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

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

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

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

    Listen to the interview
    Steve Anyango on the characteristics of Tanzanian Tea.

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    Dananjaya Silva at The Leafies Awards presentation and tasting.
    Dananjaya Silva at The Leafies Awards presentation and tasting in London.

    UK Tea Academy Announces 2023 Winners of The Leafies

    By Dan Bolton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Logo The Leafies

    Pantone Rooibos Red 18-1355
    Pantone Rooibos Red 18-1355


    Rooibos Red Chosen as one of the Top 10 Colors for 2024

    By Dan Bolton

    The arbiters of fashion selected rooibos red as one of the top ten colors in 2024 during New York Fashion Week, which attracted 230,000 designers, editors, stylists, celebrities, and influencers.

    Pantone “is not just a name in color but a global gold standard, according to the company, which annually releases a New York edition of its Fashion Color Trend Report.” This year’s color palette “is steeped in a kind of retrospective warmth, but also indicates change, marking a transition towards a brighter, more optimistic approach to life.”

    Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, writes that the spring 2024 colors “inspire feelings of release. Opening the imagination and amplifying and liberating our unique artistic spirit enables us to express ourselves in more inventive ways.”

    She described Rooibos Tea (No. 18-1355 TCX) as a “full-bodied red imbued with rich, woody notes.”

    Selecting the color “draws attention to the rich biodiversity of the Western Cape’s Floristic Region, where the tea is grown, potentially increasing conservation efforts and attracting eco-conscious tourists,” she said.

    Tea growers responded positively to the news. “The brand new belle of the ball is about to walk the runway in the most tasteful of colors – if we might say so ourselves!” writes rooibos brand Carmien Tea.

    The South African Rooibos Council posted the following on LinkedIn: “Aside from seeing the color popping up in new fashion collections, experts predict it will be used across industrial designs, from cars, electronics, AI, and technology to interiors, films, and animation. Fashion icons like Gucci, Zegna, Josie Natori, Bally, and Emilio Pucci have already embraced this rich red, woody hue. Get your Rooibos on!”

    “It has been an exciting journey to witness the rise of Rooibos and its adoption across industries,” says Marthane Swart, secretariat of the Rooibos Council.


    BIZ INSIGHT – Rooibos symbolizes South Africa’s heritage and is an important export product. Global recognition not only boosts national pride but may increase the tea’s international appeal, potentially boosting sales – a portion of which is shared with indigenous peoples who first harvested and brewed the popular beverage. 

    India Tea Undergoing
    FSSAI Safety Analysis

    India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has stepped up oversight of the tea auction centers, analyzing tea samples from various parts of the country to determine whether these are adhering to the safety standards. 

    Fssai Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

    The Tea Board of India is working to ensure quality standards are met. FSSAI met with tea industry stakeholders in Kolkata in early October to discuss ways to further improve. 

    Rejections of India’s export consignments are rare, according to FSSAI CEO G. Kamala Vardhana Rao. He told The Millennium Post that FSSAI is in talks with tea industry stakeholders for “harmonizing” standards at the Codex Alimentarius Commission level.

    There are 180 Codex member countries. Every country has set its limits on food quality standards. Rao said tea must be free from “extraneous matter, added coloring, and harmful substances. Pesticides cannot exceed the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in the guidelines.”

    FSSAI regularly collects samples for testing, said Rao. Technicians analyze the collected samples for pesticide residues and adulterants utilizing the organization’s 220 mobile testing and 247 NABL-accredited laboratories. Results are not yet available. 

    Once the analysis is complete, “We will then present our findings to the industry,” he said.

    – Dan Bolton


    FEATURE

    Steve Anyango
    Steve Anyango

    Tanzania Produces Good Teas Amiable for Blending Herbal Infusions

    By Dan Bolton

    Tea was first cultivated in what is now Tanzania by German colonists early in the 20th century. Farms were planted high in the Usambara Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro rising vertically from the plains. The region was known as Tanga and would later, under British rule, become Tanganyika. The UK greatly expanded tea production through the 1960s and remains a major trading partner with the Republic of Tanzania. Steve Anyango, Managing Director at Nemooneh Iranian Food and Beverage, is an expert in commodity trading and logistics with deep ties to tea. Steve has traded tea for years at the Mombasa Auction and sources tea globally for Middle Eastern markets. He joins us this week to discuss the favorable characteristics and future of Tanzanian tea.

    Listen to the Interview
    Steve Anyango on the characteristics of Tanzanian Tea

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  • Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns | Just Ice Tea Raises $14 Million | Wagh Bakri Executive Director Dies Fleeing Stray Dogs

    Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns for Transit via the Straits of Hormuz and Suez Canal

    | Just Ice Tea Raises $14 Million to Expand Distribution
    | Wagh Bakri Executive Director Parag Desai, 49, Dies Fleeing Stray Dogs

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

    Powered by RedCircle

    Tea Biz traveled to Tanzania last week to explore the tropical Usambara tea-growing region. There, I toured the Sakare Cooperative tea factory and met with smallholder farmers, tea makers, traders, tea sellers, and members of the Tea Board of Tanzania. I recount my adventure beginning today with Tahira Nizari, a savvy business school graduate and humanitarian who co-founded the specialty tea brand Kazi Yetu in 2018 to advance the role of women in Tanzania’s tea industry. Read more

    Listen to the Interview
    Tahira Nizari, co-founder of the Kazi Yetu Tea Collection
    Trouble in the Middle East could force tea to be rerouted.
    Conflict in the Middle East could force tea to be rerouted, greatly increasing costs.

    Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns

    By Dan Bolton

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

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

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

    See: Middle East Conflict Threatens Global Growth (NYT)

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

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

    Iran is the center of attention. 

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

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

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

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

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

    Just Ice Tea
    Just Ice Tea


    Just Ice Tea Raises $14 Million to Expand Distribution

    By Dan Bolton

    Seth Goldman this week announced $14 million in growth capital to expand the national distribution of Just Ice Tea.

    The organic, fair trade ready-to-drink tea launched in 2022 following a decision by Coca-Cola to stop producing Honest Tea.  Just Ice Tea’s founders, Barry Nalebuff, Spike Mendelsohn, and Goldman, formulated and began distributing the tea within four months of the announcement. Parent company Eat the Change has since scaled back its plant-based snack business as tea sales soar.

    The new round of funds will expand the distribution of the fast-growing Just Ice Tea line and refresh the company’s marketing of cosmic carrot chew snacks. In March, the company added three new flavors: Mango White tea, Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea, and Original Black Tea. Just Ice Tea now markets nine varieties of unsweetened and slightly sweetened (40 to 60-calorie) teas, including Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea at 40 calories per bottle. Sweeteners include organic agave and honey with no cane sugar.

    Goldman and Nalebuff founded Honest Tea in 1998. Coca-Cola invested to expand distribution in 2008 and acquired the business in 2011. Goldman joined Coca-Cola to develop new beverage brands, growing Honest Tea to more than $600 million in annual sales.  He left in 2019 to establish Eat the Change, which produces a line of mushroom jerky, dehydrated carrot chews, and other healthy snacks.

    Wagh Bakri Executive
    Dies Fleeing Stray Dogs

    Parag Desai, the fourth-generation executive director of Wagh Bakri Tea Group, died last week of head injuries sustained fleeing stray dogs on an evening walk near his home in Ahmedabad.  

    Parag Desai (deceased)

    He was hospitalized and underwent surgery for a brain hemorrhage after the Oct. 15 incident and remained on a ventilator for seven days. He died Sunday, Oct. 22.

    Gujarat-based Wagh Bakri, founded in 1892, is one of India’s best-known packaged tea brands, generating $25 million in sales of 50 million kilos of tea annually. 

    Parag, an expert tea taster and evaluator, was responsible for sales, marketing, and exports under his father, managing director Rasesh Desai. His cousin Paras Desai, also an executive director, is responsible for sourcing and operations. Parag greatly expanded distribution and established tea lounges and direct-to-consumer sales online. He was an industry leader, a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), supported the blind, and was a wildlife advocate and a personal friend of mine in tea.

    “I have been very lucky to have learned from my elders,” Parag, who earned a master’s degree at Long Island University, told Moneycontrol last December, crediting “a very formal, strict education overseas and in India. I have had the good opportunity to merge these learnings to lead the company into the next generation.”

    His wife Vidisha and daughter survive him.

    – Dan Bolton


    FEATURE

    Mariam and Miraj Ahmad Sabia. with Tahira Nizari (center). Mariam said that being a part of the Sakare cooperative has helped her access the market, provided her with inputs that improve her tea farm, and she has benefited economically for many years because of Sakare. The village is Bungu, Korogwe district, Tanga region.
    Mariam and Miraj Ahmad Sabia. with Tahira Nizari (center). Mariam said that being a part of the Sakare cooperative has helped her access the market and provided her with inputs that improve her tea farm, and she has benefited economically for many years because of Sakare. The village is Bungu, Korogwe district, Tanga region. Photo by Dan Bolton

    Value Addition at Origin Enhances the Lives of Tea Workers

    By Dan Bolton

    Kazi Yetu sources much of its tea from the Sakare farmer’s cooperative in the Usambara Mountains, a range in northeastern Tanzania that is 90 kilometers long and about half that wide. Usambara is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, with a virgin rainforest that rises to more than 7,500 feet (about 2,289 meters above the Indian Ocean). Teas are finished and transported to the port at Dar es Salaam, where 35 women are employed in blending, packaging, and distributing tins and canisters of specialty tea available globally. Read more

    Listen to the Interview
    Tahira Nizari, co-founder of Kazi Yetu Tea Collection

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

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

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

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

    Powered by RedCircle

    Tea Sea Lanes
    Tea land sea lanes

    Middle East Unrest Heightens Tea Logistics Concerns

    By Dan Bolton

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

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

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

    See: Middle East Conflict Threatens Global Growth (NYT)

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

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

    Iran is the center of attention. 

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

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

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

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

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

    Episodes 1-49

    Episodes 50-96

    Episodes 97-140

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  • Kazi Yetu: Crafting Opportunity at Origin

    Tea Biz traveled to Tanzania in October to explore the tropical Usambara Mountains in the Tanga tea-growing region. I met with smallholder farmers, tea makers, traders, tea sellers, and the Tea Board of Tanzania members during my travels: The 14-family Lutindi cooperative invited me deep into the jungle to watch as they hand-rolled and wood-fired organic black tea that always sells out on “market day” in the local village.

    Kazi Yetu co-founder Tahira Nizari hosted the week-long trip. Nizari is a savvy business school graduate and humanitarian whose specialty tea brand advances the role of women in Tanzania’s tea industry. She retains value by locally processing, packaging, and blending tea with authentic spices, redistributing economic gain and opportunity for smallholders.

    Listen to the interview

    Kazi Yetu co-founder and CEO Tahira Nizari
    Tahira Nizari
    Tahira Nizari launched Kazi Yetu to benefit women in agriculture

    Value Addition at Origin Enhances the Lives of Tea Workers

    By Dan Bolton

    Kazi Yetu sources much of its tea from the Sakare farmer’s cooperative in the Usambara Mountains, a range in northeastern Tanzania that is 90 kilometers long and about half that wide. The Usambara Mountains are one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, with a virgin rainforest that rises to more than 7,500 feet (about 2,289 meters above the Indian Ocean). Organic-certified* teas are finished and transported to the port at Dar es Salaam, where 35 women blend, pack, and distribute tins and canisters. Teas are available globally in bulk, as a white label, and are sold directly to consumers online. The company is a registered B Corp that sources, processes, blends, and packs its teas entirely at origin using locally-grown inclusions in sustainable packaging. Kazi Yetu has a sales office in Germany and wholesale clients in the US, Africa, and the Middle East.

    Dan: Will you share with us the origin story of Kazi Yetu?

    Tahira: I started Kazi Yetu five years ago to create a sustainable and socially focused business. I wanted to support women in agriculture because women in Tanzania often lack jobs across the agriculture value chains. And I thought to myself, I can do this. I understand consumers around the world and what farmers need and can do.

    Kazi Yetu in Swahili means “our work.” And that’s really what we’re about. We never want to lose that vision about creating jobs for women.

    And so we started in 2018 in my dining room packing little tea bags at home, and then we got into my husband’s car [Hendrik Buermann is the co-founder]. Then, we drove across the country to farms, collected samples of teas of spices and herbs, and met with farmers.

    We came back and started blending our recipes. I’m a tea lover. So that was exciting. I love product development, playing with flavor profiles of different ingredients made here in Tanzania and grown here.

    And slowly, we started to expand. We created a really small factory, half of a house because I couldn’t pay for the whole house. And then, slowly, we moved to a larger warehouse. And now we’re in the factory that you have come to visit. We have 35 women employees and a solid team at the production and management levels.

    I’m excited that we’re working with over 2,500 smallholder farmers across Tanzania that produce tea, herbs, and spices. There’s tremendous potential here for tea, but it’s unrealized in many ways.

    Tea workers at weigh station
    Tea workers at the weigh station greeting visitors

    Dan: Many listeners have consumed Tanzania tea as a blend, unaware of its origin. In contrast, your teas are proudly Tanzanian, traceable, certified, and meet EU and US import standards.

    Tahira: Traceability is critical. The reason for that is manifold. We see consumers increasingly seeking to know their producers and the journey of their products from farm to table. We’re seeing a growing demand for that. But more important to us is to put a face and a name on our producers. And we believe that by doing that, we’re encouraging them to get more involved in quality and to be more connected with consumers. We can connect them with their consumers through a simple QR Code.

    Traceability is evolving — highlighting many different qualities and characteristics of the environmental and social sides. Consumers now ask what is the impact of tea production. What is the harvest period? What are the ecological conditions under which the tea herbs or spices were grown?

    Dan, Tahira cupping

    “We want to highlight that Africa’s agriculture can be wild, which we embrace.”

    Sakare factory manager Hekima Sanga, left

    We want to highlight that Africa’s agriculture can be wild, which we embrace. There are lots of wild and indigenous herbs and spices with variations between seasons and in terroir, with benefits of biodiversity. This variance is pleasingly unpredictable, and its traceability is illustrated through different batches. You could try a Ginger Mint Fusion, batch #73, and appreciate the balance of the green tea with the mint and learn about the farm and harvest season, and then you could try batch #96 with a balance and a stronger hint of rosemary and learn about the journey of that batch to your cup.

    Dan: We met with the Tea Board of Tanzania to discuss the challenges facing tea growers: low prices, high production costs, climate change, and a global glut of poor-quality tea. I left the meeting optimistic.

    Sakare workers, Tanzania tea farm
    Sakare tea workers, Tanzania tea farm. Photos by Dan Bolton

    Tahira: Tea is the fifth highest-earning crop in Tanzania. It’s a strategic export-oriented crop, and there’s also a lot of domestic consumption.

    Tea plays a pivotal role in the economy.

    There are more than 30,000 farmers involved in tea here. And so, you can imagine the magnitude of the volume, the opportunity for impact, and growth. The Tea Board of Tanzania regulates the tea sector, there is also the Tea Smallholder Development Agency, and then there’s a Tea Association of Tanzania.

    These bodies are very supportive of the growth of the tea sector. They’ve been supporting Kazi Yetu from day one.

    We were just a tiny business compared to the larger companies: You have Unilever here and many British-owned and Indian-owned tea companies.

    The board immediately understood our vision for specialty tea production and promotion. And they have been instrumental in helping us export our products and helping us influence policies that, you know, affect us and our farmers. So, I would say it’s a very positive and robust infrastructure here.

    I think there’s a lot of work to be done here to empower and support farmers and grow the reputation of Tanzania and its tea.

    Usumbara Mountains
    The Usambara Mountains in Tanga are one of six distinctive tea-growing regions supported by the Tanzania Smallholders Tea Development Agency. The other regions are Mbeya, Iringa, Mjombe, Kagera, and Mara.

    Dan: The mountains here are misty and cool, with a dense jungle canopy. The rootstock is healthy, well-drained, and sound. Across the country along the shores of Lake Victoria, the Bukoba soil is dry, and the land is flat. In the south, the Lupembe highlands are steep, with slopes of up to 50 degrees.

    I sampled several styles of Tanzanian tea, from hand-rolled village market tea to well-crafted oolong, specialty blends, and factory CTC for export. I find the teas fresh, distinctive and well-presented.

     Will you describe what makes Tanzanian tea so tasty?

    Tahira: That’s a fantastic question.

    So, Tanzania has very different environmental conditions than your usual tea-growing countries. We have more shaded, more cloudy areas of tea production. We also have sunshine in more dry, arid regions. It is humid, and it’s sunny.

    The clonal varieties that thrive here are a mix of different cultivars from China and India. Hybrids have been researched and developed to succeed in these kinds of climates.

    I wouldn’t say it’s better or worse than other tea-producing countries, but Tanzania is different, and it’s an exciting distinction. 

    Tanzania tea has a brilliant color; it brings a nice bright color to the cup. It’s excellent for blending, so that’s what Kazi Yetu does: we blend it with herbs and spices. We also have our pure teas, our Kilimanjaro green tea, or Kilimanjaro black tea. We love getting consumers to taste cinnamon bark shavings from Zanzibar (known as Spice Island) or hibiscus iced tea lemonade. Other herbs and spices include ginger, peppermint star anise, lemongrass, and Moringa. There are lots of lovely ingredients to blend in with the Tanzanian teas.

    Kazi Yetu Blending and Packaging Facility

    Kazi Yetu’s Production Management Team

    • Ashley Speyer, COO
    • Emmy Manyelezi, Head of Projects
    • Joseph Kaluwa, Supply Chain Coordinator
    • Kalili Kafuku, Sales Manager Tanzania
    • Katharina Eichinger, Sales & Communications Europe
    • Lugano Jengela, Grants/Finance Manager
    • Saada Mlewa, Finance Officer
    • Stadia Kipangula, Production Supervisor
    Kazi Yetu line
    Kazi Yetu’s full range of sustainable products.
    • *Kilimo Hai certified (East African Organic Products Standard). Kilimo Hai is a peer-reviewed certification administered by the Tanzanian Organic Agriculture Movement. The company’s packing facility is seeking EU organic certification and hopes to extend that certification to all 18 of its suppliers.

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    In Tanzania, Kazi Yetu packages and distributes organic-certified specialty tea from high-potential cooperatives, redistributing economic gain to the farm level that empowers entrepreneurial smallholders eager to improve their livelihood. Share this story with your friends in tea.

  • Need to Know News

    Tea News for the week ending May 27

    | Coca-Cola Discontinues the Iconic Honest Tea Brand
    | FAO: Embracing Sustainable Agriculture is Essential for Tea Smallholders
    | Starbucks Exits the Russian Market after 15 years, closing 130 locations
    | PLUS On the northern shores of Lake Superior, in Ontario Canada, Anishinaabe tea blenders of the First Nation’s Obijwe clan combine locally harvested wild rice with imported Japanese sencha to create roasted wild rice known as Manoomin Cha a version of genmaicha.

    Caption: Denise Atkinson and Marc Bohémier introduce their North American version of genmaicha.

    Hear the Headlines

    Hear the Headlines | Seven-Minute Tea News Recap
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