The United Nations designated International Tea Day to encourage sustainable production and consumption of tea. This year’s theme is Bringing People Together Over a Cup of Tea. The online and in-person event at the FAO Atrium and tea tasting in Flag Hall is Sunday, May 21, from 2 pm to 3:45 (Rome Time Zone) and will focus on smallholder tea producers, reaffirming the FAO’s commitment to helping overcome the challenges they face. Smallholders now produce 60% of the world’s tea, employing millions. The UN website offers several useful reports on how the industry can support the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Reports include International Tea Market: Market Situation, Prospects, and Emerging Issues; Tea Outlook 2027 and Emerging Trends in Tea Consumption.

Bringing People Together Over a Cup of Tea

By Dan Bolton

The United Nations designated International Tea Day to encourage sustainable production and consumption of tea. This year’s theme is Bringing People Together Over a Cup of Tea. The online and in-person event at the FAO Atrium and tea tasting in Flag Hall is Sunday, May 21, from 2 pm to 3:45 (Rome Time Zone) and will focus on smallholder tea producers, reaffirming the FAO’s commitment to help overcome the challenges they face. Smallholders now produce 60% of the world’s tea, employing millions. The UN website offers several useful reports on how the industry can support the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Reports include International Tea Market: Market Situation, Prospects, and Emerging Issues; Tea Outlook 2027 and Emerging Trends in Tea Consumption.

The European Speciality Tea Association announced a Zoom fundraiser to support women in tea. Promoted as the world’s biggest sipping event, the online gathering begins at 2 pm (British Summer Time) on Sunday, May 21.

“We plan to invite more than 1000 people worldwide to raise a cup in unison to celebrate this amazing beverage generating 1000 pounds sterling before and during the event to empower women in tea management. Women have been marginalized in the tea-making process and other management leadership roles within the tea industry, and we want to be a catalytic force to initiate change there. The hour-long event will be recorded for viewing on demand. Visit www.specialityteaeurope.com to register.

Line up

• Paola Cruz is a wellbeing influencer @practicewithpaola will talk about tea and wellbeing and how to infuse this in your life.
• Virginia Lovelace, author and tea scientist, will talk about improving your tea experience at home.
• Nepal tea collective sisters will talk about their life in tea.
• Muskan Khanna will talk about being one of the youngest women tea makers.
• Madelaine Au will talk about organizing a successful tea event in Oregon.
• Lucy (Mynt Mynt) Shwe from Mother’s Love Tea in Myanmar will speak about the uniqueness of Burmese tea culture.
• Bernadine Tay from Quinteassential is a Founding Director of the European Speciality Tea Association and will host and moderate the event.

ARGENTINA
Expo Té Argentina, in Posadas, Misiones, is a three-day event marking the 100^th anniversary of commercial tea production. The event is May 25-27 and includes garden tours, a tea business conference, an exposition, and a tea fair. Learn more…

• Tea product business round: May 26 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. 
• Expo May 25 and 26 from 4 to 9 pm 
• Tour with Producers of the enterprises: May 27

Download Conference Program: Day 1 | Day 2

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BELGIUM
The Chinese Tea Culture Center in Antwerp will host a tea meditation and tea circle from 3-6 pm on Sunday, May 21. The Belgium Chinese Tea Culture Association is a non-governmental and not-for-profit culture association whose mission is to promote peace, harmony, and respect for the ECO nature and humanity in society through tea and tea serving.

CANADA
The Tea and Herbal Association of Canada will host its 4^th annual Sofa Summit on Friday, May 19, from 8:30 am to 7:30 pm (Eastern Daylight Time). Join THAC President Shabnam Weber for 11 hours of conversations with tea experts, tea association representatives, and growers worldwide.

UNITED STATES
The inaugural Eugene Tea Festival will be held at the Farmer’s Market Pavilion in Eugene, Oregon, from 10 am to 4 pm (Pacific Daylight Time). Organizers invite participants to enjoy tea tastings, educational workshops, and a vibrant marketplace. Learn more…

Download Workshop Program | Sponsors

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GERMANY
The Tea Day theme for this year’s German Tea & Herbal Infusions Association events is The Whole World in My Cup.

Teeverband board member Annemarie Leniger explained the ambitious goals of the industry: “Teas, in all their diversity, are not only part of a highly developed culture of enjoyment, but they are also becoming increasingly important as a valuable, natural food in this country. As a commodity, tea builds bridges between the continents, connects young and old tea fans, and should further promote economic developments in the countries of origin if German tea manufacturers have their way.” 

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European Tea Day organizers announced the inaugural June 2 celebration in Brussels with panel discussions describing the European tea market, new ways of attracting next-generation tea drinkers, and a tasting session. Learn more…

Receding La Niña to Boost Summer Temps

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 Promotes 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.

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FEATURES

Sustainability is a Long-Term Commitment, Not a Campaign or Promotion

By Jessica Natale Woollard

Cheerful packaging and bright aqua for a signature color have made DAVIDsTEA one of Canada’s most recognizable tea brands. Founded in 2008, DAVIDsTEA expanded to become Canada’s largest specialty tea boutique, offering over a hundred teas and blends. The company made tea accessible, attracting a new generation of tea drinkers. Pre-pandemic, it operated 240 retail locations in Canada and the US but today focuses on e-commerce and wholesale. From day one, DAVIDsTEA has been sustainably oriented. It’s in the company’s DNA, says Nadia de la Vega, DAVIDsTEA’s director of tea sustainability and content. Nadia joins us on the podcast to discuss sustainability in the tea industry and how mindfulness and fun can go hand in hand. “Sustainability is not a campaign,” says de la Vega. “When you’re doing sustainability work, you are not doing a sale, and you’re not doing a promotion. This is a long-term commitment to your product and the people that provide the product you consume and love.”

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“We launched the tea center in 2005 to further develop and grow the trade through Dubai by connecting tea producers and merchants, allowing tea-growing countries to reach a global market,” said Suwaidi.

The tea center, which spans over 20,000 square meters, offers a business center, storage, and blending solutions. “Our machines can produce up to 45 million tea bags per month with the capacity to store up to 5000 metric tons of bulk tea at any given time,” he said

DMCC provides free storage allocation to all its members due to increasing demand. The tea center has increased its service area by 25% In recent years, accommodating new state-of-the-art machinery and temperature-controlled storage facilities for specialty teas as well. 

South India Planters Name Golden Leaf India Award Winners

Eighteen tea estates took home prizes during award ceremonies at the 18th annual Golden Tea Leaf India Awards organized by the United Planters Association of South India (UPASI).

An international jury attending the Global Dubai Tea Forum selected winning teas from 118 entries in eight categories. Estates owned by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) won seven awards. Four estates from Parry Agro Industries and four Harrisons Malayalam estates also stepped forward to receive their prize at awards ceremonies on April 27.

Cherian George, a United Planters Association member, and CEO at Harrisons Malayalam tea estates, said, “It’s been five years since judges last convened at the Global Dubai Tea Forum to select the winners. Unlike most competitions, he explained, UPASI coordinators select samples randomly. 

“The coordinating committee walks across each factory and randomly* picks the sample. That’s a big differentiator. Those samples are tested blind by highly skilled brokers with great experience in the whole thing. 

South India, unlike other tea-growing areas, has multi-locational tea growing. I mean, you have a mid-elevation, you have a low elevation, you have a high elevation, and each of them has got character. Some of the teas have got body, some have got strength, and some have got very high flavor. 

He said preliminary screening resulted in 62 samples from 118 entries. “I don’t think we have ever brought more than 40 samples here,” said George, adding, “The Dubai Tea Forum has been very helpful in coordinating this. This time, we had some fantastic tasters globally, including Canada’s Shabnam Weber from Toronto and the UK’s Dr. Sharon Hall and Gundlach Packaging Managing Director Sanjay Sethi, based in Dubai.

So, you had a real plethora of people from multiple origins, and when they taste, it is not from one individual or one origin is multiple origins, giving complete visibility. The next phase is a special auction back home,” he said.

*The estate/factory participating in the competition should ensure a minimum lot size of 1.5 tons for Organic Tea and Green Tea, 2 tons for the Orthodox category, and a minimum of 3 tons for the CTC category.

ITA Seeks Tea Price Floor Indexed to Production Costs for Growers and Processors

The India Tea Association (ITA) has asked India’s Commerce Ministry to declare a minimum price for tea.

An ITA press release described how rising production expenses squeeze growers out of the tea market.

“According to ITA membership crop data, the Darjeeling crop is estimated to be down by 39% in March. Crop fall has been reported in the Dooars region, adding woes to the state’s ailing agro-industry. Tea prices are not keeping pace with the rising cost of production.”

Since 2014, West Bengal tea prices have registered an annual combined growth rate of around 4%, less than half the growth rates of fuel, fertilizer, and plant protection chemicals. Workers now earn ?232 rupees per day, an increase of 144% from ?95 rupees in April 2014.

The situation is more acute than in past years due to falling yield, the Hindu Businessline reported.

“Auction prices of Darjeeling tea have been more depressed than the overall West Bengal Average price – recording a CAGR of only 1.86% since 2014. Given that the cost of production in Darjeeling Hills is significantly higher than in the plains, most Darjeeling tea estates find it difficult to sustain operations.

ITA is seeking a floor price indexed to the cost of production payable to small tea growers and to made tea producers.  

ITA writes that enforcing a floor price mechanism for smallholders selling green tea leaves offers an immediate solution to the “unremunerative price of tea” without any additional cost to the government. 

State government officials in West Bengal and Assam conveyed their support in correspondence with the Ministry. 

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FEATURES

Conscious Consumerism

By Dan Bolton

Finlays annually publishes a beverage trends report. This year’s eighteen pages of statistics and market research revealed that consumers have growing concerns about food inflation and economic growth, but research cited in Finlays Beverage Trends 2023 indicates that consumers continue to view good tea as an affordable luxury, explains Group Insights Manager Siân Edwards.

“The desire to treat themselves, coupled with concern for their health and the planet, drives the trend toward conscious consumerism. We’re seeing how each purchasing decision is carefully evaluated regarding financial, health, and environmental cost. Throughout this report, we’ve sought to encapsulate this broad sentiment under the banner of ‘mindfulness,’ as people mindfully allow themselves indulgences, choose healthy products, and opt for brands with a lower environmental impact.”

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A Billion People Participate in Earth Day Activities

More than 1 billion people participated in Earth Day in the past year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. 

This year’s focus was investing in the planet, a theme embraced by many tea companies. “Everyone accounted for, everyone accountable,” comments Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG who writes that the environmental awareness campaign that began in 1970 is now celebrated in 192 countries.

“In 2023 we must come together again in partnership for the planet. Businesses, governments, and civil society are equally responsible for taking action against the climate crisis and lighting the spark to accelerate change toward a green, prosperous, and equitable future. We must join together in our fight for the green revolution and for the health of future generations. The time is now to ‘Invest In Our Planet.’”

Yogi Tea is an example. During the past year, tea team members planted 300 trees in the US. In Germany, the company helps wild bees and in Italy, the company hosts educational sessions and community cleanups. See yogitea.com for suggestions on what individual consumers can do to make a difference. 

Just Iced Tea founder Seth Goldman, Cofounder and CEO of Eat the Change, Chair of the Board of Beyond Meat, and Co-founder of PLNT Burger and Honest Tea, will receive Earth Day’s 2023 Climate Visionary Award in recognition of his exceptional leadership and decades of tireless efforts as an innovative entrepreneur, environmental and climate activist, and philanthropist. 

Rogers writes that “his bold passion for democratizing plant-based and plant-healthy foods worldwide has significantly contributed to solving the challenge of climate change and building a strong and equitable green economy.”

“This year’s honorees are leading the way to create widespread awareness and accelerate critical action to change the trajectory of the defining crisis of our time: the climate crisis.,” said Rogers.

Goldman and several other notable earth advocates were recognized at Earth Day’s annual Climate Leadership Gala, on Saturday, April 27 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC.

Iran Snubs India Suppliers as Tea Exports Set Record

Iran imported a record $665 million worth of tea in the fiscal year ended March 20, 2023. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said tea exports estimated at $44.2 million were also at record levels, increasing by 90% in the five years ending 2021. Exports were up 34.8% compared to the same period last year, according to IRICA.

Volume totals exceeded the previous fiscal-year high in 2014 despite cutting off trade with India. Export value totaled $38 million that year, plummeting to $6 million during the pandemic when lockdowns prohibited guest workers from nearby countries from plucking tea.

Iran was once one of India’s top tea export destinations, accounting for almost half of all Indian tea exports. Iran also shipped teas to India, valued at $4.3 million in 2021.

In November 2022, Iran initially slowed and, in December, stopped sourcing tea from South India auctions by refusing to register new contracts, a requirement for landing tea at Iranian ports. The pullback remains unexplained but may be related to internal protests and violent clashes in major Iranian cities. During the past three months, withdrawal from tea auctions has depressed auction prices for orthodox categories. 

The auction at Kochi is most impacted.

“Nobody knows what’s happening in Iran,” Ansuman Kanoria, chairman of India Tea Exporters Association, told the Hindu Business Line  “Shipments have been made under previously registered contracts, but even their payments are coming very slowly. New orders are not getting registered, and it’s a very difficult situation,” Kanoria said. 

The IRICA release indicates Iran continues to import premium-grade tea from trading partners Turkey, Germany, China, Japan, Vietnam, and Poland. The main export destinations include neighboring CIS countries, Iraq, Canada, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

Tea is popular in the nation of 88 million, where annual consumption is around 120,000 metric tons per year, according to the Iran Tea Association.

Iran’s 55,000 tea farmers are concentrated in Gilan Province. Local suppliers in the northern portion of the country produce about 30% of domestic consumption. Growers earn around $15 million annually (about 4 trillion rials) in sales to the government, which processes the tea. Harvesting begins in May, with production rising by double digits during the past few years. The market prefers top-quality leaves (about 79% of total output is processed as orthodox black tea).

Long-Running Drought in Kenya Depresses Tea Yields

Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) officials reported this week that scarce rainfall and high temperatures depressed first-quarter tea yields by 100 million kilos in the Mt. Kenya and Embu regions.

Export volumes declined by 19% in 2022 to 450 million kilograms, the first drop in volume since 2017. Output fell slightly to 535 million kilograms because of unfavorable weather.

KTDA Chair David Ichoho [I CHO HO] told a gathering of 225 directors representing 37 factories that the demand for orthodox teas from Kenya is rising.

“Orthodox tea, which includes oolong, green, white or black tea, has a high demand, and KTDA has identified markets that require more than 2 million kilos annually,” he told the directors. 
Ichoho said KTDA is initiating a program supporting the processing of orthodox tea for export. Kenya currently exports 95% of its tea, with only 5% consumed in the domestic tea market.

BIZ INSIGHT – Meanwhile, in West Bengal, India, weeks of temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees centigrade have inhibited the second flush harvest now underway. A lack of rain has encouraged infestations of red spiders that feed on yellowing tea leaves weakened in the extreme heat. There has been no rain for 15 days, complicated by high winds that increase evaporation. Tea yields average between 1200 and 1500 kilos per hectare in the Dooars. Yields average 2,200 to 2,400 kilos per hectare in bordering Assam.

India’s tea exports for the 2022-23 financial year registered a 17.61% increase in value to more than $800 million US dollars.

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FEATURES

Spice and Tea Synergy

By Aravinda Anantharaman

Bala Sarda’s Vahdam Tea turned eight this year. From launching Vahdam as a brand that connects tea drinkers with producers to a range of superfoods with turmeric, moringa, and matcha, Vahdam’s journey has been about an Indian brand offering consumers across the world what they want, direct from the source. The latest addition to the brand is a range of Indian spices, now offered not unlike their tea. We talk to Bala about the new launch and what it means for Brand Vahdam. Read more…

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