• Receding La Niña to Boost Summer Temps

    The Ku/Ka-band dual-frequency precipitation measurement radar onboard FY-3G captured the rain near Hainan and Yangjiang in Guangdong. The image showed the three-dimensional structure of the precipitation system from 3.75 kilometers to 6 kilometers from the surface. Credits: National Satellite Meteorological Centre of CMA
    The Ku/Ka-band dual-frequency precipitation measurement radar onboard the FY-3G Satellite captured rainfall near Hainan and Yangjiang in Guangdong Province. The image showed the three-dimensional structure of the precipitation system from 3.75 to 6 kilometers from the surface. Credits: National Satellite Meteorological Centre of CMA

    China is again experiencing record-breaking heat early in the crop cycle, impacting Yunnan and several other tea-growing provinces.

    The country has experienced several heat waves since March, with Yunnan in Southwestern China recording 40 Celsius highs. Northern provinces Jinan and Tianjin are seeing temperatures soar to 37C (about 98 degrees Fahrenheit).

    Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, had recorded only 8 millimeters of rain through April. According to state broadcaster CCTV, the province has seen only 35 millimeters of rain since the first of the year, the lowest total since record-keeping began.

    In its latest assessment, the World Meteorological Organization, WMO predicts a strong likelihood of the El Niño weather pattern returning later this year. The current La Niña pattern has moderated temperatures over the past three years. WMO said the change would most likely lead to a new spike in global heating.

    A study published in Nature Reviews Earth found that sea surface temperatures and variability increased after 1960 in the Southern Oscillation (ENSO).  El Niño and La Niña events are more frequent and more extreme. The CSIRO study found that El Niño events have doubled, and strong La Niña increased nine-fold.

    Lead researcher Wenju Cai said that “Global warming makes the impact of these events more extreme because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, so when it rains, it rains harder, and evaporation is higher, making droughts more severe, their onsets earlier and harder to get out,” he said.

  • Catchy TV Campaign Launches Lipton Hard Tea

    Lipton Hard Iced Tea
    Lipton Hard Iced Tea

    This week, Lipton unveiled a trio of television and web commercials that state the obvious. 

    The top-selling non-alcoholic tea brand recently launched a fresh-brewed line with 5% ABV (alcohol by volume). The new hard tea is blended with a triple-filtered malt base in four versions, replicating its best-selling flavored iced tea. 

    The lineup includes lemon, peach, strawberry, and half & half flavors.

    View commercial | Mechanical Bull | Oil Painter

    According to Zion Market Research, the hard tea segment pioneered in 2001 by Boston Beer’s Twisted Tea was valued at $20 billion last year. Zion projects revenue will surpass $30 billion by 2030, growing at a combined annual rate of 11.9%.

    Europe is expected to register the highest growth rate through 2030, followed by the Asia-Pacific region.

    The television commercials, created by Founders Agency, depict situations in which actors are caught in humor, such as a guest who arrives in a swimsuit and fins for a “pool” party at a billiard room. When given a can of the new tea, the actors exclaim, “Obviously!”

    Brand director Lisa Texido writes, “We created the recipe to make sure that the smooth, balanced flavor people love about Lipton iced tea came through. People will be surprised that a hard iced tea can be this delicious – a must-try.”

    The tea is available in 12-packs of 12oz cans and 24oz single serve. Competitors, including Twisted, sell for $15-$18 for a 12-pack, $3 per 24oz can. Online prices were $18 for the Lipton 12-pack. A 12-pack of non-alcoholic Lipton Iced Tea sells for around $7, about 50-60 cents per can.

    Lipton Hard Iced Tea (5% ABV)
  • China Heatwave Deadly to Tea and Man

    Tea News for the week ending September 2

    | China’s Summer Tea Yields Decline Sharply, Autumn Teas are in Jeopardy

    | Bangladesh Tea Workers End Nationwide Strike
    | Study Shows Tea Drinkers Live a Little Longer
    | PLUS Alan Lai, founder and CEO of ProfilePrint describes how the company’s prescriptive and predictive digital food analyzer distills in seconds sensory data from plant-based samples creating a digital fingerprint that describes the quality, origin, and composition of tea. Listen to the interview.

    Caption: Tea bushes in Hunan damaged by extreme temperatures. Photo courtesy Robert Xiong.

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    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap
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