• Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 33

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    Listen on your favorite player

    Hear the Headlines

    | Timely Tea Delivery Faces Troubled Waters
    | Tea is Thriving in the Convenience Channel
    | Iran Tea Production Increases 25 Percent

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap

    Tea Price Report
    April 28 – Sale 34

    India Tea Price Watch

    Assam’s annual floods have arrived this week with 16 districts affected. India’s Ministry of Commerce also suspended seven sections of the Tea Act, 1953. It appears several reforms are underway to lift regulations, including the recent relaxation of norms to obtain export and distribution licenses. – Aravinda Anantharaman

    Features

    This week Tea Biz puts Burmese chefs in the spotlight for their culinary contributions to tea.

    … and then we travel to London where Unilever unveiled four guiding principles of regenerative agriculture a topic currently trending in tea.

    Regenerative Agiculture

    By Dan Bolton

    Can a world that has already eroded a third of the planet’s soils feed a population of 10 billion without intensive agricultural practices that rely on heavy inputs of fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides that sustain monoculture farming?

    To answer this question, the Tea Biz Podcast and Blog is undertaking a series of interviews with thought-leaders in tea from organizations such as the Rainforest Alliance, growers in Sri Lanka, where a nationwide ban on the import and manufacture of plant chemicals was instituted in May; and with multinationals like Unilever, a company with extensive tea holdings that recently unveiled its basic principals of regenerative agriculture. Read more…

    • Next in the series is a conversation with the Rainforest Alliance on how regenerative agriculture differs from sustainable farming.
    Listen to the Interview
    First in a series of podcasts on regenerative agriculture
    Laphet Thoke
    Laphet Thoke, fermented tea leaf salad.

    Tea Leaf Cuisine

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    Pickled tea leaves may sound a bit out of the ordinary but not for Southeast Asian chefs. Burma, now known as Myanmar, is an ancient crossroads influenced by the cuisine of bordering Bangladesh, China, Thailand, and Laos. It is here that laphet has become a national dish that is now finding its way to US and European consumers as branded packaged goods. Learn more…

    Listen to the review
    Aravinda Anantharaman on the versatility of tea.
    Imports in TEUs are approaching 550,000 per month at Los Angeles area ports, far exceeding totals for the same January through July period during the past four years. In August idled ships numbered a high of 44.

    Timely Tea Delivery Faces Troubled Waters

    By Dan Bolton

    The disruption of global supply chains is getting worse. Container vessel reliability for tea shipments crossing the Pacific continued to decline this summer as prices reached new heights. The World Container Index for eight East-West routes rose to a composite cost of $9,613 for the week of August 19 – up 360% compared to the same period last year. Consignments of tea shipped from Shanghai to Rotterdam increased 659% to $13,698 last week. Sobhanadri Jonnalagadda at Spisys Ltd. in Telangana, India, reports that the cost of booking a container destined for Hamburg from Hyderabad increased from £3000 to £9000.

    Port congestion, backlogs at container terminals locked down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and rapidly increased volume dashed hopes for a return to normalcy until next spring. Logistics costs considered manageable by tea wholesalers early this year are now seen as out of control. Inflation is a growing concern, but the unpredictability of delivery dates is causing far greater problems.

    Green tea exporter Zhejiang Tea Group’s US operation, Firsd Tea, advises tea buyers to calculate projected inventory needs for at least six months and consider adding 20% to projected volumes to avoid out-of-stock conditions and transportation delays.

    This week there were a record 44 container vessels trying to offload at Southern California ports, an all-time high. And ports are getting busier as the holidays grow near. Imports in TEUs are approaching 550,000 per month at Los Angeles area ports, far exceeding totals for the same January through July period during the past four years.

    On arrival shortages of dockworkers, crane operators, warehouse staff and qualified truckers cause further delays. Driver shortages are at all-time highs forcing companies to offer incentives. Qualified drivers are now earning $27 per hour. FreightWaves reports that refrigerated carrier J.S. Helwig & Son increased pay 4 cents to 62-cents per mile for experienced drivers – that’s $1240 for a 2,000-mile round trip. New hires earn 50 cents per mile and a $1000 signing bonus.

    Biz Insight – The likelihood of a ship arriving on time was better than 80% in 2019 is now “hovering around 40%”, according to logistics analysts Sea-Intelligence. Add port and trucking delays and buyers this fall (whether they are consumers ordering Christmas tea online or wholesalers booking containers) — will experience delivery times extended by four to six weeks.

    Foxtrot online for delivery nationwide and locally with a 60-minute guarantee, soon to be 30 minutes.

    Tea is Thriving in the Convenience Channel

    By Dan Bolton

    Convenience outlets thrive at locations near where people live and in 2020 people stayed close to home.

    In-store sales at US grab-and-go outlets rose for the 18th year in a row to $255 billion in 2020. Beverage sales are a top category, accounting for 20% of all sales. Ready-to-drink iced tea makes up about 5% 4.7% of that total, trailing soda, juice, energy drinks, and bottled water, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).  

    New York-based Nielsen reports that overall, tea grew by 11.1% through April 2021.  During that period liquid tea generated $3.4 billion in sales, RTD tea earned $142 million. Green tea sales were up 72.7% during the pandemic to $18.6 million, Nielsen.

    In 2020 the dramatic decline in commuter trips, lockdowns and a consumer shift to grocery and home meals increased their spend but cut trips to convenience stores by more than 20%, according to NACS. The number of transactions declined 14% as basket sizes grew 18% compared to 2019.

    The pandemic had a huge impact on self-serve beverages. Hot dispensed sales fell 33.4%, and cold dispensed beverages declined 7.9%, reflecting the drop in footfall amid stay-at-home orders and work-from-home schedules, writes NACS. In contrast, beer saw unprecedented growth accounting for 6.3% of total convenience store sales due to the closure of bars and restaurants (only 12.4% of 150,000 US convenience stores are licensed to sell beer).

    Market research firm Technomic writes that US beverage sales overall declined 31% by volume in 2020. Spending declined 29% with cold dispensed beverage volume down 30%.

    Biz Insight – Foxtrot markets, an upscale convenience chain is known for its 60-minute delivery guarantee “is the corner store reimagined” says venture capitalist David Barber. Stores feature locally baked treats, coffee, freshly brewed tea, and organic wine, craft beer, gifts, and everyday essentials.

    Foxtrot is an upscale, hyper-convenient convenience chain

    CEO Mike LaVitola told Forbes that half of the company’s transactions occur online for delivery nationwide and half in-store. He said the company intends to introduce hyper-convenient 30-minute delivery and expand its selection of private-label convenience items in larger, 4,000 square foot stores.

    The start-up has raised $65 million in January from the likes of former Whole Foods Market CEO Walter Robb and Momofuku restaurant founder David Chang. The chain, founded in 2014 in Chicago, currently has 13 locations with nine to open in 2021 and 50 within two years. New locations include Dallas and Washington DC and Austin, Tex., Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston.

    Harvesting tea in Gilan, Lahijan province, Iran

    Iran Tea Production is Up 25 Percent

    Iran’s Tea Organization (ITO) reports a 25% increase in tea production so far this year and higher export numbers as well. During the first five months of the year, Iran harvested 114,445 metric tons of raw leaf, valued at 6.5 trillion rials (about $155 million US), according to ITO. The tea organization considers 51% of the harvest premium grade, down from 79% in 2020.

    Iran is a net tea importer, No. 6 in the world, spending $236.3 million on tea in 2020, according to World’s Top Exports.

    In recent years growers began exporting increasing quantities of tea. In 2020 4,000 metric tons of teas were shipped to 12 countries regionally including Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, India, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Georgia as well as Canada, Australia, Spain, and the Czech Republic. In 2020 tea exports averaged 86 cents per kilo. Sales totaled $6.5 million, up 2.6% compared to 2019.

    Iran’s tea industry employs 55,000 families cultivating tea on 70,000 acres [28,000 hectares].

    — Dan Bolton

    Upcoming Events

    September 2021

    Level Up, Virtual
    September 29 | The Tea & Herbal Association of Canada will host a mid-year Meet-Up from 10 am to noon. Admission $55 (CAD) Members $50. Agenda | Register

    Click to view more upcoming events.

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    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 32

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    Hear the Headlines

    | Afghan Tea Market Concerns as Taliban Conquers Kabul
    | Foodservice Recovery Rates Vary Widely by Sector
    | Researchers Confirm Heart Healthy Aspects of Tea

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap

    Tea Price Report
    April 21 – Sale 33

    India Tea Price Watch

    Afghanistan is an importer of green and orthodox black tea from India and in 2020-21, about 760,000 kilos of tea was exported from there. At the moment, the movement of cargo between the two countries stands interrupted. – Aravinda Anantharaman

    Features

    This week Tea Biz visits Darjeeling, India on word of the sale of the iconic Jungpana and Goomtee tea estates to Anshuman Kanoria, principal at Balaji Agro International and chairman of the Indian Exporters Association

    … and then to London where Kyle Whittington reviews The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, a novel by Lisa See.

    Anshuman Kanoria discusses his company’s acquisition of two of Darjeeling’s best-known tea gardens.

    Restoring Darjeeling’s Reputation from the Roots Up

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    The sale of two iconic Darjeeling tea gardens focused attention on the ongoing challenges facing growers in this fabled tea-growing region. Jungpana and Goomtee were acquired by the Santhosh Kanoria Group, which owns the tea export company Balaji Agro International. The group also owns Tindharia estate in Darjeeling. We spoke to Anshuman Kanoria, Chairman of Balaji Agro and Chairman of the Indian Exporters Association about this acquisition. Read more...

    Listen to the Interview
    Anshuman Kanoria on India’s unrealized potential in tea
    Lisa See has written a “brilliantly layered book” writes Whittington

    The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

    By Kyle Whittington | TeaBookClub

    New York Times best-selling author Lisa See has written several novels revealing her fondness for tea. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, however, uniquely explores the mysterious world of Pu’er. Reviewer Kyle Whittington writes that See’s novel “consists of so many brilliant layers… for the tea reader this is a wonderful story, packed with great tea content that will either develop or ignite an interest in, and a desire to explore the world of Pu’er.” Read the review…

    Listen to the review
    Kyle Whittington reviews The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
    A tea break for Afghan farmworkers. Afghans annually drink 1500 cups of tea per capita. Kahwa (a tea and spice blend) and green tea with mint are favorites. Photo by © Karl Allen Lugmayer | Dreamstime.com

    Afghan Tea Market Concerns as Taliban Conquers Kabul

    By Dan Bolton

    Afghanistan is a major tea-consuming nation and a smuggler’s paradise for tea. The country became a profitable middleman by clever manipulation of border regulations that were only recently reined in after decades of openly flaunting Pakistani Customs enforcement.

    Since tea trades in US dollars, money in Taliban controlled bank accounts is frozen. Bank withdrawals are limited and in-bound remittances from Western Union and MoneyGram have stopped. The East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) reports bidding at the Mombasa auction on tea bound for Afghanistan slowed as the Taliban occupied Kabul but EATTA explained that Afghanistan gets its Kenyan tea via Pakistan where there have been no disruptions at all, according to The East African. Shipments between India, another major source of tea, and Afghanistan were halted this week.

    Afghanistan’s banks are closed, halting direct deposits for salaried workers. Interbank transfers are subject to sanctions imposed by western powers decades ago to curtail terrorist activity. The Financial Action Task Force, warned member countries they must ensure that “no funds or other assets are made available, directly or indirectly” to the Taliban or face fines and censure by the United Nations and the US along with many of its allies. During the 20 years since the Taliban was last in power, many businesses transitioned from cash and writing checks to digital banking. Prices for basic commodities like bread, oil, and tea have doubled since the government collapsed and the economy is in freefall.

    In 2020 foreign aid from the US and Europe accounted for 43% of the economy. Remittances from Afghans living outside the country were nearly $800 million last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Given near universal sanctions due to a global blacklisting of the nation’s central bank, the Taliban will find it difficult to borrow or trade essential commodities, making taxes on citizens and local businesses the Taliban’s sole source of funds in a $22 billion economy.

    It is too soon to know how the collapse of the Afghan government and the return of the Taliban will alter the tea market, but smuggling was rampant during the 1996-2001 Taliban regime. In Helmand province, traders said that “if we smuggle 40kg (heroin), we give the Taliban 4kg.”

    Pakistan Customs lists black tea and green tea as two of the five most smuggled commodities. Tea exports to Pakistan surged in 2020, increasing 18.7% in value compared to 2019, making it the world’s highest-valued tea import market at $590 million. Kenya accounted for $497 million of last year’s import spend, growing 27% following a decision by the Indian government to no longer export tea to Pakistan.

    Afghans prefer green tea to black, yet hundreds of thousands of kilos of black tea are landed annually at the Port of Karachi, Pakistan. Until recently Pakistan charged a combined 38% tax and duties on tea making the import cost of tea 32% higher than tea imported into Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a landlocked nation so huge quantities of African tea, mainly from Kenya, are delivered to the Pakistani port tax-free, taxed at a low rate at the Afghan border, and then transported to large warehouses where it is broken into retail packets and smuggled into Pakistan. Smugglers pay a 12%-15% bribe and transportation cost, pocketing the difference.

    Biz Insight – Pakistan’s Competition Commission considers smuggling to be “the biggest threat faced by the domestic tea industry, causing loss of millions of rupees to the government and forcing legal importers out of business,” according to a 2019 report. A crackdown on violators in late 2020 led to a 55% increase in customs duties collected (a proxy for illegal trade) and evidence of a concerted effort by Pakistan to decrease the cost of legal imports, making smuggling unprofitable.

    It will take years to rebuild some US foodservice sectors to 2019 consumer spending levels.

    US Foodservice Recovery Rates Vary Widely by Sector

    By Dan Bolton

    Sales at Quick Service Restaurants (CSR) and the Supermarket Prepared Foods segment are well ahead of pre-pandemic totals but “everyone in foodservice is starting from a really different point,” reports Ann Golladay, senior project director at Datassential Research’s Baltimore office.

    Datassential calculates that — overall — consumer spending in foodservice declined from $806.7 billion in 2019 to $701.4 billion in 2021 and will not return to pre-pandemic spending levels until 2023.

    Golladay explained to webinar participants Aug. 19 that Fast Casual, once the darling of the industry with the largest real growth will not reach pre-pandemic spending levels before 2023 “and that will be nominal growth that does not include inflation,” she said. Golladay estimates inflation at 5% per year “so you will probably have to back down these projections 10% by then,” she said. Consumer spending at fast casual restaurants declined 19% in 2020. The segment is projected to generate $67.4 billion next year compared to almost $68.7 billion spent in 2019.

    A survey of the nation’s grocers found that 74% reported increased sales in 2020. The consumer spend for prepared foods at supermarkets in 2022 will be $38.8 billion, rising by 119% compared to 2019 dollars.

    Recreation, lodging, and convenience store foodservice segments will take even longer to recover. Lodging, for example, will have only achieved 71% of its 2019 consumer spend by 2022.

    Until workers return to downtown offices, the business and industry foodservice sector, projected to reach pre-pandemic sales of $6.9 billion, will never recover.

    Tea Biz Insight – Jack Li, principal at Datassential identified five “x-factors” that could disrupt the official projections. These include new variants, vaccine mandates, additional and extended lockdown, sustained inflation, and a combination of labor and supply chain bottlenecks.

    Tea flavonoids reduce risk and severity of adverse cardiovascular events.

    Researchers Confirm Heart Healthy Aspects of Tea

    By Dan Bolton

    Accumulating evidence of tea’s heart health benefits led researchers to conduct an umbrella review describing and critically evaluating the totality of medical evidence to date.

    Their findings: “It is reasonable to judge that two cups of unsweetened tea per day has the potential to decrease CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk and progression due to its flavonoid content.”

    The peer-reviewed paper authored by Abby Keller and Taylor Wallace and published in the Annals of Medicine, examines 10 years of studies, from 2010 to 2020, that identify several biological mechanisms showing a decreased risk and severity of cardiovascular disease in tea drinkers.

    The authors write that “Results of population studies commonly suggest that tea consumption is inversely associated with several health outcomes. Shorter-term clinical intervention studies provide additional evidence that tea consumption has the potential to affect intermediate outcomes and biomarkers of disease in healthy, at-risk, and diseased populations.”

    Based on this umbrella review, the researchers observed that the consumption of tea as a beverage “did not seem to be harmful to health; therefore, the benefits of moderate consumption likely outweigh risk.” 

    In Memoriam

    Miriam “Mim” Enck, president of The East Indies Coffee & Tea Company, in Lebanon, Penn., passed away Saturday, Aug. 14 after a short illness. Since 2018 Enck has operated the company founded by her late husband, Walter Progner who started the specialty tea retail business in 1976. She was 75.

    Upcoming Events

    August 2021

    POSTPONED: Beijing International Tea Expo, Beijing China
    August 27-30, 2021 | Beijing Exposition Center (the recent coronavirus outbreak forced Beijing authorities to halt all events that attract large crowds. Watch this space for new date when it becomes available.)

    September 2021

    Caffé Culture Show, Business Design Center, London
    September 2-3 | The European Speciality Tea Association will host a Speciality Tea Hub on the exhibition floor with a tea brew bar, a members’ lounge, educational seminars and small exhibitor pods.  Admission is free | Program | Register

    Level Up, Virtual
    September 29 | The Tea & Herbal Association of Canada will host a mid-year meet up from 10 am to noon. Admission $55 (CAD) Members $50. Agenda | Register

    Click to view more upcoming events.

    Share this episode with your friends in tea.

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    News Archives
    Tea Journey
    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 31

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    Hear the Headlines

    | Delta Delivers Foodservice Setback
    | Why are Tea Tariffs Still in Place?
    | Tea Marathon is a Victory for Japanese Growers

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap

    Tea Price Report
    India Tea Price Watch | Sale 32

    Prices were similar to the previous week with the exception of Darjeeling which dropped significantly, marking the end of the summer flush. The week leading up to India’s Independence Day was largely uneventful. Read more…

    Features

    This week Tea Biz visits Japan for a victory celebration of the Japanese Tea Marathon, an event during the Tokyo Olympics that drew attention worldwide to 15 tea producing regions in a country famous for quality green teas

    … and then we travel to Paris, France as the deadline nears for the AVPA‘s annual Teas of the World contest, a unique global competition in a tea consuming country that focuses on the gastronomic pleasure and profits of tea.

    Virtual marathon introduces tea lovers to 30 teas and 15 tea-growing regions in Japan

    Victory for Japanese Tea Marathon

    By Jessica Natale Woollard

    As athletes from around the world competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, tea lovers participated in an event of their own: the Japanese Tea Marathon. The marathon included 15 days of online events that shone a spotlight on Japan’s teas, producers, and the 15 tea-producing regions. Led by the Global Japanese Tea Association and Japan Tea Central Council, tea marathoners learned about 30 Japanese teas, how to brew them, and where they’re grown. Kyle Whittington, a Tea Biz contributor and host of the TeaBookClub, attended every tea marathon event, tasting 30 teas over 15 sessions. He gives the event a gold medal! Read more…

    Listen to the Interview

    Wrap-up with marathon finisher Kyle Whittington
    AVPA’s Teas of the World Competition judges gastronomic qualities of tea pleasing to the French

    A Gastronomic Tea Competition

    By Dan Bolton

    The deadline to enter the AVPA’s 4th annual Teas of the World Contest is Sept. 15. Our guest, Philippe Juglar is president of AVPA (Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products), a Paris-based, non-governmental, non-profit organization that judges wine, chocolate, coffee, and teas best suited to local preferences. He joins us to discuss what it takes to be a winner in the only “gastronomic” tea competition in a consumer country that evaluates tea solely to promote the good practices of production and trade. Read more…

    Listen to the Interview

    AVPA President Philippe Juglar on what it takes to be a winner
    Two Samovar Tea Café locations in San Francisco pivoted to pizza after 20 years. The Yerba Buena shop above.

    Delta Delivers Retail Setback

    By Dan Bolton

    Consumer spending declined in the US, China, and Europe in July. In the US infections from COVID Delta variant surged, reaching 140,000 new cases per day. Sales at restaurants, stores, and online declined 1.1% compared to June 2021, according to the US Commerce Department.

    The impact on tea retail is uneven.

    Revenue at restaurants and bars sales grew by 1.7% on average with much greater gains in regions where a high percentage of the population is vaccinated. In the US second quarter spending grew at an annual rate of 11.8% with total retail sales 17.5% higher than the pre-pandemic levels  ?  offering a glimpse of how much potential there is for a return to normal.

    Economists now say the third quarter will dampen that outlook. Tea shops in downtown locations anticipating the September return of office workers will largely avoid lockdowns but can’t meet expenses in high-rent locations. Meanwhile footfall in European and American malls declined. In China online sales growth slowed to 4.4% from an average 21% in July, confirming consumer hesitancy worldwide.

    Biz Insight – Tea retailers occupying valuable real estate face tough choices. Jesse Jacobs, founder of well-respected Samovar Tea House Cafes, a local chain that reliably generated more than $3 million annually for years, was first forced to close its three locations, then hibernate. This week Jacobs and his brother Joshua announced that Samovar will pivot to serving Detroit-style pizza. Joyride Pizza will occupy the Valencia and Yerba Buena locations. In San Francisco where general retail rents average $40.54 per sq. ft. per year and restaurant retail costs $45-$75 per sq. ft., serving pizza is profitable.

    Jacobs told Eater San Francisco, “I spent 20 years developing Samovar into an iconic brand. Similar to other restaurateurs across the country, COVID-19 dissolved the brick-and-mortar businesses to the point of no return. We needed to creatively adapt to the moment.” Teas remain on the menu and www.samovarlife.com retains its luster as a premium online tea retail destination but without office workers, and with government bailouts exhausted and commercial landlords agitating for relief, tea retailers in downtown locations are unlikely to survive.

    Tariffs on Chinese teas imported into the US penalize consumers

    Why are Tea Tariffs Still in Place?

    By Dan Bolton

    Last week a consortium of 30 major business groups appealed to the US White House to remove tariffs on Chinese goods. Tea exports to the US declined after the imposition of tariffs (initially 15%, currently 7.5%). Tea imports fell to around $50 million in 2020, down from nearly $100 million traded in 2016. China’s tea export volumes are down overall due to the pandemic, but with $2 billion in tea exports, China is clearly finding buyers globally. In June the average price of exported Chinese tea rose 2.54% to $6.86 per kilo. 

    The US has not won the trade wars it instigated. Certainly not in tea. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently admitted that tariffs on Chinese goods are hurting American consumers. The Biden administration is unwinding trade entanglements over aerospace and autos with the Europeans. Last week Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang told Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council that trade ties could recover, but first, the US must cancel unfair tariffs on Chinese goods. China has shown interest in hosting Yellen in talks with Chinese Vice Premier [Liu He] this fall. Eliminating the tariff on tea and reciprocating by easing Chinese tariffs on American goods imposed solely in retaliation is an important first step.

    Tea Biz Insight – No one in the tea industry wanted the US to levy tariffs on tea. The 7.5% tariff is an unnecessary cost compounded by rising shipping and operating expenses. Miniscule import revenue makes the tea industry a pawn in this geopolitical chess match of billion-dollar multinationals that include Apple, Ford Motor, and IBM yet easing the restrictions on tea could play a symbolic role. In China’s business culture conversations that begin with tea lead to agreements often far more influential than the US preference for confrontations in courts.

    Upcoming Events

    August 2021
    POSTPONED: Beijing International Tea Expo, Beijing China
    August 27-30, 2021 | Beijing Exposition Center (the recent coronavirus outbreak forced Beijing authorities to halt all events that attract large crowds. Watch this space for new date when it becomes available.)

    September 2021

    Caffé Culture Show, Business Design Center, London
    September 2-3 | The European Speciality Tea Association will host a Speciality Tea Hub on the exhibition floor with a tea brew bar, a members’ lounge, educational seminars and small exhibitor pods.  Admission is free | Program | Register

    Level Up, Virtual
    September 29 | The Tea & Herbal Association of Canada will host a mid-year meet up from 10 am to noon. Admission $55 (CAD) Members $50. Agenda | Register

    Share this episode with your friends in tea.

    Sign up
    News Archives
    Tea Journey
    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

    Subscribe and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 30

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    Hear the Headlines

    | Top India Tea Producer McLeod Russel Faces Bankruptcy
    | Tea Authentication Protocol to Chemically Verify Origins
    | Soggy Soil Keeps Kulhads in Short Supply

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap

    Tea Price Report
    India Tea Price Watch | Sale 31

    This week’s highlight is the news from Darjeeling, of the sale of the estates Jungpana and Goomtee. The new owner is the Santosh Kumar Kanoria Group led by Anshuman Kanoria that also owns the estate, Tindharia, also in Darjeeling. Jungpana was last on the market in 2017.  Read more…

    Features

    Tea Biz this week travels to Brooklyn where Rona Tison executive vice president of ITO EN North America explains the appeal of functional tea and introduces a new matcha LOVE ENERGY + line of ready-to-drink teas.

    … and then to New York City, headquarters of the World Tea Academy, where online education director Lisa Boalt Richardson describes the newest of six certification programs.

    Rona Tison executive vice president ITO EN North America

    Natural Tea Energy

    By Dan Bolton

    In the ready-to-drink category, tea-focused brands like ITO EN are innovating. Instead of concentrates and solubles, line extensions are brewed from whole leaves from sustainably grown tea and offered in recyclable packaging. Rona Tison, Executive Vice President of ITO EN North America, joins Tea Biz to discuss what makes tea the ideal base for function-enhancing blends that appeal to health-conscious consumers. Learn more…

    Listen to the Interview

    ITO EN’s Rona Tison on function-enhancing tea blends
    Aromas of Tea is the World Tea Academy’s newest advanced certification

    An Aromatic Education Online

    By Jessica Natale Woollard

    Tea industry certifications are becoming sought after in the industry. There are certifications for tea specialists, sommeliers, blenders, health experts, and now tea aroma specialists, a new offering from the World Tea Academy. Joining me on the podcast today are Lisa Boalt Richardson, online education director of the World Tea Academy, and Kathleen Hippeli – Lisa’s assistant and a former tearoom owner.

    Listen to the Interview

    Lisa Boalt Richardson and Kathleen Hippeli discuss online education opportunities
    McLeod Russel harvests 73 million kilos of tea annually across 180,.000 acres (73,000 hectares)

    Tea Giant McLeod Russel Faces Bankruptcy

    By Dan Bolton

    McLeod Russel India, once the largest producer of tea in the world and currently India’s largest tea producer — is facing bankruptcy. McLeod, a Kolkata-based division of the Brij Mohan Khaitan Group that employs 73,000 workers, operates 31 estates in Assam and two in West Bengal as well as tea gardens in Africa and Vietnam.

    The corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) was triggered by default on a $14 million (INRs 100 crore) loan dating to 2018 but McLeod carries $270 million in debts and faces a combination of debtors. The application was revealed in a stock exchange filing Aug. 6. An interim resolution professional was named to the National Company Law Tribunal case.

    Azam Monem will continue to guide the operations of the company and key managerial staff remain in place with the intent to restructure.

    The storied company dates to 1869 when J.H. Williamson and Richard B. Magor operated in Assam. The Khaitan family purchased the company in 1987 and in 1994 purchased 51% of battery maker Union Carbide’s Eveready Industries operating the company in two divisions, electrical and tea. The company went public in 2000 and in 2004 demerged into two separate companies McLeod producing and marketing tea and Eveready manufacturing batteries and flashlights.

    In August 2017 McLeod sold Bhatpara TE for $2 million, according to Global Ag Investing. It was the first garden sold in the firm’s modern history as production rose to a peak that exceeded 118 million kilos that year (2017-18). Acquisitions from 2005 to 2010 had increased the number of estates to 48 including Williamson Tea, Doom Dooma Tea Company (2007), Moran Tea (2008), and Borelli Tea (17 tea gardens) bringing McLeod’s total acreage under tea to 98,000 acres (39,770 hectares). Revenue exceeded $265 million with $9.7 million in profits in fiscal 2016.

    Biz Insight – A combination of massive flooding in Assam, rising labor costs and conflicts amid declining exports significantly reduced earnings, eroding profits. Quarterly losses rose to $3 million in recent years. A misjudgement in lending more than $390 million to the closely held battery company led to the default in February 2020 on the loan from Techno Electric & Engineering and two other creditors. To lower its debts the McLeod sold an addition 17 tea estates between March 2019 and May 2020 generating $102 million (INRs 764 crore) but it wasn’t enough. Divestiture of 21 tea gardens in India and Rwanda since 2017 reduced annual production from 118 million kilos to 73 million kilos of tea. Rival Camellia Plc., the holding company of Goodricke Group, is now the largest tea producer in the world. Amalgamated Plantations, owned in part by Tata Global Beverages, is the second largest Indian tea producer, according to Rediff.

    Institute for Global Food Security houses the Assured, Safe and Traceable (ASSET) Technology Center

    Tea Authentication Protocol to Chemically Verify Origins

    By Dan Bolton

    The Institute for Global Food Security is analyzing the leaf chemistry of tea from a broad range of geographical locations to create a map identifying the “chemical fingerprints” of tea samples. The protocols can be used to verify the tea was grown at the stated origin as marketed. The rigorous examination uses state-of-the art spectrometry and artificial intelligence modeling to also identify the presence of bulking agents, dyes, and adulterants, soapstone, plumbago, and gypsum. In their review of vulnerable food supply chains, Professor Chris Elliott and researcher Dr. Di Wu found tea to be at high-risk due to the complicated nature of tea production, making authenticity testing a tricky undertaking, according to New Food Magazine.

    Elliott, a professor of food safety with the (Assured, Safe and Traceable) ASSET Technology Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, said that “once these statistical models are built, they will be validated with further samples of known origins to calculate the predictive capability of the methods. The most robust (accurate) technique will be selected, and the method will be fully validated to international standards. This method will then be transferred to laboratories across the world, said Elliott. Learn more…

    Biz Insight – Professor Elliott is seeking partnerships with tea companies and research organization as well as major retailers to join in the effort to improve the integrity of the world’s tea supply chains. Here are his contact details: Professor Chris Elliott, Institute for Global Food Security, Biological Sciences Building, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5DL Northern Ireland | [email protected] | +44 (0) 28 9097 6514.

    Clay Kulhads in Short Supply

    Soggy soil and sunless days have curtailed the manufacture of India’s iconic Kulhad leading to widespread shortages of these simple unglazed terracotta clay cups. As a result, chaiwala are forced to switch to paper or plastic. Neither is acceptable to chai drinkers accustomed to crushing the Kulhad underfoot. Near constant downpours in Dakshindari turned clay quarries into soup and persistent overcast skies prevent air drying before firing. The cups still available are selling for INRs 1 (rupee) each in lots of 100, more than three times the typical wholesale cost.

    Biz Insight – Last November the Indian government ordered the nation’s train stations to sell tea exclusively in locally made Kulhads, boosting demand to help employ two million potters. India’s Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the eco-friendly cups are currently available at 400 train stations. Learn more…

    Aravinda Anantharaman reports on the decision to switch from plastic to clay cups

    – Dan Bolton

    Upcoming Events

    August 2021
    POSTPONED: Beijing International Tea Expo, Beijing China
    August 27-30, 2021 | Beijing Exposition Center (recent coronavirus outbreak led Beijing authorities to halt all events that attract large crowds. Watch this space for new date when it becomes available.)

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  • Tea Biz Podcast | Episode 28

    Tea Biz Podcast Logo

    Listen on your favorite player

    Hear the Headlines

    | Research Reveals That Children Benefit from Drinking Tea
    | A New Definition for Specialty Tea Gets Refined
    | Unilever’s Tea Brand Divestiture is on Pace

    Seven-minute Tea News Recap
    Tea Price Report
    India Tea Price Watch | Sale 29

    In a significant development this week, the Tea Board of India issued a circular making it mandatory for producers to send at least 50% of their produce to the public auction. Producers that fail to comply face action. Expectedly, producers are not happy.  Read more…

    Features

    Tea Biz this week visits the tea lands from on high where rising temperatures in the atmosphere are causing shifts in the jet stream that alter ocean temperatures, causing an unusual period of extreme weather globally. The results from changes in the climate are visible this summer as heat domes, and drought, slow-moving monsoons and violent typhoons and fast-melting glaciers in the Himalayas….

    … then to England to marvel at the work of British author and photographer Michael Freeman and co-author Timothy d’Offay whose large-format book The Life of Tea: A Journey to the World’s Finest Teas gets a glowing review from Tea Book Club founder Kyle Whittington.

    Children Benefit from Drinking Tea
    Researchers conclude children as young as four years of age benefit from drinking tea

    Children Benefit from Drinking Tea

    By Dan Bolton

    An extensive review of medical research suggests children as early as age 4 benefit from drinking tea.

    In a peer-reviewed paper published in the Nutrition and Food Technology journal, Dr. Pamela Mason identified 60 scientific studies on the health benefits of drinking tea from childhood onward, as reported in The Telegraph of London. Drinking three cups of black tea daily improves cardiovascular health and boosts the body’s immune system, she said.

    Tea also helps combat obesity, stress, aids relaxation, influences brain functions such as alertness and concentration, and is an ideal replacement for sugary drinks.

    Drinking tea daily “could help preserve physical and mental health in childhood, through the teens and adulthood, pregnancy and into old age,” she said.

    Biz Insight – The research, commissioned by the UK’s Tea Advisory Panel, showed that clinical and laboratory studies demonstrate how phenolic compounds in green tea boost nitric oxide levels which lowers blood pressure, and act as antioxidants to reduce inflammation. Tea polyphenols also limit cholesterol absorption in the gut and target receptors which regulate blood cholesterol levels.

    Citation: Mason P, Bond T (2021) Tea and Wellness throughout Life. Nutr Food Technol Open Access 7(1): dx.doi.org/10.16966/2470- 6086.172

    Learn more…

    Photo from The Life of Tea by Michael Freeman and Timothy d’Offay. Photo courtesy Michael Freeman Photography.

    Visual Splendor

    By Kyle Whittington | Tea Book Club

    One of the lovely things about this book is that you don’t feel that you’re rereading information on tea that you’ve read 1,000 times before. Rather, you go on a journey to each tea type, each country, region, artisan or tea house, and along the way, dotted throughout the text like so many villages amongst the tea mountains are these wonderful gems and nuggets of information. There’s so much to learn and absorb both from the pictures and the text in this book. It sits such at an unusual sweet spot where a visually enticing book meets a well-researched and written reference book. Read more…

    Kyle Whittington reviews The Life of Tea, A Journey to the World’s Finest Teas.
    Flooding Nepal Sep 2017
    Flooding in Nepal Tea Growing Region September 2017. Photo by Deepak Kafle.

    Listen to this report

    Tea Threatened by Intemperate Torture

    By Dan Bolton

    The howl of Typhoon In-Fa assailing China, and the monsoons deluging India brought havoc, not relief to parched tea lands this month.

    Record rainfalls in central China’s Henan Province forced the evacuation of 1 million people and swamped or swept away cultivars used to make Xin Yang Mao Jian, a prized green tea. Tea retailers Heytea and Nayuki pledged a combined $1.5 million to a local charity in Zhengzhou for flood control and disaster relief.

    In India, super-heated air from a heat wave that killed thousands — now heavily laden with moisture — traveled north causing flooding. Chiplun in Maharashtra, received 450mm (17.7 inches) of rainfall in a single day on July 22. For comparison, the highest single-day rainfall recorded in the capital, New Delhi, in the last 15 years was 144mm (5.7 inches) in 2016, writes Al Jazeera.

    The Himalayas have been warming for years. Melting ice trapped in 15,000 glaciers is receding at 100 to 200 feet per year, saturating the soil, contributing to landslides and the destruction of two dams in February that killed 200. In Nepal entire villages have been forced to migrate to lower lands to avoid once frozen, now flowing glacial lakes.

    Consider for a moment the leaves that sustain the tea industry.

    Currently the soil under their feet is either soggy and unstable or dry and unyielding. Tea is heat-tolerant up to a point, but growth of new leaves stops at 95o Fahrenheit | 35o centigrade. Insect infestations such as the red mite are now more common. Fungal and bacteria borne diseases are harder for the plants to combat. Leaves of clonal tea bushes cascade to the ground at temperatures above 40o centigrade. Without rain, cells at the core of the trunk contract, no longer able to transport water from the soil. Branches turn brittle, death quickly follows.

    Now, consider China, the world’s largest tea producer.

    In the immediate future leaves basking in the sun benefit, especially in the northern regions where long winters and frost limit yields.

    In a March 2021 article in the journal Environmental Research Letters, researchers conclude that both heat and cold extremes were associated with significantly reduced tea yields.

    “In the present climate, dominating cold extremes influence more than half of China’s tea production, with a maximum of 56% reduced annual production… Climate warming may diminish the negative impacts of cold extremes, they write. However, reduced yields in regions subject to intensified heat extremes will emerge. In the colder regions dry roots withstand frost better than wet — but sustained heat is fatal. In a country that produces billions of kilos of tea, losses are estimated from 14%–26% at the Yangtze River and in southern China regions.

    The authors write that “Increasing heat extremes pose the most challenging changes for tea production in China. We expect up to 11%–24% heat-induced yield loss in Chongqing, Hunan, Anhui, and Zhejiang.

    China accounts for 41% of global production, India contributes 21% and Kenya 8%. All three are impacted. A decline in yield of this magnitude would make quality tea scarce and while quantities will be sufficient to meet domestic needs little will be left for export. A quality declines, consumer tastes will shift to competing beverages.

    Tea is one of the most important cash crops in developing countries, and as a result — tea cultivation is of considerable socio-economic importance for the alleviation of rural poverty. In China, about 80 million people are employed in the production of tea. Smallholders who contribute more than half the volume of tea grown in India and Kenya will be unable to irrigate or relocate to higher, cooler elevations. The World Bank has warned that climate change could sharply diminish living conditions for up to 800 million of those living in South Asia.

    Effects of Extreme Temperature on China’s Tea Production
    Citation: Yulin Yan1, Sujong Jeong7,2, Chang-Eui Park2, Nathaniel D Mueller 3,4, Shilong Piao5, Hoonyoung Park2, Jaewon Joo2, Xing Chen2, Xuhui Wang5, Junguo Liu6Show full author list Published 30 March 2021 • © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd Environmental Research Letters, Volume 16, Number 4 Citation Yulin Yan et al 2021 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 044040

    Speciality Tea Definition Refined

    By Dan Bolton

    Tea Associations in the US, Europe, and Canada responded this week with concerns about the European Speciality Tea Association’s definition of specialty tea. The Tea & Herbal Association of Canada, the Tea Association of the USA, and Tea & Herbal Infusions Europe issued a joint statement expressing “concern” with the language ESTA used to differentiate specialty tea from traditional tea.

    Criteria cited in the ESTA definition includes tea’s physical and sensory characteristics and a requirement that it be traceable through details such as location, pluck date, processing facility.

    These are the same criteria used by every tea taster in the industry, regardless of “specialty” or “traditional” label, reads the joint press release.

    The release points out that traceability is not unique to specialty teas, “Traceability requirements are at the core of food safety laws in place around the world and must be demonstrated as part of regular audits for large retailers as well as certification programs.”

    Although all the above may be part of what defines specialty tea “suggesting they are not a part of “traditional” tea is factually incorrect,” reads the release.

    In reply, David Veal, executive director of the European Speciality Tea Association writes that “We note the concerns about the language of differentiation between speciality and other teas, but that is the very point of defining speciality, to differentiate it, and so to further distinguish speciality tea from commodity tea we place emphasis on attaining tea excellence from bush to cup. Speciality tea can be defined by the quality of the criteria – not the use of the criteria. ESTA believes that the degree of excellence that a tea reaches in each of these criteria determines specialty versus commodity,” writes Veal.

    The joint release states that the signatories “take great pride in our collective approach of inclusion… our members include all parts of the supply chain operating in what is commonly referred to as the “traditional” tea industry as well as the “speciality” tea industry.

    Since the release of our definition, we have received very positive responses from small farmers and consumers… and we believe that we are moving in the right direction for the benefit of the speciality tea market, writes Veal.

    “We welcome all feedback and hope to be able to continue discourse directly with all parties who are interested in promoting speciality tea,” he added.

    Biz Insight – In an updated post on the Tea Biz blog, ESTA continues to refine its  definition with an explanation by ESTA president Nigel Melican of the term hand-crafted and the role of machinery in making specialty tea.

    Learn more…

    Unilever Tea Brand Divestiture on Pace

    During a July 22 earnings call Unilever CEO Alan W. Jope told investors that “the operational separation of our tea business is now substantially complete” but he did not offer a timeline for the divestiture.

    He said the company has created “an attractive standalone business with dedicated leadership. We’re very pleased with the progress we’ve made on the complex separation… we’ve filled 3,500 vacancies around the world, we’ve established the sales organizations in our largest markets. We will start to engage externally very shortly to execute on outcome, and this could be through an IPO, through a sale, or partnership,”? said Jope. 

    The company intends to divest a sizeable portion of its tea business including the Tazo, Pukka Herbs and T2 brands.

    – Dan Bolton

    Upcoming Events

    August 2021
    Beijing International Tea Expo, Beijing China
    August 27-30, 2021 | Beijing Exposition Center

    Share this episode with your friends in tea.

    Sign up
    News Archives
    Tea Journey
    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

    Subscribe and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

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