• Assessing Human Rights in Tea

    THIRST The International Round Table for Sustainable Tea, is launching a three-year program to analyze the root causes of human rights breaches in the tea industry and come up with an action plan for how to solve them. This will take the form of a Human Rights Impact Assessment of the global tea sector.

    Tea workers
    Tea workers experience a range of working conditions from ideal to difficult to inhumane.

    A Solution-Oriented Approach

    By Aravinda Anantharaman

    A Human Rights Impact Assessment is defined by the Danish Institute for Human Rights as “a process for identifying, understanding, assessing and addressing the adverse effects of a business project or business activities on the human rights enjoyment of impacted rightsholders such as workers and community members.” The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights recommend that businesses inform themselves about human rights in their own operations and in their supply chains.

    THIRST founder Sabita Banerji, who also consults with organizations like Oxfam and Living Wage Foundation, writes that “The term ‘Human Rights Impact Assessment’ makes people think of the negatives of what’s happening in human rights, in the supply chain. I prefer to think of it as a human rights impact analysis.”

    The program sets out to look at the conditions for workers and farmers, the cause of problems, and what can be done to address the problems. Banerji calls it a ‘constructive solution-oriented approach’ which has four focus areas:

    • Create an evidence base across tea-growing regions by consolidating available research and identifying under-documented regions.
    • Conduct in-depth studies where there are gaps and provide a global picture of the interdependencies of tea.
    • Interrogate the tea value chain from producer to consumer, and the context within which it operates, to understand what levers and dynamics within the tea trading system might be driving human rights breaches.
    • Convene roundtable meetings of stakeholders in the tea sector to use that evidence to decide what changes are needed and act on them.
    Sabita Banerji
    Sabita Banerji

    “A drought in Kenya will send prices up in India and vice versa. So how can we look at the whole value chain from the producer to the consumer and everyone in between – the traders, the packers, the branders and the retailers, the auction house. How can we look at how trading is done to understand are the dynamics within that value chain and the distribution of value along the chain to see if these are driving some of these breaches of human rights?”

    The program will look into:

    1. The context within which the tea industry functions: the legislative framework, the international standards, the ILO conventions that different countries have signed up for, new laws like the one that will soon be passed by the EU making it compulsory for companies to do human rights due diligence studies in their supply chains, in addition to consumer trends and the role they are playing in drawing ethics and human rights into the conversation on consumption.
    2. Initiatives, programs, and business models, and how they have worked. THIRST will study both experimental and traditional models to see what can be borrowed, replicated, adapted, and scaled to bring systemic change to the industry.
    3. Ways to bring civil society and the industry to look at human rights challenges together, find solutions together, and then work together to put those solutions into practice.

    Central to the program is the dialogue with producers. Adds Banerji, “I think the pattern so far has been for people who are concerned about human rights, raising these issues as they see them but framing it in quite a hostile way. That puts the producers on defensive mode. And I think in any case, the tea industry’s tea estate model was always set up in a very kind of a defensive way. There isn’t a tradition and a culture of listening really. I believe, and I hope, that this study will be able to look into this more and see if it’s true that the producers are themselves trapped in a system, which makes it difficult for them to respect human rights, actually. I’ve often found, in the other Human Rights Impact Assessments that I’ve done, that very often that the problem is that the farmers are not getting sufficient price for their produce to, to be able to fulfil the human rights requirements of their workers or the small farmers supplying them. I suspect the same will be true in the tea sector.”

    The program is ambitious and not without challenges. As Banerji points out, in the past, when activists, academics, or trade unions have pointed to the problems, producers have been defensive. There is a reluctance to engage in dialogue as much of it begins with criticism of their functioning. THIRST’s challenge will be in achieving the balance between earning the trust of companies and balancing that with grassroots activists. “There is a lot of mistrust on both sides. So it’s going to be tricky getting them to a point where they feel they can at least have a conversation with each other and hear each other’s side of the story and point of view to try to find a way to move forward,” she says.

    The program follows a tried and tested model, which begins with:

    Assessment (year 1) : A desk review of available literature to get an understanding of the structure of the industry and the dynamics of its working.
    Analysis (year 2) : Interview people in the industry, including workers, farmers, trade unionists, civil society, campaigners, company managers and owners to understand their perspectives.
    Action (year 3) : As an independently funded human rights assessment, the program will put out a set of recommendations and convene working groups with the industry and civil society to enable these recommendations into action.

    Says Banerji, “While some recommendations will be specific to specific geographies and may result in a working group for that particular country or region, there will be other recommendations that apply globally. And that’s why this is a Human Rights Impact Assessment of the global tea sector. Because all the elements are so interdependent. I think part of the problem up to now is that the issues have been looked at in some narrow geographical way whereas I believe that the root causes of those problems are systemic. They are industry-wide.”

    The program begins in July 2021, and an Advisory Committee will be formed with a representative range of stakeholders from tea-producing countries and tea buying companies.

    THIRST invites civil society, academics, funders, companies and other tea stakeholders to be part of this study, in the following ways:

    1. Become a civil society partner in the study, helping to steer, shape and deliver it with THIRST and other partners 

    2. Contribute research reports and data, conduct new field research in under-studied areas and/or contribute analysis of the global tea market and trading system, take part in roundtable meetings to discuss findings and resulting actions 

    3.Volunteer to share corporate views and information to ensure that the study is well balanced and presents all views fairly and accurately

    4. Become a funder to enable the study to be as deep and far-reaching as possible 

    Contact THIRST via our website: https://thirst.international/contact/ to find out more.

    Share this post with your colleagues

    Signup to receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    •

    Aravinda Anantharaman

    •

    , , , , , , ,

  • Why Ancient Tea Appeals to Young People

    William Liu is a 20-year-old sophomore at Wake Forest University so inspired by tea that he and his classmates established the World Tea Association on campus and online. The group offers tea discovery and tasting sessions weekly and hosts occasional tea panels with presentations by tea professionals, tea scholars, and tea explorers. The events bring together many who are new to tea, says William, “we aim to redefine the tea experience through an interdisciplinary approach and expose the true leaf to a greater audience.” In this segment he describes why tea appeals to young people and explains his view that tea learning is ongoing. “The tea journey has no destination,” he says, “it involves only intention and lifelong learning.”

    William Liu, a student at Wake Forest University, discusses why tea appeals to young people.
    A joint meeting of the Anthro Club and World Tea Association at Wake Forest University.

    Tea Awakening

    Traveling with his mother to China awakened in William Liu a strong interest in gong fu style preparation of single-origin teas. When the 20-year-old sophomore returned to the Wake Forest University campus he discovered others were also eager to explore tea. Crawford Wheeler, who grew up in London, and Roxie Ray, who grew up in a Persian household, joined him in establishing the World Tea Association, a group that hosts weekly tastings and occasional panel discussions. William hosts a podcast on behalf of the association and continues his education in tea.

    Dan Bolton: Thanks for joining us on the podcast William. Tell us the story about how you first discovered fine tea.

    William: My family on my mom’s side is from Yunnan but my mom only started drinking tea in recent years. I only started drinking tea a year ago. The inspiration was a trip back to China where I was first exposed to gongfu tea. My mom brought me to various tea shops in Chengdu and Yunnan, and it was for me personally a way to connect with my cultural roots. Growing up in Canada as a Chinese Canadian, that wasn’t something that I was really aware of and so I found a greater appreciation and I realized that tea is so much more than a drink. 

    I realized that this type of brewing and single-origin tea isn’t common at all in the West, at least not now.  I really wanted to share with my fellows on campus and that’s what led to the creation of The World Tea Association.

    Dan: What is it about tea that appeals to young people?

    William: A few things really capture the attention of young people, it’s new, it’s very new for a lot of young people and also the nature of tea is that it’s very healthy and the trend with our current generation right now is that we are becoming much more aware of what we are putting into our body. In other words, we’re becoming a lot more health-conscious and we’re seeking mindful practices. Brewing tea is one of those things that provides an experience that teabags are not able to do. Quality tea allows you to really sit down and reflect on life and become more mindful with the tea.

    Our society right now is growing a lot more diverse and globalized. People are seeking different cultures and people are seeking new ways to do things that might be different from what they’re accustomed to and also with COVID, especially with COVID, I’ve seen a lot more young people get into tea because with COVID everyone has been forced to reflect and isolate and pretty much contemplate our life. Tea is the perfect activity to practice mindfulness and to become much more aware of ourselves. 

    Dan: Are they also drinking herbals and tisanes?

    William: A lot of my friends consume a lot more of the tisanes and herbal tea mainly to help them to calm down. I also noticed a lot also drink, for example, chamomile to help sleep at night to get in the mood to level down. These teas usually are a lot more floral, so people like the scent, people like the sweetness of it, and that’s what attracts them.

    Dan: Talk to me about the appeal of bubble tea.

    William: We don’t have a lot of bubble tea shops. I do notice that bubble tea is already really big and a lot of people do gravitate towards bubble tea because it’s accessible, it’s convenient and it’s also very sweet, and so that’s one of the things that probably attracts a lot of people. It’s also a way for them to bond and to connect together similarly to how we have gone through tea as a way to socialize and to, you know, discuss what’s going on in our lives. Tea has that same purpose with a lot of people our age. 

    Dan: What can tea professionals do to bring more young people into the tea community?

    William: I think the best way for tea professionals to bring more young people into the community is essentially just through exposure, reaching out to universities in your local cities and establishing collaborations with various groups and student organizations.

    What I see right now is that a lot of people have not been exposed to it, but once they do become exposed to tea, it’s something that a lot of people become interested in. So I would say tea professionals reach out to the young people that they know, find something to connect. For example I noticed that some local tea shops would host weekly nights playing chess and serving tea. People can come in and they will sit down and while they’re playing chess they would be exposed to the environment in the shop. The tea that they consume will be the tea from the tea shop. 

    The World Tea Association is committed to building community, promoting health and life long learning.

    Bringing People Together Through Tea

    The culture of tea today is present but faint and wrongly perceived. The World Tea Association redefines the tea experience through an interdisciplinary approach to expose the true leaf to a greater audience and community.

    We believe that strong bonds are formed through intentional activities done together such as having tea. Conversations around tea are always insightful and introspective. We hope to create a community where tea is just as much the center as it is not.

    Promoting the health benefits of tea is a core principle. Tea is more than a dose of caffeine. The physical and mental health benefits of consuming tea will always be felt.

    Our vision extends beyond just drinking and sharing. To create a successful community with tea, the learning aspect must be continual and mutual. Advancing our knowledge of the leaf and keeping an open mind is important as it cultivates the quality of humility. Nobody at the World Tea Association knows everything about tea nor does anyone claim they are a “Tea Master.”

    The tea journey has no destination, it involves only intention and lifelong learning.

    William Liu, Founder and President
    Crawford Wheeler, Vice President & Director of Coordination
    Roxie Ray, Director of Marketing & Public Relations
    Tyler Pruitt, Faculty Advisor & Treasurer

    ? World Tea Association

    To Tea Together Logo

    The TO TEA TOGETHER podcast celebrates and promotes artisanal tea culture by engaging in conversations that bring diverse minds together and bridge cross-cultural gaps over a pot of quality tea. TO TEA TOGETHER shares insightful conversations from the next generation of leaders, athletes, artists, entrepreneurs, and scholars while cultivating a new era for the appreciation of artisanal tea culture.

    Share this post with your colleagues.

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Green Treasure Tea
    Never Miss an Episode

    Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts:

    Apple Podcasts
    TuneIn
    Spotify
    Google
    Stitcher
    Sounder
    Amazon
    iHeart
    KUKU FM (India)

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    , , , , , , , , , ,

  • Q|A Aasha Bhandari

    Episode 19

    Nepal’s tea industry reported record sales in 2020. The fabled tea land is growing greater quantities and greater varieties of loose and broken leaf teas thanks to a government-initiated expansion of the industry to high altitude gardens in non-traditional growing areas. Rural agrarian entrepreneurs are redefining offerings for an international market thirsty for the distinct taste of Himalayan grown oolongs, white teas, and premium black whole leaf. In this segment Aravinda Anantharaman introduces Aasha Bhandari, newly named to promote trade at the Himalayan Tea Producers Cooperative, a consortium of all orthodox tea producers established in 2003.

    Aasha Bhandari on the opportunities for Himalayan Tea from Nepal.
    Nepal is expanding tea production into high-altitude regions of the country to produce more Orthodox tea.
    Nepal is expanding tea production into high-altitude regions of the country to produce more Orthodox tea. Photo courtesy HIMCOOP/Aasha Bhandari

    Himalaya Tea Opportunity

    Aasha Bhandari is the International Trade and Promotion Executive at HIMCOOP, in Kathmandu, Nepal. She has taken over from John Taylor who resigned as Marketing Manager. Aasha was with the International Trade Centre working on a sustainable map project when she was invited to take over this role at HIMCOOP. In this segment she talks to us about her plans for HIMCOOP and what she sees as strengths, challenges and opportunities for Nepal’s tea industry.

    Aravinda Anantharaman: You’ve recently taken charge of trade and marketing for HIMCOOP.  What will you be working on in promoting Nepal’s tea industry?

    Aasha Bhandari: We have good quality tea, but we need to focus more on marketing, pricing, and our strategy to promote it in the international market. Nepal has mostly SMEs, farmer-based production and strong factories. We may not be strong in terms of capacity or production but are strong in terms of the quality of tea that we make.

    Related: Nepal Orthodox Tea Gets its Own Trademark

    Aasha: Tea a growing industry and people are more focused on Orthodox tea rather than CTC. Even in Orthodox, there are varieties of tea – Nepal makes oolong, black tea and white tea. I’m seeing many young tea planters who are involved in the industry or who have started in the tea industry.

    They are more focused on putting creativity in tea. One of the factories, a young factory, they are playing with the taste of tea and the processing of tea and that has actually produced a good output. I can see a lot of young people getting involved in focussing on quality.

    Aravinda: What do you see as challenges and opportunities?

    Aasha: I am excited about adding more SMEs. We have 20 to 26 producers at HIMCOOP, but I want to include more SMEs and go to the farmers on their field and convince them that they have potential marketing outside the country and in exports. For example, we have good teas, but the farmers are unaware about the pricing, about the packaging or invoicing even about the Exim Code (required registration for firms importing or exporting goods from Nepal). I am excited to give that information to them and teach them, or at least help them to think about export in near future. My first priority is to give SMEs the same platform that we are giving to our other producers.

    I do feel the pressure that’s on my shoulder to sell the teas. To do better than last year when we had the biggest sale. This year, there is a little difficulty getting the samples to Kathmandu and sending it outside the country. DHL is expensive. Flights are also cancelled. When I started, I felt a little bit worried about not being able to match up the sales of last year or the work we were able to do last year.

    I also feel that being very young, I may have to prove myself and that I can deliver.

    Aravinda: How has it been so far?

    Aasha Bhandari, HIMCOOP Promotions
    Aasha Bhandari cupping

    Aasha: I am in touch with our producers and they are doing well. There are difficulties but they are managing. During the first flush, there were hail stones in some places and a few of our producers were sharing that the hail destroyed their tea bushes, especially the buds. But overall, it’s been good so far. I am hopeful about a good second flush. I’m looking forward the white tea actually, because that has good price and good market value. We have specific buyers, small buyers for white tea, and they’ve been inquiring about the white tea. Producers were not able to make white tea in the first flush because of too much rain.

    Aravinda: What is the framework of the Nepal tea industry?

    Aasha: We are small in geography; we have small gardens and a small production. But if I have to describe the model, how it has been operated, it’s fully based on a small cooperatives, SME models where a few groups of farmers run the factory. The farmers don’t own the factory, the factory is owned by the cooperative of the farmer groups.

    At HIMCOOP, member producers have their own factories and some own their own garden also. A few, 10-20% of the factories, depend on the farmers. Since last three, four years, small factories are also being built by farmers themselves.

    Aravinda: How does HIMCOOP play a role in the larger Nepal industry?

    Aasha: HIMCOOP was officially started in 2003 as a consortium of orthodox tea producers. It was basically established as a joint market marketing platform for the producers. It was established to promote Nepali Orthodox tea in the international market. It works on a cooperative model. We work on samples. Producers send us samples. I taste the tea, characterize its quality and taste, place a price over that and forward to buyer. So that’s how it’s been done. Members send us sample every season, we find buyers and forward the sample to the buyers.

    Related: Nepal Announces Tea Traceability Project

    HIMCOOP has played a very crucial role to promote the Nepal tea industry because we have a lot of buyers through this platform. Even last year, with the COVID situation, we, as an organization, did not stop. In fact, last year saw the highest sales for HIMCOOP in its entire 18-20 years existence.

    Aravinda: What are the factors that have helped create the brand identity of Nepal’s tea?

    Aasha: I think it’s the location and the weather, the bushes are planted at an altitude of around 7,500 feet.

    Second is the innovation. At HIMCOOP, we have different types of factories. Some focus on quality in volumes while there are a few small factories where they love to play with the tea making. I think, including all other factors, it’s the innovation and the creativity. There are a few factories that have been doing really well. Others are focusing on making good quality tea, not taking risks on the creativity and innovation. But there are different markets for all these teas.

    Aravinda: Is HIMCOOP primarily looking at exports or also at the domestic market?

    Aasha: On that point, actually last year we were in dilemma with the lockdown and how long it would last. It was end of March, the starting point of first flush when we faced a lockdown. I asked the producers about the local market and plans to market to them. But luckily, the COVID situation was not that problematic last year and we were able to sell all the teas. I bring up this topic quite frequently. Nepal has a limited domestic market. But it’s mainly CTC that is consumed by people. There are people who love trying different types of tea. I think we’ve not marketed… we lack marketing in domestic markets.

    I’m not saying we should not export but I think we should also be able to hold the domestic market. I was quite surprised to know that a few of, most of our producers have never thought about the local market. The reason is often cost. They sayit’s not cost effective for them because here people would purchase on less price. I don’t agree because I have been to tourist places like Thamel where they are selling White Tea, SF, Oolong, and silver needle tea at double the price they are exporting. Of course the quantity matters. Domestic market might not be able to consume that much of tea, at the moment, but I think we should offer a percent to domestic market.

    Many factories would gift us tea. It was a lot of tea for me alone and I would give it to my friends. They didn’t know that Nepal is producing such good teas. And they’ve been asking me where, which factory. I told them that it’s not for sale and that they have to contact the factory individually if they want to buy it. So there is a gap between the producers and the consumers here in Nepal. From my own personal experience, a lot of people that I’ve given tea as a gift, they want to buy that tea again. There are a few tea shops but either they quote a high price, or it’s tea from Darjeeling, Assam, Sri Lanka. I think we need to focus on the domestic market also.

    Aravinda: Would you say, Nepal tea as a brand has been established?

    Aasha: I would say it’s in the process. We have a long way to go. I think for now, for the factories that we are selling, for the buyers that come to us, it has already been established, not for the whole market. Buyers do recognize Nepal as being very good. They do expect that if it’s from Nepal, it will be good. I want to take HIMCOOP, establish it as a marketing brand in the future.

    Tea withering facility, 2020 was a record year for sales
    Tea withering facility, 2020 was a record year for sales. Photo courtesy HIMCOOP/Aasha Bhandari

    HIMCOOP (Himalayan Tea Producers Cooperative)

    HIMCOOP is a joint marketing consortium of all Orthodox tea producers of Nepal. It was established in 2003 out of the need to link producers of high quality teas to buyers in the international arena. The intent is to jointly market tea by all producers on a common platform, through a one window sale outlet.

    HIMCOOP forwards samples right through out the season to buyers all over the world and also provides any information required on Nepal tea and the Nepal tea industry. HIMCOOP represents estates that offer a variety of white, green, oolong, hand rolled and black whole and broken leaf tea.

    HIMCOOP has respect for nature, people, social responsibility, and a commitment to maintain high standards in encompassing all aspects of cultivation and production of quality tea from Nepal.

    Contact HIMCOOP

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Never Miss an Episode

    Powered by RedCircle

    • Share this post with your colleagues. | Episode 19 | Nepal has good quality tea, but we need to focus more on marketing, pricing, and our strategy to promote “Nepal Tea Quality from the Himalaya” in the international market.

    •

    Aravinda Anantharaman

    •

    , , , , , , , ,

  • Hawaiian Tea Harvest Report

    Eva Lee is a pioneer of modern tea cultivation in Hawaii, establishing with her husband, Chiu Leong, a tea garden and nursery in the Village of Volcano. The farm supplied growers with hearty cultivars first introduced in 2000 by researchers at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Hawaiian tea is grown on many farms producing less than 100 kilos a year. Small amounts of premium tea are exported, but most is purchased by local restaurants and tourists. In this conversation, Lee describes how Hawaii’s “modest but very strong tea industry” adapted during a difficult year.

    Eva Lee describes the 2021 harvest in Hawaii
    Tea Hawaii owners Eva Lee and Chiu Leong

    Uniquely Hawaiian

    Eva Lee and Chiu Leong came to tea with a background in the arts, creating an estate within the temperate rainforest near the summit of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano. The couple are involved daily in every aspect of the farm production including managing a nursery propagating tea, tea processing, conducting tea tours and educational workshops and marketing home grown tea. During the pandemic they added co-packaging and labeling to their set of skills. Lee says that Hawaii has a “significant role in furthering tea culture.” The willingness of the Hawaiian tea community to collaborate with fellow growers, with the support of institutions and researchers has enabled Tea Hawaii & Company to express teas unique to the world, says Lee.

    Dan Bolton: Eva, will you update listeners on this year’s harvest?

    Eva Lee: Our spring season began quite late, the reason is Hawaii has been inundated with a very, very extensive rainy season we’re coming off of about seven plus months of pretty much straight rain resulting in deep, deep saturation. 

    The plants have really responded as spring is now revealed itself. The tea plants throughout the state are expressing themselves considerably more this time of year than they have in the past. Usually we would have begun harvesting in February or March for our first flush spring harvest. Right now we have quite a bit of production of harvests going on.

    Dan: What makes Hawaii-grown tea special?

    Some of the teas are grown in the native forests. We’ve got shade-grown tea up at 4,000-foot elevations and we also have teas that are in full sun, at 900-foot elevations on the East side of the island.

    Our particular garden on the summit of Kilauea Volcano at 4,000-foot elevation is on the windward side of the volcano. A fellow grower on the Leeward side, same elevation, experienced conditions that are quite different. It’s much drier, much more sun. They also had a late spring harvest but here the microclimates, the conditions on the mountain, can be quite considerably different, just moments away.

    One of the reasons why the tea is so special is that this generation of tea growers are first generation tea growers. We haven’t had a history of tea agriculture in this state, everyone that is growing tea is doing a lot of experimenting. They are growing it out of a love of the leaf. 

    Those of us that established ourselves in the areas that are most conducive to tea cultivation have a mulch and forest canopy built over hundreds of years. 

    In Hawaii, we don’t have the same plant diseases and the same problems or challenges that other tea producing countries have because we are isolated in the middle of the Pacific. We also don’t have continents that are close by, so we don’t have fall-out and pollutants. Every season has a kind of excitement. This year was unusually wet. Each season is quite different. It’s very, very exciting now that we’re at that place where growers here can provide the public with a variety of teas. 

    Dan: Will you describe the economics of tea in 2021 and how Hawaiian growers adapted to the sharp decline in the tourist and restaurant business?

    Here in Hawaii we rely a lot on agritourism. Many of the restaurants here in Hawaii closed down due to the pandemic.

    We had to very act quite quickly on decisions as to production. We had to slow gardens down because we were faced with inventory that was not moving because of restaurant closures. 

    Labor costs in Hawaii have always been much more than in other tea producing countries, so decisions that we had to make definitely hurt some labor because we were not able to have as many people work at the gardens at the same time.

    tea withering rig

    We changed some of the harvest techniques and processing and how much time that we would put into or not some of our crafted teas.  So the percentages changed from premium grades to secondary grades.

    Our first thought was maybe they’re not as good, but actuality we were nicely surprised that we were able to produce some very wonderful secondary and third grade teas. Instead of selling direct to restaurants, it would go direct to consumers, for instance in food hubs, so we always did a lot of distribution of our teas direct to consumers, in farmer’s markets, but many of the farmers markets were closed down during that time. 

    So we ended up manufacturing teas that we called “Tea to Go” for people that were here locally to take our tea and be able to steep them very easily. We were moving from bulk loose leaf to individually filter packing our tea and doing it all here in Hawaii. 

    We’ve turned into not only growers, and producers, but also co-packers, and so our co-packing activities are also on location.

    In Hawaii we have a modest but very strong tea industry. and now some of the people that ended up experiencing the teas found that they were more accessible. Well for premium teas, by the kilo, we were talking about $400. 

    We are wholesaling them by so many units but to break it down for you they are wholesaled for $7.00 for that 1 ounce 10 filter package so to the consumer pays $8.25, I believe, is the markup of some of these stores and food hubs are doing.

    So we also have to have discussions with even on some of our premium tea local retailers. So if I sell this to you for $10, you know instead of selling it for $20, think about $18. That’s a formula that seems to work pretty well with some of the retailers.

    We also cut down on some of our costs of packaging. We made our own packaging and so that has helped for this period of time.  We may continue, you know. We share a little information on the inside of each package so people can learn a little bit more about us and I think it gives people the confidence to maybe try the premiums. 

    Tea Hawaii Farm
    Tea Hawaii Farm, Volcano, Hawaii. Photo courtesy Tea Hawaii/Eva Lee

    Collaboration Expands Variety

    Tea Hawaii & Company partners with other Hawaii tea growers to expand their offering of rare, premium Hawaii grown teas.

    Growers include Mike Riley, who produces oolong tea at the Volcano Tea Garden, located at 3,600 feet above sea level in Mauna Loa Estates. His plantings are from cultivars originating in China, Japan, and Taiwan.

    “Johnny’s Garden” owned by John and Kathryn Cross, was established in 1993 in Hakalau on the eastern slopes of Mauna Kea adjoining Kaahakini Stream a perennial spring fed river along the Hamakua coast on the island of Hawaii. It is the oldest of Hawaii’s commercial gardens. John grows Rare Makai Black teas.

    ? Eva Lee

    Tea Hawii
    Shop Tea Hawaii

    Share this post with your colleagues.

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Never Miss an Episode

    Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts:

    Apple
    TuneIn
    Spotify
    Google
    Stitcher
    Sounder
    Amazon
    iHeart

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    , , , , ,

  • Q|A Steve Schwartz

    Tea is a powerful conduit for health and wellness, says Steve Schwartz, founder of Art of Tea in Los Angeles and a graduate of the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico. In this segment, he discusses the challenging role for tea retailers amid the pandemic. Retailers are wise to offer counsel on the comfort and health benefits of tea, educating themselves in both the traditional and science-based properties and then sharing that knowledge with customers.

    A Conduit for Health and Wellness

    By Dan Bolton

    Steve Schwartz, founder of Art of Tea in Los Angeles and a graduate of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, discusses the challenging role for tea retailers amid the pandemic. They are wise to counsel comfort and prevention and the science-based benefits of tea, often to consumers seeking a cure or at least boost their immunity to ward off the virus.

    Steve Schwartz: As soon as COVID hit, we found people wanted to learn more about tea.

    So we created a “Become a Tea Expert” series. It’s on our website and it’s 25 videos all on how to taste, and understand tea at a deeper level. Right now we’re working on content for level 2.

    That’s a responsibility of a tea shop owner, right? If you know that someone coming into the store with typical supermarket teabag experience, retailers can explain tea on a much deeper level, describe that blissful state, that “tea mind”, that elevated consciousness. I think that is the ultimate responsibility of a tea shop owner, when they know that you can reach those levels and to be able to pass it on.

    If we can explain some of the biological, the biofeedback effects with tea and help unlock that journey for them that’s a beautiful process.

    Our mission is to create a delicious experience and we want to impact as many lives as we can through tea. We believe that tea is a powerful conduit for health and wellness and also for internal connection and connection with loved ones.

    Dan Bolton: Long before you founded Art of Tea in 2004, you traveled widely to see firsthand how herbs are grown and processed. You then spent a few years experimenting, blending botanicals in your living room. Today as a master blender you are known for utilizing a diverse range of inclusions. You latest blend is a Chaga Chai Mushroom Tea. The chai is a fusion of organic Assam tea that is hand blended together with ashwagandha, Chaga mushroom, and fragrant spices. It is featured in your wellness collection. You mentioned blending goji and Chaga seven years ago and then abandoning the experiment after concluding “no one is going to drink mushroom tea.“

    Chaga Chai

    So I’m not a huge mushroom expert. Ayurveda tends to see mushrooms as tamasic, meaning it’s sort of low energy, but if you look at it from the root level, there are certain parts of the mushroom, when combined with other spices and botanicals they can unlock deep immune boosting properties, Chaga being one of them.

    We created a beautiful Chaga Chai with cardamom, a good lung opener, and cinnamon, good blood cleanser, and chaga, a wonderful thyroid-stimulating and mood boosting botanical.

    Dan: Consumers tell market researchers that tea was immensely helpful during lockdowns, calming and comforting amid the stress of home schooling and work. In the US, packaged tea sales were up more than 12% during 2020 and online sales reached new highs. There were big gains in sales of botanicals.

    Steve: There’s a story where the master said to his student, go within a one-mile radius and find a single botanical that doesn’t have medicinal properties. The student very confidently says OK, I’m up for the task but comes back 24 hours later, sobbing. “Master I failed. I couldn’t find a single botanical that doesn’t have medicinal properties,” he said. The master replied “no, in fact, you’ve passed. Every botanical has medicinal properties.”

    When it comes to blending, sourcing, I want to know where the botanicals come from, know where the leaves, the fruits, the roots come from, how they’re grown, how they started.

    I really want to understand the soil conditions, even the environmental impact on the community and the people around it and how that is helping to create better, better quality products. If it’s not something that I want to give to my children my community, then it’s not something that we want to be able to showcase in this world.

    Dan: Tea consumption has declined in foodservice, making business more difficult for importers and wholesalers like the Art of Tea.

    Steve: There’s a lot of pain and a lot of suffering, that unfortunately could take one or two years until we fully get through this. I think that there’s hidden blessings in all this, I, I think that the future is incredibly bright.

    We saw hotels and other hospitality venues being successful and so we asked them for permission. We asked, could we share best practices to some other properties? We ended up becoming a conduit for improvement in best practices. It changed that sales process to much more of a consultative relationship, with much more handholding, a “we’re all in this together process.”

    I think the hotels and the restaurants and cafes that we work with really benefited from that.

    I’m not a doctor, I’m not here to make any medical claims, but one of my observations is that if we believe that the universe has produced us for a short window in time to be able to live out our fullest potential as part of a longer story, right? Then we have to show up fully and intentionally with the best life, the best care, and the best responsibility that we can for our family, ourselves, for our community, for our world.

    It really does start with a daily simple ritual, just leaves in water. What that can do in terms of the health effects ? you can compound that powerful effect day by day.

    It’s incredible.

    The Art of Tea Academy

    The Art of Tea Academy

    At Art of Tea, we are passionate about sharing our knowledge and understanding of the depths of the drink that has been enjoyed for centuries. Art of Tea Academy is here to help educate you on tea types, tea recipes, and how to make the perfect cup of tea (hot or iced!) The biggest investment you have to make to become a tea expert is your time. 

    Art of Tea Academy has more than 25 modules of in-depth content and videos about the history of tea, the how-tos of tea, and so much more. We are so excited to offer this as a way to connect with our communiTEA.

    Our mission is to create a delicious experience and to impact as many lives as we can through tea. Thank you for being a loyal Art of Tea customer. We couldn’t do what we do without your amazing support.

    ? Steve Schwartz

    Join Art of Tea Academy

    Share this post with your colleagues (copy from post block at right)

    Signup and receive Tea Biz weekly in your inbox.

    Never Miss an Episode

    Subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts:

    Apple
    TuneIn
    Spotify
    Google
    Stitcher
    Sounder
    Amazon
    iHeart

    •

    Dan Bolton

    •

    , , , , ,
Verified by MonsterInsights