• Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 15

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

    Hear the Headlines for the Week of April 30

    Hear the Headlines


    | Mombasa to Expand Tea Auctions to Five Days a Week
    | Spiking Prices Dismay Russian Tea Drinkers
    | A 6.4 Quake Shakes Assam, Tea Factory Damage Minor
    | Vahdam Tea Mobilizes Emergency COVID Aid for India
    | China Tea Price Watch | India Tea Price Watch
    | IN-DEPTH: India

    This week’s India Tea Price Watch

    Features

    This week Tea Biz visits the fabled Darjeeling tea growing region in the Himalayan foothills of northwestern India

    …. and we travel to Seattle for the launch of the Organic Marketing Association a group that conveys the complexities of organic cultivation with memorable memes, clever ditties, and illustrations that radiate the joy of farming in harmony with nature.

    Gopaldhara Tea Estate, Darjeeling, West Bengal

    Steadfast Darjeeling Continues to Evolve

    By Aravinda Anantharaman | Bengaluru, India

    Darjeeling is the most famous of India’s tea growing regions. Revenue from its spring flush also makes it the most lucrative, but the plants there are aging, wage inflation is high, and workers are restless. Innovation is overdue. Aravinda Anantharaman spoke with Rishi Saria a third-generation planter, managing the Gopaldhara, and Rohini estates in Darjeeling. He describes where things stand, how Darjeeling began producing oolongs and offers personal insights into rival Himalayan tea produced in Nepal. Read more…

    Darjeeling planter Rishi Saria manages the Gopaldhara, and Rohini estates.
    OMA Hero Image
    The Organic Marketing Association builds brand awareness with humor.

    Marketing Organics with Humor

    By Dan Bolton | Winnipeg, Canada

    Dennis Weaver is the co-founder and president of the Organic Marketing Association, a non-profit that growers CANNOT pay to join. The consumer-facing OMA celebrates the fun side of organics by building awareness with slogans, puns and Instagram-inspired illustrations of vegetables like celery with the headline “Stalking You” or lemons calling you to “Pucker Up Baby.” OMA’s slogan, is the double entendre: “Organic. Eat Me.”

    Weaver explains that organic food is delicious and nutritious, “So why is organic stuck at 5% market share with plantings on only 1% of US acreage?” he asks. One reason is that organic suppliers spend too much time talking about what’s not organic. They are in a defensive bubble, he says. Consumers are far more interested in how tasty, fun and easy it is to choose organics.

    “We won’t try to lecture anyone. Instead, we’ll focus on making positive associations with the word organic and the things that make people happy. It’s a simple formula that works,” says Weaver.

    Learn more…

    Dennis Weaver, president and co-founder, Organic Marketing Association.
    Dennis Weaver OMA
    Dennis Weaver, president and co-founder of the newly launched Organic Marketing Association

    Tea News you Need to Know

    Kenya’s Tea Price Slump

    Low auction prices for Kenya and other East African teas have persisted for the past three years due to oversupply. During the past nine months the average price of $2.52 per kilo declined by 8.6 percent. Teas auctioned by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA)   factories generally sell for more than teas from elsewhere but are down 12 percent. Recent auction averages of $1.81 per kilo are well below the cost of production for many factories. The country’s Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) also blames the decline on weak demand due to coronavirus lockdowns in many countries and the devaluation of many foreign currencies. Meanwhile avorable weather and increased acreage under tea with each passing year leading to greater surplus volume, adding to already high stocks.

    Two developments this week will likely further roil Mombasa. On April 24 the government announced that auctions would be expanded from two to five days a week later this spring and last Friday detectives with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations seized both KTDA records and equipment and those of the East Africa Tea Traders Association (EATTA). No sales were conducted Monday.

    Biz Insight – The Colombo Tea Auction in Sri Lanka is conducted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Annual sales volume of 300 million kilos is comparable to the 450 million kilos auctioned in Mombasa. In 2020, after 127 years, Colombo’s traditional auction went digital but retains its two-day-a-week schedule. John Snell, owner and CEO of Ela’s Tea Company in Ontario, Canada, has been buying tea in commercial quantities since 1984. A former trading manager for multi-nationals purchasing East African tea, Snell shared his thoughts on the expanded schedule.

    Tea trader John Snell questions expansion of Mombasa auction from two to five days a week.
    Bhootechang TE 6.4AssamQuake
    Interior cracks at Bhootechang Tea Estate due to 6.4 magnitude earthquake April

    6.4 Quake Shakes Assam, Tea Industry Damage Light

    By Roopak Goswami | Assam

    A strong earthquake followed by several aftershocks rattled rafters and nerves on April 28 but caused only minor damage to tea processing factories throughout the region. Several estates reported damage to outbuildings and dwellings for workers. There were 12 injuries, none life-threatening, reported following the 30-second shake at 7:51 am April 28.

    Bhupinder Singh, chairman of the Assam Branch India Tea Association (ITA) Zone 3 said, “We were lucky to have got away with no injuries to employees and their dependents from member gardens.”

    A hill collapsed in Bhirabkund in the Udalguri district due to soil liquefaction caused by the quake and area residents were warn to be wary of land slides and damage to local bridges.

    “The high-intensity earthquake early Wednesday has caused damage to houses and buildings with people running out of their homes and other places in panic, obliterating social distancing and other COVID guidelines amid a raging pandemic. From the initial reports, the massive quake has caused only light damage to buildings and there have been no fatalities reported so far and only few injuries,” writes Prof. T.G. Sitharam, director of IIT Guwahati and president of the Indian Society for Earthquake Technology.

    The National Centre for Seismology put the epicenter of the quake near Sonitpur, a “very seismically active area” along the Kopili Fault. The Kopili is a strike-slip fault aligned from northwest to southeast. The quake originated 17 kilometers underground and 43 kilometers west of Tezpur. During the first 48 hours there were 15 aftershocks measuring 2 to 4.9 on the Richter Scale. The quake caused many fissures, exposing liquified soil within a radius of 50-70 kilometers. The region’s last major quake, in July 1960, measured 6.0.

    Spiking Costs Trigger Russian Tea Price Increases

    By Eugene Gerden | Moscow

    Tea prices in Russia are steadily rising due to a weak ruble and the increased cost of tea imports.

    Retail prices increased by 2-10% in Russia last year and prices are expected to continue to climb in 2021 due to shipping and freight costs, packaging expenses and unfavorable currency exchange rates along with the increased cost of raw materials due to the pandemic.

    Demand for tea in Russia currently remains stable. The rise in retail prices, so far, are not significant. However the possibility exists for further increases in the second half of the year, which may have a negative effect on local demand, according to Ramaz Chanturia, director of the Russian Association of Tea and Coffee Producers (Roschaykofe).

    Tea consumption at home significantly increased since the introduction of quarantine measures and self-isolation in the country. At the same time out-of-home coffee sales fell by almost 30% after a sharp growth in 2019.

    Chanturia explained that it could be worse. Price increases were restricted because producers are concerned with the decline of purchasing power by consumers and the declining popularity of tea among the youth, as many switched to coffee in recent years. The association does not expect the Russian tea market to expand this year. Sales volumes are growing at the minimum levels, he said, making 2021 much like 2020.

    Learn more…

    COVID Relief Fund

    Vahdam India Mobilizes Emergency COVID Relief Effort

    By Dan Bolton

    Vahdam India this week donated $50,000 to launch a fundraiser as part of #RiseTogetherForIndia, a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. Donations will assist the non-profit Doctors for You deliver relief services across India. The company seeks to mobilize tea drinkers worldwide to set up temporary COVID treatment facilities, acquire oxygen cylinders and concentrators and facilitate rapid vaccination efforts. India reported more than three million new COVID cases in the past 10 days. Nineteen million are currently infected with more than 200,000 deaths.

    Learn more and find a Ketto crowdfunding link to donate on the Tea Biz blog.

    Learn more…

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    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.

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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 14

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

    Hear the Headlines for the Week of April 23

    Hear the Headlines


    | Earth Day Takes on New Urgency
    | Restaurants are Rebounding
    | World Tea Expo Co-locates with The Nightclub & Bar Show in Las Vegas
    | Bubble Tea Boba is Languishing at Sea

    Listen to this week’s below, read the India Price Watch summary or subscribe to the in-depth Tea Price Report featuring a Q|A with ITA Secretary Sujit Patra. Click to read the China Tea Price Watch.

    This week’s India Tea Price Watch

    Features

    This week Tea Biz travels to the famed Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to explore a prized collection of 174-year-old tea recently examined and catalogued for its organoleptic properties

    …and we visit Paris to learn how the Agency for the Promotion of Agricultural Product (AVPA) elevates the world’s tea origins.

    Horticulturalist Robert Fortune completed five expeditions to China. The paintings above, three of 24 in a series showing the processing of tea circa 1853 are in the Royal Botanic Gardens collection at Kew. Collection No. 33725. Photo courtesy Kew.

    Rediscovering 174 Year Old Tea

    By Dan Bolton

    In 2019, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew began analyzing the provenance of more than 300 tea specimens, mainly Chinese and Indian grown teas dating to the 1850s. Ethnobotanist Aurora Prehn began by examining labels. She then proceeded to record non-textual evidence experienced through sight, touch, and smell. She shares her findings and offers some interesting insights into the work of Horticulturalist Robert Fortune whose specimens are included in the collection. Listen as we learn about tea from 1853. Learn more…

    Ethnobotanist Aurora Prehn talks about tea from 1853.
    Presenting Tea Award
    Philippe Juglar, right, presents AVPA award to Chaminda Jayawardana, MD, Lumbini Tea Factory, Sri Lanka

    How AVPA Elevates Origins

    By Dan Bolton

    The Paris-based AVPA (Agency for the Promotion of Agricultural Products) is allied with tea producers globally. Recognition, professional education programs, and competitions build self-esteem and economic recognition that directs a larger share of the value chain to the country of origin.

    “This is why we cling to local transformation of agricultural products so that producers benefit from the pursuit of excellence,” says AVPA President Philippe Juglar. Juglar explains how AVPA competitions that exclude international judges in favor of local experts, reveal that what the gastronomic world thinks and what the professional tea world thinks are quality tea leads to some “very interesting differences.”

    Learn more…


    AVPA President Philippe Juglar on how competitions build self-esteem and economic success that directs a larger share of the value chain to the country of origin.
    India’s first carbon-neutral tea estate is constructing the country’s most sustainable tea factory.

    Tea News you Need to Know

    Earth Day Takes on New Urgency

    Teacraft’s Nigel Melican predicts that before the year 2050 the tea industry will be struggling to maintain volume on less land and with less labor and with far higher input costs for scarce resources. Progress is slow but there are initiatives underway to address climate change worthy of celebration on Earth Day. In Assam, India the Jalinga Tea Estate is building a zero-emission factory capable of processing millions of kilos tons annually – a first in that country. The estate is partnering with Atmosfair, a German non-profit committed to reducing CO? emissions by promoting, developing, and financing renewable energy projects in more than 15 countries. In the US Bigelow Tea, which produces two billion teabags annually, relies on solar and renewable energy sources for 100% of its energy requirements, is certified as a zero waste landfill company and owns electric vehicles. Climate volatility resulting in floods, droughts, hail damage, increased pests and reduced yields is apparent in China, India, and East Africa, according to Melican. “Sustainability is the goal,” he says, “but I fear sustainability may be severely challenged by upcoming events.”

    Biz Insight – US President Joe Biden challenged the United States to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half before 2030, reversing controversial policies of the previous administration. America will resume its role as a global leader in halting potentially catastrophic climate change Biden told  member nations at a virtual climate summit this week. “The signs are unmistakable, the science is undeniable, and the cost of inaction keeps mounting,” said Biden, adding that “The countries that take decisive actions now will be the ones that reap the clean energy benefits of the boom that’s coming.”

    India’s Earth-Friendly Tea Factory

    By Roopak Goswami

    Contractors at the Jalinga Tea Estate in South Assam, India’s largest organic tea grower, will complete India’s first zero-emission tea factory in July.  The factory is jointly financed through the Jalinga Climate Tea Research Foundation (JCTRF), a partnership between Jalinga Tea Estate and Atmosfair, a German non-profit committed to reducing CO? emissions by promoting, developing, and financing renewable energy projects in more than 15 countries. Learn more…

    Restaurants are Rebounding

    The US economy is rebounding with 90% of restaurants open nationally. Revenue at fast-food outlets has returned to pre-pandemic totals. Food delivery and third-party ordering are growing and here to stay but waitstaff may be wearing COVID masks for a very long time, according to Jack Li, principle at Datassential market research.

    A year after lockdowns began, the resilience of the restaurant sector is apparent as approximately 90% remain open. Permanent closures as of April 2021 are 10.7% nationally with 2% temporarily closed. Buffets were hardest hit with 24% closures followed 16.5% for soup and salad outlets. Eleven percent of fine dining restaurants were either permanently or temporarily closed as of April 2021. Pizza, salad, chicken, Mexican and sports bar chains added units during the past year, every other format contracted with full-service American restaurant chains down 7.3%.

    The closure rate is now evenly distributed across the country as both urban and rural areas contend with the virus. Initially city centers were hardest hit and that remains true with 14.3% of urban locations closed. Metro areas Miami, Portland, Ore., New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. report the most permanent closures. Combined these markets are home to 120,144 restaurants of which about 12.5% are permanently closed. Rural and suburban restaurants fared better with closure rates of 11.2% and 11.6% respectively in ZIP Codes with at least 100 restaurants.

    Biz Insight – The greatest disparity in closures is at the local level. Closures rose to and remain at 48% in San Francisco’s embarcadero and 45% in the financial district. Forty-two percent of the restaurants in the Chicago Loop closed along with 40% in Minneapolis and South Boston. New York City closures totaled 35% in Manhattan and Grammercy-Flatiron. In contrast, 95% of the restaurants in cities including Mesquite, Tex. And Williamsport, Penn., Findlay, Ohio, and Virginia Beach remained open all year.

    US restaurant closures. Source: Datassential Firefly.

    World Tea Expo Co-locates with The Nightclub & Bar Show

    The World Tea Expo + Conference will return to Las Vegas June 28-30, co-locating with the Nightclub & Bar Show. Both events are owned by Questex and managed by the company’s Denver-based hospitality division. The division hosted two World Tea virtual events after it was forced to cancel the tradeshow last spring.

    Co-locating the events offers “new opportunities for business growth and evolution, in addition to expanding the audience reach, and encouraging innovation and new business partnerships, according to Tim McLucas, vice-president, Bar & Restaurant. In recent years, the World Tea Expo, which was founded in 2003, attracted 3,500 attendees, down from a peak of 5,500. The Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show, now in its 36th year, features 60 educational sessions and six in-depth workshops. The 2021 event is expected to draw 40,000 attendees.

    Early registration fees are $99.

    Bubble Tea Boba is Languishing at Sea

    A bubble tea catastrophe is brewing at sea. The black tapioca pearls, known as boba, that are essential to the experience are in short supply pitting consumers against foodservice outlets. Due to lockdowns many bubble tea drinkers were forced to make their favorite treat at home, ordering the ingredients in bulk online.

    Sweet syrup, milk and tea are readily available but packages of Buddha Bubbles Boba, and Wu Fu Yuan boba to cook at home ship from Asia. The favored port of call is Los Angeles where an average of 30 ships a day are anchored and idling, waiting to unload. As shops reopen, managers ordering direct from Asian suppliers find consumer shipment clogging the supply chain. Along the East Coast arrivals were delayed by the obstruction of the Suez Canal. Further complicating supply is a drought in Taiwan that led to government orders curtailing water use by boba manufacturers, writes Smithsonian Magazine. Taiwan is the hub of boba production globally. Tea Zone, one of the largest US suppliers, and Bubble Tea Canada, report shortages of the most popular boba balls due in part to over-orders and hoarding.

    A return to sufficient stock and normal delivery times is not expected before summer.

    Black Tapioca Pearls

    Wikipedia: Bubble Tea

    The oldest known bubble tea drink consisted of a mixture of hot Taiwanese black tea, small tapioca pearls, condensed milk, and syrup or honey. Now, bubble tea is most commonly served cold. The tapioca pearls that make bubble tea so unique were originally made from the starch of the cassava, a tropical shrub known for its starchy roots which was introduced to Taiwan from South America during Japanese colonial rule. Larger pearls (Chinese: b? bà/h?i zh?n zh?) quickly replaced these.

    Biz Insight – The global market for boba tea is predicted to increase by $963 million by 2023, according to market research firm Technavio. The annual growth rate is accelerating at 7% with Asia dominate but Europe and the Middle East experiencing 38% growth. New outlets are expanding availability and that’s fueling demand. Kung Fu Tea, the largest US boba chain, currently operates 250 locations and expects to open 70 more in 2021.

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    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

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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 13

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

    Hear the Headlines for the Week of April 16

    Hear the Headlines


    | India Surpasses Brazil as the World’s COVID Hotspot
    | The Global Tea Initiative at UC Davis to Host Second Virtual Event
    | Tea Imports Spike in Pakistan
    | Tea Masters Cup Names Champions in Moscow

    Read this in-depth Q|A with ITA Secretary Sujit Patra or listen to this week’s India Price Watch summary below. Click to see China Tea Price Watch.

    This week’s India Tea Price Watch

    Features

    This week Tea Biz offers a glimpse of the many teas of India as Aravinda Anantharaman takes us on a tour revealing there is lot more to savor than chai

    …and we travel to the idyllic Summer Lodge Country House Hotel in Evershot, Dorchester for a new take on the old English tradition of afternoon tea.

    Smoked Falap
    Falap tea in bamboo is of the many teas of India. Photo courtesy Rajesh Singpho.

    The Many Teas of India

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    The 1.4 billion people who live in India consume about 20% of the tea produced globally, including most of the tea grown there. Consumption averages 840 grams per person annually. Growth slowed to 2.5% in 2020—much weaker than in previous years—largely due to retail closures, but India has not lost its taste for tea, people there just prepared more at home during the pandemic. Aravinda Anantharaman takes us on a tea tour that reveals there is lot more to savor than chai. Read more…

    Aravinda Anantharaman takes us on a tour of the Many Teas of India
    Afternoon Tea Reimagined
    The combination of lockdowns and travel restrictions closed many hotels and restaurants serving afternoon tea.

    Afternoon Tea Re-Imagined

    By Dananjaya Silva

    Situated in the rolling hills of Dorset, the Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Restaurant is the perfect setting to savor Afternoon Tea in the idyllic English countryside near Evershot. But when the pandemic closed the hotel the restaurant staff, at the direction of general manager Jack Mackenzie, were forced to cleverly design an afternoon tea takeaway so memorable that this old English tradition became an Instagram hit for patrons unboxing their dainties at home.

    Jack Mackenzie, general manager, Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Restaurant

    Tea News you Need to Know

    India Surpasses Brazil as World’s COVID Hotspot

    Tea gardens are taking extra precautions as a second wave exceeding an average of 200,000 daily infections forced lockdowns in Mumbai and New Delhi this week and heightened fears across the country. In March, the daily count was under 15,000 across India — last week it exceeded 261,000. Nine states, including tea growing regions Kerala and Karnataka, reported their highest-ever daily count.

    The virus is now killing more than 1,500 daily. This week, West Bengal, which includes Kolkata, recorded its highest single-day spike of 4,817 cases. The state’s death count is 10,434, about 10 times greater than Assam. West Bengal is inoculating more than 100,000 people a day. Assam is faring much better with 1,023 active cases. The state reported 221,000 cases and 1,119 deaths since the onset of the pandemic. India has reported 178,793 COVID-19 deaths and 15 million cases since the onset of the pandemic.

    A worrisome new variant (B.1.617) first detected in January in Maharashtra, India has been reported in England and California. Learn more…

    Biz Insight – India’s second wave will impact distribution and suppress retail sales in urban Mumbai and New Delhi but dry weather in west India is causing greater havoc for the tea industry than the coronavirus right now, driving down yield and idling workers and factories.

    The Global Tea Initiative to Host Second Virtual Event

    The Global Tea Initiative (GTI) at the University of California, Davis will host the second in its Talking about Tea series from 3-5 p.m. Friday, April 23. The virtual presentation on Myths, Legends, and Anecdotes includes research papers, presentations on tea poetry, and early writings about tea, with a review of tea gardens of London in the 17th and 18th centuries. The GTI website has more than 30 presentations available for viewing. Founding director Katherine Burnett said this will be a more “casual, conversational” event than the first session in January. She said people will be able to chat with each other and comment and network and share ideas, learn from each other and get that kind of personal engagement that you can do onsite.” Admission to the Zoom event is free. Visit globaltea.ucdavis.edu to register.

    Tea Imports Spike in Pakistan

    The pandemic boosted tea imports by 27% to 171.5 metric tons, for the eight months ending February 2021. The value of tea imports grew 17% compared to the same period ending in February 2020. Pakistan ranks third among tea importing nations, spending more than $500 million on tea annually, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The bureau recorded a 20% increase in the country’s trade deficit last year, lending new urgency to reducing foreign exchange outflow. Pakistan has grown small quantities of tea since 1958 but until recently it was less costly to import tea from India. Due to border hostilities India no longer ships tea direct to Pakistan.

    Biz Insight – Last week the Guizhou Tea Association in China (GTAC) offered to assist Pakistan grow more tea locally, utilizing cultivars, expertise, and machinery from China to produce broken leaf black tea. Five years ago in Morocco, Guizhou began working with local blenders and packers to create a profitable local brand in North Africa. “We can make breakthroughs in technology and increase productivity,” said GTAC secretary general Xu Jiamin. In Guizhou small farmers rely on an enterprise-driven model that could find success in Pakistan.

    Tea Masters Winners
    Olga-Alecia Daineko, center, won the Tea Masters Cup for Tea Tasting, Alisa Sytina, left, took second place, and Elena Pazhetnykh, right, took third place in the global event held in Moscow.

    Tea Masters Cup Names Champions in Moscow

    The pandemic forced the cancellation of qualifying rounds and limited appearances at exhibitions to a single event during the 2020/21 cycle, but the Tea Masters Cup concluded successfully at the recent Coffee Tea and Cacao Russian Expo in Moscow. Sixty-one tea masters competed in Tasting and Tea Preparation categories modified to prevent sharing cups.

    Nikolai Dolgiy, the reigning tea tasting champion, successfully defended his top ranking by identifying every outlier when presented with six sets of three infusions in three minutes. Olga-Alecia Daineko won the Tea Preparation category, besting 16 contenders in preparing two teas. Learn more…

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    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

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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 12

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

    Hear the Headlines for the Week of April 9

    Hear the Headlines


    | A Sparkling Future for Fizzy Tea
    | Bubble Tea Drinkers Froth Over Drinking Straw Ban
    | Vahdam Tea Partners with Goodricke Group
    | Starbucks Introduces Rent-a-Cup

    Click to read this week’s in-depth Q|A with ITA Secretary Sujit Patra or listen to the India Price Watch summary below. Click here to read the China Tea Price Watch.

    This week’s India Tea Price Watch

    Features

    This week Tea Biz visits the Nilgiri tea growing region in South India where Managing Director Supriya Sahu has harnessed the creative and collective energy of 30,000 small farmers at the INDCOSERVE tea farmer’s co-operative.

    …and we discuss the challenges of timely tea delivery in the new harvest year with Jason Walker, spokesperson for Firsd Tea, the US division of the largest green tea supplier in the world.

    Supriya Sahu
    “Our ambition is to transform an organization that was a sleeping giant into one that can show the world that a small growers’ organization can be the best among the best,” says INDCOSERVE’s Supriya Sahu.

    Awakening a Sleeping Giant

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    A money-losing federation of small grower co-operatives in Tamil Nadu, the largest of its kind in India with a history dating to 1965, languished for decades before Supriya Sahu emerged as a leader with a singular message: produce tea that builds the lives of farmers and a better future. “That’s our ambition, to transform an organization that was a sleeping giant into one that can show the world that a small growers’ organization can be the best among the best,” she says. Read more…

    Supriya Sahu, managing director INDCOSERVE in Tamil Nadu
    Ships awaiting berth
    Sea transport is stretched to the breaking point as reinvigorated economies stir from pandemic weariness.

    Finally Under Way

    By Dan Bolton

    New harvest tea is on its 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. 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. Read more…

    Jason Walker, marketing director for Firsd Tea, the US division of Zhejiang Tea Group

    Tea News you Need to Know

    A Sparkling Future for Fizzy Tea

    Actor Brad Pitt is all fired up about fizzy tea. Specifically, small batch, cold-brewed, certified organic sparkling tea launched by Enroot in five flavors. Pitt invested in the 25-calorie, botanically diverse bottled blends of teas, herbs, fruits, and spices inspired by co-founder Cristina Patwa’s grandmother in the Philippines.

    Marketed as wellness tonics that relax, re-energize, revitalize, rejuvenate, and revive… the teas are made without sweeteners or artificial flavors and bottled in plastic-free packaging.

    Enroot co-founders Cristina Patwa and Brad Pitt.

    Sparkling teas are a small volume niche that grew nearly 10% each year from 2017 to 2021, according to 360 Market Updates. The category has matured in the past 15 years to include high-end, gourmet non-alcohol versions by Copenhagen Sparkling Tea sold at the legendary Fortnum & Mason in London and soon-to-launch innovations like Nomad Tea Soda, a concentrate from Maya Tea for bartenders and fans of SodaStream — an at-home carbonation appliance.

    Biz Insight – Retail sales of ready-to-drink tea in the US totaled $7.9 billion in 2019, according to Beverage Digest. Volume has steadily increased for the past seven years to 860 million, 192-oz. cases. Sales globally are estimated to reach $25.6 billion in 2021 rising to $29.7 billion in 2024, according to market researchers MRFR, making RTD the most lucrative segment in tea. Carbonated beverages of all types this year will generate an estimated $255 billion in sales with RTD now contributing about 10% of global revenue.

    See: A Sparkling Tea Suited to Fine Dining
    and, A Sparkling Future for Fuzzy Tea

    .

    Enroot Organic Sparkling Tea
    Enroot Organic Sparkling Cold Brew Teas

    Bubble Tea Drinkers are Frothing Over a Drinking Straw Ban

    In 2020 China adopted several policies to make the Earth a better place, one of which is a ban on plastic straws in restaurants. The well-intentioned directive, however, drew the ire of bubble tea lovers forced to slurp tapioca balls through soggy paper straws. Alternatives include re-usable metal, glass, and bamboo but bubble lovers complain it’s just not the same. Plant-based plastics made of corn or sugar cane are emerging as an acceptable compromise. PLA decomposes into carbon dioxide and water and China’s king of straws now uses PLA exclusively. Milk tea chain HEYTEA which operates 450 stores in 35 cities made the switch to more expensive PLA. Said one satisfied customer, “We welcome the green shift, but not at the expense of spoiling our experience.”

    Biz Insight – April 22 is Earth Day. This year’s theme is Restore the Earth, a concern shared globally. In China plastic bags and plastic cutlery are next on the list to be phased out. Xinhua news service reports that by 2025, China’s degradable plastics market will grow to 35.8 billion yuan (about $5.5 billion US), according to analysts at Huaxi Securities.

    Vahdam Tea Partners with Goodricke

    Direct-to-consumer e-commerce retailer Vahdam Tea and garden owner Goodricke Group announced they are teaming up to distribute single-estate teas from the well-known Castleton, Margaret’s Hope and Thurbo estates in Darjeeling and Assam estates Harmutty, Borpatra and Dejoo. Vahdam founder Bala Sarda said the relationship goes beyond procurement. Goodricke CEO Atul Asthana said he is delighted to partner with a dynamic and fast-growth new-age startup that has successfully created an Indian home-grown brand in more than 100 international markets.

    Biz Insight – Vahdam, founded in 2015, reports annual turnover of $21.5 million to achieve profitability with growth of 110% in the past year. The company has expanded its distribution network to include many tea related products. Value-addition is done at origin and direct delivery eliminates much of the cost and delay of multiple supply chain handoffs. Sarda has been adept at securing outside financing to grow the company he started at 23 years of age. Vahdam earns 99% of its sales of 200 SKUs outside India. The company formally launched in India last year and has witnessed strong early growth, according to a company spokesperson.

    Starbucks Borrow a Cup
    Starbucks offers reusable cup rental option in five Seattle area stores.

    Starbucks Introduces Rent-a-Cup

    Take-away tea drinkers experiencing remorse after beverage retailers refused to fill reusable cups last year will be pleased to learn that Starbucks is launching a “borrow-a-cup” option. The trial at five Seattle area stores allows customers to order their drinks in a reusable cup with a $1 deposit.

    When they return the cups at a contactless kiosk at the store or from home using the Ridwell closed-loop service they get their dollar back and 10 rewards points through the chain’s loyalty program.

    Ridwell professionally cleans and sterilizes the cups, replenishing stores. Studies show that circulating a single reusable cup replaces up to 30 disposable cups. The reusable is then recycled.

    Biz Insight – Americans discard 120 billion disposable cups a year, according to the Clean Water Action Fund. Plastic coatings that line hot cups often prevent them from being recycled. Starbucks has publicly committed to a circular economy that recovers and repurposes waste, pledging to reduce by 50% the billions of pounds of waste generated annually.

    Learn more…

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  • 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.

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