers, retailers, and importers that last year bore the weight of spiking prices must now make up for lost earnings. Expect significant price increases for both specialty and commodity teas for the foreseeable future.

    Tea Biz: COVID-19 and the chaos of lockdowns this time last year presented unique delivery challenges. Describe how the logistical hurdles differ for the 2021 harvest.

    Jason Walker: We did see locations and origins that either could not get any tea out at all, or we saw that they could not get anything out on their regular schedule. There were multiple variations of disruption that were happening last year.

    For example: Some growing areas in China saw a shortage of workers to harvest the spring crop. Then you may have packing or processing facilities that were locked down or running a skeleton crew. On top of that- even if your workforce could pluck, process, and pack on schedule, shipments could still be hindered

    This year we are seeing a more steady flow. We are seeing harvests started earlier. Compared to last year things look like they’re much more on track. Especially in terms of harvest and processing/packing

    In October the dollar costs of shipping really started to ratchet up.

    Things were behind schedule.Then we started to see there was an inadequate supply of either ships or containers.  Things were piled up because of ports that had been closed. Port closures caused shipping routes to get rearranged, and it took time to re-position and resume normal flow.

    Then you had increased demand for online retail. Lots of new equipment and personal items were getting shipped. People who used to spend their money on a on a dinner out now buying exercise equipment and things like that. You just have more stuff trying to get on the water at the same time. 

    It takes months for all that to shift back into what it was. Containers were not even available for weeks sit at ports waiting for days or weeks just to get loaded onto a ship. 

    I tracked one of our ship’s on Vessel Finder just to see where it was day by day.

    I had heard the stories of logjams at LA and Long Beach ports, the online vessel tracking service let me see just how our shipments might be impacted. By taking a screenshot daily, I saw how our shipment waited in a line of ships offshore for about 7-8 days before being cleared to dock and unload.

    Every single day we saw it just sitting there waiting its turn to get unloaded.

    Then we began hearing stories that some of those ships were returning empty because the rates for East Asia into Western US were four times the going rate.

    We are seeing still seeing some of that.

    We had to share some of that burden of costs with our customers. 

    Tea Biz: In 2020 importers, wholesalers, and retailers eased the price shock for consumers by absorbing some of the sharp increase in transportation costs. This year prices are expected to rise with retailers promoting pre-orders and fewer free shipping offers. What advice can you offer to reduce the cost of transporting tea.

    Jason Walker: We have been trying to encourage our customers and everyone out there to make their best projections that we can know roughly when you need it. That helps everybody along the line prioritizing the order. It also average out. You may pay higher rates now, but may be able to offset that later as the cost of things goes down and we all can adjust our prices.

    Projections essentially help ease the strain on the logistics chain. Container shipments, warehouses, and truckers are better equipped to send and receive the right amounts of product while compensating for delays caused by a strained system. The alternatives are to either overprepare (potentially overwhelming the system), or under-prepare and risk being left without. We recognize it can be tough to make projections in these unparalleled circumstances but the benefits outweigh the costs. Depending on the size of the customer and their orders, clients are providing 6-month or quarterly projections. As a result we have seen fewer interruptions due to better planning. Observers in ocean freight, major ports, and domestic trucking all indicate the overall instability may continue until late spring or early summer.

    Firsd Tea has been tracking and sharing updates we receive from logistics partners and sharing that via our newsletter and blog:

    Shipageddon: Plan Ahead
    Shipageddon: Continues Through Chinese New Year
    Shipageddon: November Update

    Link to share this post with your colleagues.

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Never miss an episode

    Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts:

    Apple
    TuneIn
    Spotify
    Google
    Stitcher
    Sounder
    Amazon
    iHeart

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    , , , , , ,

  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 11

    Listen to the Tea Biz Podcast on iTunes | Spotify | Sounder | Stitcher | Alexa

    Hear the Headlines for the Week of April 2

    Hear the Headlines


    | Suez Ship-jam Delays Tea Deliveries
    | Tea Aisle Sales Stand Out in Grocery
    | Tea Retail Realignment Underway
    | Camellia Sinensis Closes Emery Street Teahouse

    Click to read this week’s in-depth India Price Watch or listen to the summary below.

    This week’s Tea Price Report

    Save this permalink to hear the latest prices anytime on your phone.

    Features

    This week Tea Biz visits Scotland for a lesson on the history of tea clipper ships and a plan to revive the famous tea races from China to the UK with next-generation zero-emission sail craft that someday may enable shippers who switched from sail to steam 150 years ago to switch back to sail again.

    …. and we explore a realm that knows no bounds — the imagination of tea book authors. Listen as Kyle Whittington, founder of the Tea Book Club, presents the first in a series of crowd-sourced book reviews

    China Tea Clippers Ariel and Taeping
    China Tea Clippers Ariel and Taeping race to London in a painting by Jack Spurling.

    Clipper Tea Races Reborn

    David O’Neill is director of Falls of Clyde International, a non-profit vested in preserving Scotland’s maritime heritage. The 200-foot-long Falls of Clyde is the last of the full-rigged, iron-hulled clippers. It is designated a US National Historic Landmark and moored as a maritime museum in Honolulu. However, the ship is no longer open to the public and needs $1.5 million in immediate repairs or it will be scuttled. Read more…

    David O’Neill on the return of the clipper tea races
    Kyle Whittington
    Tea Book Club founder Kyle Whittington

    The Tea Book Club

    By Dan Bolton

    The Tea Book Club is a virtual adaptation of the popular Saturday afternoon tea and armchair get-togethers. Members meet monthly as either regulars or drop-ins. A new book is introduced every two months. The first session is social with a book-related theme or special guest. The second meet-up is to discuss the book in detail. There are two time slots to accommodate the global community with recordings available and a group chat on Instagram. Email prompts during the month help you keep on pace.

    Tea Book Club founder Kyle Whittington is joining Tea Biz as a contributing editor responsible for reviewing books on tea. In this segment he introduces the club’s favorite book of 2020, Tales of the Tea Trade by Michelle and Bob Comins, two adventurous tea retailers from Bath, England who recount their travels to origin. Read more…

    Kyle Whittington reviews Tales of the Tea Trade

    Tea News you Need to Know

    Suez Ship-jam Delays Tea Deliveries

    The reliability of ships arriving on time was at record lows before the March 24 Suez Canal ship-jam delayed significant amounts of coffee and tea mainly bound for Europe. The Van Rees Group, based in Rotterdam, continues to track 80 containers of tea on 15 vessels idling in the canal or re-routed at sea. Logistics firm Sea-Intelligence estimates arrival reliability declined below 35% in February and reports an average delay of 6.72 days for LATE ships. This marks the sixth month of double-digit, year-on-year declines in vessel performance and the “highest average delay ever.”

    “With continued widespread port congestion, and with carriers still not letting off capacity-wise – especially on the major trades – not even for Chinese New Year, shippers might not see improving schedule reliability anytime soon,” writes Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy.

    Refloating the gigantic container ship Ever Given within six days averted a crisis as year-end supplies dwindled at the start of the harvest year. Recovery will take a few weeks as 350 ships make their way through the canal at a pace of 80 ships per day. In addition, the blockage will prevent empty shipping containers from being returned to Asia, adding to a container shortage caused by rising demand for consumer goods during the pandemic.

    Biz Insight – In the orderly world of logistics, nothing is going as planned. Ports are designed to unload ships at an even pace. Hundreds of vessels arriving all at once at the same Western European destinations will create bottlenecks at terminals in Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Hamburg where most tea is offloaded. Port authorities say they are now experiencing a lull before the rush.

    Tea Stands Out in the Grocery Aisle

    Staid and steady center-aisle categories like tea rarely accelerate at growth rates faster than advertising-driven Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) categories – but that’s exactly what happened in 2020. Last April sales of tea bags in US grocery and department stores grew by 12.7% year over year, according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI. Growth held steady at 12.3% for the year. Sales of tea in teabags totaled $250 million in the 52-weeks ending February 2021, according to IRI. In Canada hot tea sales grew by 18% through January compared to 11% growth in fast-moving goods overall, according to Nielsen research shared by the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada.

    Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight in the UK, writes that “We’ve eaten an extra 7 billion meals at home since spring 2020. Office tea rounds meanwhile were replaced by brews in our own kitchens and we drank an additional 2 billion cups of tea in the house this year.”

    Globally sales of packaged foods and beverages have fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

    Biz Insight – Consumer surveys show that comfort and relaxation and lifestyle motivated purchases – with immunity and mental health and “just keeping warm” among the top five reasons people bought tea during lockdowns. Consumer trends toward self-care and convenience are now more prominent than in last year’s surveys but the desire to spend more to indulge in premium tea and to create pleasant in-home experiences remains strong. Overall, the US economy is still troubled. On Wednesday the Conference Board reported that 62% of US consumers, many of whom are facing economic uncertainty and income loss, are cutting back on spending overall. The survey found that frugality is one of three dominant household priorities along with a preference for digitally enabled convenience and spending on health and wellness.

    Retail Realignment

    Tata Consumer Products, owners of Tetley branded tea, announced it has sold its stake in two US-based joint tea ventures – parting ways with Empirical Group, a major foodservice supplier, and the Harris Tea Company’s Southern Tea. Tetley is one of North America’s highest grossing tea brands. Tata’s CEO said the company is consolidating to sharpen its focus in the US coffee and tea market.

    In a release announcing the acquisition, Harris writes that the new company will be called Harris Tea Food Service, “offering foodservice customers innovative products, consistent quality, and service.”

    In addition to Tetley® and Good Earth®, Harris Tea Food Service will now offer Southern Breeze®, Ready Sweet™, Newman’s Own Organics®, Red Rose®, Salada®, Tea India®, Chai Moments®, Wonder Drink Kombucha® and Secret Squirrel Coffee® according to the release.

    Harris Tea Company is the largest blender and packer of private label teas in North America with two production facilities in the US (in Georgia and New Jersey), one in Newcastle, UK and, an affiliated factory in India.

    Camellia Sinensis 351 Rue Émery, Montréal.
    Camellia Sinensis 351 Rue Émery, Montréal.

    Camellia Sinensis Will Close Emery Street Teahouse

    Kevin Gascoyne, a partner and spokesman for Camellia Sinensis tea retail in Montreal, announced the company will close its Emery Teahouse after 22 years. Gascoyne said that like many firms the pandemic forced the company to re-structure and reinvent itself to survive.

    “Had this been simply been a one or two months event would have weathered it out and carried on as before.  But now, after more than a year, we have come to realize that we will have to cut free a part of the company that is very close to all our hearts. We have decided to close the Emery Teahouse,” writes Gascoyne. 

    “In early 2022 we hope to present a new space, offering a completely different client experience, a location where tea tasting, and discovery are at the core of each visit,” he said

    “Naturally the Tea School and our passion for the art of tea will play an important role in this new project and, if all goes well, it will both seduce the senses and enhance the tea experience for all our clients,” he said.

    The company’s Emery Street Boutique remains open for business.

    Copy this link to share this Tea Biz BLOG|CAST with your colleagues

    View the Tea Biz Newsletter Archive

    https://teabiz.sounder.fm/episode/news-01212021

    Subtext

    Avoid the chaos of social media and start a conversation that matters. Subtext’s message-based platform lets you privately ask meaningful questions of the tea experts, academics and Tea Biz journalists reporting from the tea lands. You see their responses via SMS texts which are sent direct to your phone. Visit our website and subscribe to Subtext to instantly connect with the most connected people in tea.

    Subscribe to Subtext

    Podcast Players

    ITunesSpotifyiHeart RadioStitcher
    Google PodcastAmazon PodcastsTune In Sounder
    Download the Tea Biz Podcast weekly on your favorite player. To obtain a text-only version subscribe via RSS

    Subscribe and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    ,
    , , , , ,

  • Clipper Tea Races Reborn

    David O’Neill is director of Falls of Clyde International, a non-profit vested in preserving Scotland’s maritime heritage. The 280-foot-long Falls of Clyde completed in 1878 is the last of the full-rigged, iron-hulled clippers. It is designated a US National Historic Landmark and moored at a maritime museum in Honolulu that is now closed to the public. The ship is no longer seaworthy and needs $1.5 million in immediate repairs or it will be scuttled. O’Neill devised a bold plan to rebuild the ship as a modern sail craft with eco-friendly electrical propulsion. The foundation plans a return of clipper tea races in 2025.

    David O’Neill on the return of clipper tea races in 2025
    China Tea Clippers Ariel and Taeping
    China Tea Clippers Ariel and Taeping race 14,000 miles from China to London in 1866 in a painting by Jack Spurling.

    Return of the Clipper Tea Races

    In the late 1800s racing 2000-ton, 200-foot long, four-mast tall ships with 30-men crews at speeds of up to 32 kilometers per hour from Foochow, China to London was a 99-day spectacle that rivaled today’s FIFA World Cup. With a ten-pence per ton premium on top of the 5 pound per ton price of tea and a cash prize of 100 sterling for the first captain to reach port, the annual race (viewed as a sporting event with wagers a plenty) meant fortunes won and lost. From the first race in 1865 to the last in 1872 Londoners eagerly anticipated September when a glut of fresh tea first arrived.

    British and American clipper ships were the marvel of their day but Scotland’s ship builders in Aberdeen on the River Clyde were the most renowned. The race of 1866 pitted 57 ships on a journey of 14,000 miles. Three contenders arrived within two hours on the same tide. The world’s two fastest clippers, the Taeping and the Ariel docked 28 minutes apart, the winning captain of the Taeping gallantly splitting the prize with is rival.

    David O’Neill: I see this project as an opportunity to bring tea consumption to the attention of a global audience, to what it once was. It could attract global sponsors on a par with major ocean racing events and boost local communities and businesses in cities along the route. Importers, exporters, growers, retailers even tea drinkers and the media will follow this for reasons ranging from their interest in heritage tea, the environment and new technologies used in clean-emission shipping. It will truly be a spectacle and interactive experience.

    Tea Biz: What inspired you to resurface these famous races?

    David: I was around nine years old, in primary school, here in Glasgow. I was inspired by a book of short stories of famous events, such as the story of the clipper Cutty Sark versus the Thermopylae, a story of adversity, man against the elements and this Clyde-built, super fast-sailing ship, racing another home to the U.K.

    The story had excitement, disappointment, danger, and it captured the hugeness of the sea. How clever we were to be able to be smart and innovative to solve problems, all lessons I learned in life and ones that I’ve passed to my own kids.

    Our ship was built in Port Glasgow in 1878. Once it returns to Scotland, she will be rebuilt to meet today’s standards of structural integrity and meet today’s safety standards for ships. To celebrate her rebirth, what better way to show the world what Clyde-built heritage means, than by recreating the tea race. In this way we get to promote clean emission shipping as both vessels will be converted to all-electric or a hybrid clean fuel mix.
    We see this as an annual event, with a challenging vessel each year to join in, aiming to having a fleet of sailing ships, in the future taking part, all because of tea.

    Return of Tea Clipper Races
    Caption Information here including photo credit.

    Restoring the Falls of Clyde

    Only three of the fabled clipper ships remain. Like her seven sister ships, the Falls of Clyde carries the name of historic waterfalls in Scotland. She was built as a bulk carrier and eventually bought by Glasgow merchants Wright & Breckenridge which meant she regularly travelled to India and Pakistan on trade routes. She was then sold to Matson Shipping in 1899 and taken to Honolulu, making 60 voyages between Hilo, HI and San Francisco carrying sugar and passengers until 1907. The ship has been on display at the Bishop Museum of History and Science since 1968.

    The foundation writes that the “Falls of Clyde remains the symbol of a time of great innovation, ingenuity and engineering, she truly is a piece of history that shouldn’t be forgotten as ships like her opened the seaways for the new designs of the British Merchant Fleets of the 20th Century – fast steamships and turbine powered innovators of their day! There is so much history imbued in the very iron that was used to build her and she deserves to sail for another 140 + years.”

    Click to donate to the restoration and return of the Falls of Clyde clipper ship to Scotland.

    Link to share this post with your colleagues

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Never miss an episode

    Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts:

    Apple
    TuneIn
    Spotify
    Google
    Stitcher
    Sounder
    Amazon
    iHeart

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    , , , , ,

  • Tales of the Tea Trade

    “It was at this point that Mr. Toshiro gestured me to push my hand into the soil, which I did until I was past his elbow; the light, aerated soil offered little resistance. On removing my arm I was instructed to taste the soil, which I did without hesitation. How could something that was growing such healthy plants be anything but good for me? It tasted sweet, soft and gritty. If it hadn’t been gritty, I would probably have gone back for another handful.” (Page 23)

    Tales of the Tea Trade Book Review
    Review at a glance
    Tales of the Tea Trade

    Intensely Human and Heartfelt

    “It was at this point that Mr. Toshiro gestured me to push my hand into the soil, which I did until I was past his elbow; the light, aerated soil offered little resistance. On removing my arm I was instructed to taste the soil, which I did without hesitation. How could something that was growing such healthy plants be anything but good for me? It tasted sweet, soft and gritty. If it hadn’t been gritty, I would probably have gone back for another handful.” (Page 23)

    That’s a quote from Tales of the Tea Trade by Michelle and Rob Comins.  Voted our favourite book of the year in October 2020 by Tea Book Club members. I’m Kyle Whittington from the UK and founder of Tea Book Club, we are an international group of tea lovers and readers who meet up online each month to discuss tea books. 

    Tales of the tea trade was also shortlisted for the Andre Simmons Book Awards in 2020. 

    Here are my thoughts:

    After a general but thoughtfully written introduction to tea and its types (pages 6-55), Michelle and Rob take us on a journey to the different countries they source their tea from (pages 56-183). Taking turns to voice the stories, we hear from both Michelle and Rob, as well as the fascinating people they’ve met on their travels. This book is intensely human and heartfelt. You really feel a connection with Michelle and Rob, their love of tea, the places they go and the people they meet. 

    The book is thoughtfully laid out so you know right away who is speaking and can easily pick out the stories from tea people alongside interesting asides such as baking their own oolong (page 38)  and people’s relationships with tea. Countries are arranged in chronological order based on when they started growing and producing tea, a different and thoughtful approach. The book is easy to hop in and out of, reading sections that interest you, if you’re not a cover-to-cover reader. Overall a pleasure to read and a must add to any tea bookshelf. 

    Thoughts and comments from Tea Book Club members:

    “I truly enjoyed the whole book” (Nadine, UK)

    “I absolutely love the way they outlined the book, the flow and I love the bits at the end, such as the meditation (pages 187-189). A lovely way to finish it.” (Jin, USA)

    “I think it’s wonderful, it’s almost like meeting those people. I want to drink all of these teas. They really showcase the people and the teas. It’s not about them telling, it’s about the people and the teas.” (Nadine, UK)

    “Definitely the storytelling, the personal connection. They put a face to the tea, they put people to the tea.” (Alison, UK)

    “Peoples attitudes and passions about where they came to tea from, why they were doing it.” (Laura, UK)

    “I really enjoyed the chapter on Korean tea (pages 100-113). I’ve never had Korean tea before, so it was really nice to immerse myself in that world.” (Jin, USA)

    Harvest Schedule

    “I like the table where you can see and compare the different harvest times depending on where they are and the different names of the picking seasons depending on where they are (page 30).” (Kristine, Sweden)

     “It was really nice for me reading about my friend in Nepal (pages 156-165). I didn’t read it from end to end, just hopped on and off reading different sections.” (Elke, Germany)

    “I love in the Chinese chapter about the clay and the pot making (page 80) and how they’re using different types of clay for different types of tea. For me it’s new and I haven’t really tasted the differences between using different teas and different clay.” (Kristine, Sweden)

    Some things that came out of the book:

    It made people more appreciative of the farmers, the work they put in, and their care for the tea. 

    Made them feel more mindful about the teas they buy. 

    Another reader commented: “Something that really got my attention was on tea preparation. They wrote that to taste tea really well requires people to have a quiet and compassionate heart. A good reminder that tea requires one to be peaceful.” (Greta, Sweden)

    You can purchase the Tales of the Tea Trade directly from cominstea.com or, of course, on Amazon

    If you’d like to join us for next read, visit teabookclub.org or @joinTeaBookClub on Instagram. 

    Kyle Whittington
    Kyle Whittington

    Comins Tea

    Michelle and Rob Comins, as well as authoring this wonderful book, own and run Comins Tea, a direct-trade fine tea merchant, with teahouses in the city of Bath and the picturesque town of Sturminster Newton in Dorset, UK. Definitely well worth a visit if you’re in the area or visiting the UK. I had the most wonderful afternoon at their Bath teahouse with friends a couple of years ago tasting a range of delicious teas (I couldn’t resist leaving with several teas and some wonderful teaware of course). With lockdowns in the UK this last year they have been doing loads of great stuff online, so check out their tea school and programs on offer on their website [www.cominstea.com]. — Kyle Whittington

    Michelle and Rob Comins
    Michelle and Rob Comins

    Link to share this post with your colleagues

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Never miss an episode

    Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts:

    Apple
    TuneIn
    Spotify
    Google
    Stitcher
    Sounder
    Amazon
    iHeart

    •

    Kyle Whittington

    •

    , , , , ,

  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 10

    Listen to the Tea Biz Podcast on iTunes | Spotify | Sounder | Stitcher | Alexa

    Hear the Headlines for the Week of March 26

    Hear the Headlines


    | India High Court Reverses Tea Worker Wage Increase
    | Kenyan Tea Factory Elections Suspended
    | Study Finds Growers Adapting to Climate Change

    Click to read this week’s in-depth Price Watch or listen to the summary below.

    This week’s Tea Price Report

    Save this permalink to hear the latest prices anytime on your phone.

    Features

    This week Tea Biz discusses a retail-inspired tea education club that delves deeply in the “geeky” aspects of terroir, horticultural practices, and processing during rare-tea cupping sessions at home

    …. and we travel to London to weigh the marketing value of third-party certifications against authentic “boots-on-the ground” community involvement tailored to local needs.

    Udena at Kaley
    Kaley Tea founder Udena Wickremesooriya at a July 2020 Ceylon tasting showcasing artisan tea makers.

    Certifications Soothe the Conscience, But Do They Deliver for the Communities Where Workers Reside?

    By Dananjaya Silva | PMD Tea

    In principle tea certification programs have positive impacts but in practice results are highly location-specific and mixed. Farmgate prices generally rise along with gross income, but so do costs that are borne by farmers in about 60 percent of certification programs. Certifications are an imperative for marketers seeking to export tea – third-party certifications soothe the conscience of retailers and consumers, but do they address the needs and interests of tea workers in the communities in which they reside? Read more…

    Kaley Tea founder Udena Wickremesooriya on third party certification programs.
    Shunan Teng
    Tea Drunk founder Shunan Teng

    Online Tea Education Club in a Class All its Own

    By Dan Bolton

    New York’s Tea Drunk tea house is normally bustling with tea lovers gathered to sip and learn. Since opening in 2013, founder and first-generation immigrant Shunan Teng, an accomplished speaker and educator, taught by example, telling stories of her annual buying trips while pouring tea for customers. Last March, Teng, who normally spends three months a year with heritage growers in China, was grounded – worse yet, her thriving business was locked down.

    Read more…

    Shunan Teng on educating tea lovers during the pandemic

    Headphone iconListen to Japanese Resilience and Resolve, Part 1: The story of the T?hoku Quake Tea Relief Caravan. | Click to see photos of their adventure.

    Japanese Resilience and Resolve, Part 2: The story of Kitaha Tea, a company reborn after the T?hoku Quake.

    Maruyama Tea: 21st Century Japanese Tea Production

    Tea News you Need to Know

    Assam High Court Halts Wage Increases

    A 50-rupee per day wage increase for Assam tea workers announced in February was halted by the state court on behalf of 17 tea companies and the Indian Tea Association. ITA filed the motion citing the state’s failure to properly examine financial and other impacts via subcommittee.

    On March 16 the Gauhati court ruled that garden managers are at liberty to pay the interim wage hike, but it is not mandatory, pending further review. The decision means tea estates can continue to pay workers a minimum of 167 rupees a about ($2.30) per day.

    Biz Insight – In the hotly contested Assam State elections India’s National Congress Party promised to more than double the daily wage to 365 rupees (about $5 US). The ruling BJP promises to increase tea wages to 351 rupees per day. A court hearing is scheduled for April 23, two weeks after polling closes for the April elections.

    Kenyan Tea Factory Elections Suspended

    Elections naming the boards of directors of 54 tea factories supporting 640,000 small farms were suspended this week by a Nairobi court that overruled a presidential executive order. The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) and reformists seeking to enforce the Tea Act are competing for the board seats. President Uhuru Kenyatta, pressing for reforms, on March 12 ordered the elections to proceed. KTDA responded by filing a motion to stop the elections. The Tea Act signed in December re-establishes the Tea Board of Kenya with orders to streamline the sector. Once the legal disputes are resolved, the board will be in charge of running Kenya’s tea factories — a change KTDA opposes.

    Biz Insight – Farmers in six factory districts have already cast ballots ousting KTDA incumbents and naming new directors as authorized under the Tea Act. Four other factories have scheduled elections March 31. President Kenyatta sought to conclude factory elections within 60 days, a timetable upended by the court

    Adapting to Climate Change

    New study by researchers at the Tocklai Tea Research Center recommends motivational campaigns, demonstrations, training, and extension work to encourage growers large and small to adapt to climate change.

    The study Perception of Climate Change and Adaptation Strategies in Tea Plantations of Assam India analyzed tea growers’ awareness of climate change, its impact on tea, adaptive approaches undertaken and future strategies. The study was recently published in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, a peer reviewed, scientific journal published by Springer. The work was authored by Dr. Pradip Baruah and Dr. Gautam Handique at Tocklai.

    Three quarters of tea farm respondents (78.3%) reported a decline in productivity while 12% were uncertain. Only 9.6% believe that tea production was not vulnerable to climate change.

    Rainwater harvesting and irrigation are common adaptations. Others include mulching to conserve soil moisture, reduce surface runoff and soil erosion while lowering soil temperature; reforestation, wildlife preservation, and the construction of wind barriers. “There is increasing evidence that climate change will strongly affect tea cultivation,” concludes a study of growers in Assam, the world’s top tea producing region.

    Read more…

    Rosekandy Tea Estate
    Rainwater harvesting to facilitate irrigation during the dry season is the most common adaptation.

    Copy this link to share this Tea Biz BLOG|CAST with your colleagues

    View the Tea Biz Newsletter Archive

    https://teabiz.sounder.fm/episode/news-01212021

    Subtext

    Avoid the chaos of social media and start a conversation that matters. Subtext’s message-based platform lets you privately ask meaningful questions of the tea experts, academics and Tea Biz journalists reporting from the tea lands. You see their responses via SMS texts which are sent direct to your phone. Visit our website and subscribe to Subtext to instantly connect with the most connected people in tea.

    Subscribe to Subtext

    Podcast Players

    ITunesSpotifyiHeart RadioStitcher
    Google PodcastAmazon PodcastsTune In Sounder
    Download the Tea Biz Podcast weekly on your favorite player. To obtain a text-only version subscribe via RSS

    Subscribe and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    ,
    , , , , ,
Verified by MonsterInsights