The Global Tea Championship is designed to identify and reward the highest quality teas from around the globe. The competition features a wide range of categories, including:

Award Categories: Tea

Grand prize award for “Overall best tea”

Superior leaf award for “Best leaf appearance” in each tea type

• White
• Green
• Oolong
• Black
• Puerh

Superior liquor award for “Best cup character” in each tea type

• White
• Green
• Oolong
• Black
• Puerh

Premium award for “Best Tea” in each tea type

• White
• Green
•  Steamed
• Pan fired
• Oolong
• Long Oxidised
• Short Oxidised
• Black
•  Orthodox
• CTC
• Puerh
•  Sheng
• Shou

  Honourable mention award for the most Innovative tea

• Origin Awards
• Certificates for the best tea from each producing origin

Award Categories: Matcha

Grand prize award for “Overall best matcha”

Superior leaf award for “Best leaf appearance”

Superior liquor award  for “Best cup character”

Premium award for “Best matcha” in each tea type

• Ceremonial
• Culinary
• Honourable mention award for the most Innovative tea
• Origin awards
• Certificates for the best tea from each producing origin

Winning a Global Tea Championship award offers industry recognition and helps brands establish themselves as leaders in the competitive global tea market.

“As we open submissions for the 2025 World Tea Expo Global Tea Championship, we are reminded of the importance of recognising and celebrating the incredible diversity and quality within the global tea community,” said Tim McLucas, vice president of the hospitality group at Questex. “This competition not only honours excellence in tea production but also brings together a community of passionate professionals dedicated to advancing the tea industry. We look forward to discovering and celebrating the outstanding teas that will set the standard for quality and innovation in the coming year.”

Award winners will be announced at World Tea Expo which takes place March 24-26, 2025 in Las Vegas, NV.

For more information on submission guidelines, categories, and how to enter, click here.

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“We could not be more thrilled to launch a permanent flagship store in one of the most vibrant cities in the world,” says Darren Marshall, CEO of Smith Teamaker. “The reception to our brand in Japan over the years has been incredible, and we are proud to partner with Toyo Beverage as our exclusive distributor in Japan as we bring the full Smith experience to residents and visitors in Tokyo.”

The Portland, Oregon-based company, founded in 2009 by legendary tea entrepreneur Steven Smith, has spent the past several years building momentum in Japan in partnership with Toyo Beverage, through partnerships with Blue Bottle Coffee, Godiva Chocolate, W Hotels and various Michelin-starred restaurants. After being available in Japan for over 10 years, Smith Teamaker began operating pop-up stores with Toyo Beverage in the prestigious Shibuya Scramble Square in 2022, attracting thousands of visitors with its unique blends of black, green, herbal and wellness teas. It quickly became clear that Tokyo was ready for a permanent Smith Teamaker Tasting Room that would serve customers premium quality teas within an experiential space to savour a quiet moment in the bustle of city life.

“I’m proud to bring the legacy of Steven Smith to the Japanese consumer,” says Douglas Schafer, CEO of Toyo Beverage. “Our team is excited to bring the history and unparalleled quality of Smith Teamaker via this first Tokyo Tasting Room to the exacting Japanese consumer, and uphold the vision of Steven Smith to provide exceptional tea experiences.”

The Tasting Room Experience

From day one, Smith Teamaker has emulated a customer experience more like what one might be accustomed to in a winery: an invitation to slow down, savour, and consider the flavours and aromas in their cup, as well as their provenance. The new Tokyo tasting room does just this, presenting the company’s “garden to cup” ethos as a complete sensory experience: the retail shop has the loose leaf tea displayed under hand blown cloches so customers can experience the complex aromas of the tea as they learn about its origins. The knowledgeable staff is on hand to guide customers and plans to host tea workshops in the future. All of Smith Teamaker’s 30+ tea blends are available to taste in the tasting room, and, taken a step further, are used to craft innovative tea lattes, signature tea flights and food pairings. Of note, the golden light and black lavender lattes are crafted using a “tea-spresso” approach, an innovation developed by Smith Teamaker which uses an espresso machine to extract highly concentrated steepings of herbal infusions and black tea as it would coffee. Finally, tea brewing equipment, glassware, and the teas themselves are available for purchase to recreate the full Smith Teamaker experience at home.

Hand Crafted Details

Smith Teamaker is celebrated for its industry-leading commitment to craft, quality and creativity. The brand often finds inspiration for their collections not from the tea industry, but rather from fellow creators in culinary, beverage, and the arts. This care for craft and uncommon sources of inspiration is evident in the new Tokyo store through not only the beverage offerings but the intricate design details as well. Anchoring the nearly 2,000 square foot retail and tasting room spaces are two custom chochin lanterns, handcrafted by Kojima Shoten in Kyoto, which has been making chochin lanterns by hand for over 200 years. The paper used for the lanterns was made by Nao Tesuki Washi Company using Smith Tea as a natural dye, and pressed tea leaves into the washi paper itself. Additionally, the brand partnered with Big Sand Woodworking to handcraft the boards for its tea flights and displays, and a local designer to craft the sensory cloches.

Exclusive Products

In celebration of the Tokyo flagship opening, Smith Teamaker debuted the first tea in its new “City Series,” teas inspired by iconic cities across the world. Titled “Tokyo Twilight,” the blend is a love letter to the liveliness of its namesake city, featuring an uncommon combination of sencha green tea, green rooibos, cracked juniper, tulsi, lavender and lemon peel. Tokyo Twilight is now available at Smith Teamaker’s Tokyo and Portland tasting rooms, as well as online at SmithTea.com.

Smith Teamaker’s new Tokyo store is located on the 4th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square (Shibuya 2-24-12, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo) and is open daily from 10 am to 9 pm.

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Green Tea & Mint has been crafted using hand picked green tea leaves and each leaf is processed to preserve its natural antioxidants and flavour with the addition of real peppermint leaves providing a refreshing cooling sensation.

It is ideal for health-conscious consumers, as green tea is renowned for its numerous health benefits, including improved metabolism, enhanced focus, and overall well-being.

“We are excited to introduce Green Tea & Mint to our loyal customers and tea enthusiasts everywhere,” said Daniel Graham, MD, Birchall Tea. “This new blend embodies our commitment to quality and innovation, offering a unique taste experience that marries the best of traditional green tea with the fresh, invigorating taste of mint.”

Available to buy from birchalltea.co.uk or from Ocado from GBP £4.25

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Producing just over one half of the world’s tea in 2023, China remains the world’s dominant tea producer. Global tea production rose by 3.2 percent over the previous year, from 6.4 to 6.6 million metric tonnes (mmt) and the Middle Kingdom accounted for 50.6 percent, or 3.3 mmt while increasing its production by 5 percent over the previous year. India took second place with 20.7 percent of global production, having increased its yield by 2 percent.

Kenya rounds out the top three producers with 8.6 percent of the world’s annual production. Taken together, these three producers accounted for 80 percent of global production in 2023.

The top four tea-producing countries saw gains in production, including Sri Lanka. Ceylon tea production increased by 1.8 percent after having experienced a tumultuous period of economic struggle and agricultural policies that stymied tea production levels. Argentina, a significant source of black teas for the US market, has seen steady production declines for several years. Argentine tea production decreased by 4.5 percent over 2022 levels. Given historic trends and that the major producers continue to increase their production, overall global tea production levels are expected to continue rising.

All graphs courtesy of FirsdTea

Unlike the other main tea-growing countries, China is primarily a green tea producer: 57.9 percent, or 1.9 mmt of its 2023 production was green tea, followed by 0.49 mmt of black tea. This green tea alone accounts for just under 30 percent of 2023 global tea volume. The remainder of China’s tea is dark (hei) at 13.7 percent, wulong at 10 percent, white at 3 percent, and yellow tea at 0.7 percent. In 2019, black tea surpassed dark tea as the second-largest segment of tea production. Since then, production volumes of the two have remained fairly close. The broader popularity of black tea, along with growing domestic demand for ready-to-drink (RTD) teas and black tea’s relatively high average export price speaks in favour of further gains in black tea production share.

China’s top four tea-producing provinces – Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou – accounted for half of China’s tea production, and they each showed increases in production of between 1 and 5 percent. Double-digit gains in production were exhibited by Hubei, the fifth largest producer with a 10.6 percent gain, and Anhui, the eighth largest producer with a 12.4 percent gain. While Fujian may be the single largest tea-producing province, the greatest share of tea is still grown in the Western Belt (35.3 percent from Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces combined) followed by the Eastern Belt (25.7 percent from Fujian, Anhui, and Zhejiang). The Central Belt (Hubei, Hunan, and Shaanxi provinces) follows close behind with 22.2 percent of production.

Fujian may also be China’s top yielding tea province in terms of tons per hectare, but it is only fifth in terms of growing area. Yunnan province leads the pack with over 0.51 million hectares (mha) of tea fields, followed by Guizhou (0.47 mha), Sichuan (0.40 mha) and Hubei (0.38 mha). Fujian’s advantages lie in its warmer climate and more established production areas.

The Chinese government has encouraged the establishment of tea fields in the more poverty-impacted counties of the Central and Western Belts as a means of promoting rural development and strengthening local incomes. Efforts appear to have made progress, as the central government declared victory in eradicating poverty and now aims towards securing more infrastructure development and economic stability. For tea production, however, training these less-experienced workers continues. Outputs are expected to improve along with the maturity of young tea plants and the advancement of tea workers in the areas.

A notable exception is Guangdong province, which has the second highest yield per ha. The province does produce some well-known teas, like yingde black tea and dan cong wulong, but it is generally better known for its industrial output and commercial trade. Guangdong ranks ninth in overall tea production and thirteenth in hectares planted. It shows little sign of dedicating more land to future tea production.

China’s exports dip slightly

Global tea exports from producing countries declined by about 5 percent over the previous year, with China exports dipping by about 2 percent. China, however, maintained its place as the producing country with the second highest volume of exports. Kenya took the top position, having increased its exports by 14.7 percent over 2022 levels. Kenya accounted for 30.1 percent of global exports from producing countries. China’s 0.37 mmt of exports accounted for 21.2 percent of global exports from producing countries, and 11 percent of China’s annual production.

In terms of volume, 84.2 percent of China’s tea export was green tea and the next highest volume was black tea with 7.9 percent. Green tea exports remained relatively steady compared with 2022 levels, but black tea dropped by 12.6 percent over the previous year. This rise and fall in black export volumes coincided with a few factors. Supply of Ceylon black tea dropped in 2022. When this occurred, Pakistan and other major black tea-importing countries turned to China and others to meet their black tea demands. This surge stands in contrast with what occurred in other parts of the world, where tea imports increased in 2022 as buyers re-stocked after Covid, created supply chain woes, and then decreased their import levels in 2023 as they worked through excess inventory.

Morocco, China’s largest tea-export partner, showed a similar pattern. Most years, Morocco alone takes in about 20 percent of China’s exports, usually around 75,000 metric tonnes. 2020 saw a 9.6 percent decline in Chinese tea imports. The next two years saw import volumes return to usual levels, but 2023 levels declined again by about 16 percent from 75,400 metric tonnes to 59,800 metric tonnes. Ghana, which has been the third largest export destination, increased imports by 44 percent, swapping places with Uzbekistan. Taken together, these three countries import one third of China’s tea exports.

Russia and the United States took in 4 percent and 2.3 percent of China’s exports, respectively. Import volumes were down by 25.1 percent for Russia and 33.7 percent for the US. Overstocking was the main culprit for these declines, particularly for the US. Imports of Chinese teas into the US have been showing signs of rebalancing beginning early in 2024.

A strong outlook

China’s overall tea trends appear positive. Production levels are on track to increase around 4.5 to 5 percent based on average annual increases. Spring 2024 weather in most areas has cooperated, providing a healthy crop thus far. Development in tea producing areas, especially the Western and Central Belts, remains steady. Domestic consumer demand also appears to be on the uptick.

China’s tea industry has been highlighting the need for promoting demand, and recent years have seen an increase in the introduction of bottle teas and other tea-based RTD beverage products. Average export prices can be expected to stay steady between USD $5.50 to $6.00 per kg, although labour and farm inputs (fertiliser, agrochemicals) continue to rise. Export volumes are showing signs of rebounding after last year’s decline. With production and consumption rising, and exports recovering, China is poised to maintain its dominant role in global tea.

• Jason Walker is marketing director of Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Firsd Tea, Walker served in a variety of roles in tea and beverage business capacities. His experience includes business services for small tea companies, a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education and co-founding a coffee business. His insights draw upon his diverse range of experience in sales, operations and management in the tea world. He may be reached at: jason.walker@firsdtea.com.

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The global green tea market is steadily growing these days thanks to maintaining stable consumption and its favourable image as a healthy drink.

Since the end of the pandemic, consumption of green tea has significantly increased with the best dynamics being observed in its major consuming regions, among which are primarily Asian and African nations.

Matthew Barry, insight manager, food and beverage at Euromonitor International said that presently, green tea is the second-most important segment of the global tea market, with most consumption occurring in either East Asia or North Africa. “In both of these areas, green tea has a very strong historical tradition associated with it, and it represents a large portion of overall tea consumption. China by itself is roughly half the global market, followed by Morocco, Indonesia, and Japan,” he explained.

“Outside of those two regions green tea has a presence virtually everywhere, but it is very unusual to see it rise much beyond a fifth of the total tea market. In the rest of the world there is not much of a historical tradition of green tea drinking so it tends to appeal mostly to wellness-oriented minorities of tea drinkers.”

China & Japan: green tea behemoths

China and Japan traditionally have been the largest producers and suppliers of green tea on a global scale. The level of their domestic consumption has declined in recent years but it has been compensated for by the increase in exports overseas.

In the case of China, since the beginning of the 2000s, the country has significantly increased its green tea exports, which are currently valued in the range of USD $1.3 to $1.4 billion annually. According to earlier data from the 2022 China Tea Import and Export Trade Analysis Report, among the major green tea-producing and exporting provinces in China, Zhejiang Province ranks first with an export volume of 147,000 tonnes and a value of $451.22 million, along with Fujian Province and Anhui Province.

As for the domestic market, according to China Tea Circulation Association data, sales of green tea in China in 2022-2023 were equivalent to 1.2-1.3 million tonnes annually, accounting for 58.1 percent of the total sales. In terms of the other teas China produces:

✦ Black tea – 314,800 tonnes, accounting for 14.3 percent;
✦ Dark tea – 313,800 tonnes, accounting for 14.2 percent;
✦ Oolong tea – 200 tonnes, accounting for 10 percent;
✦ White tea – 62,500 tonnes, accounting for 2.8 percent; and
✦ Yellow tea – 12,300 tonnes, accounting for 0.6 percent.

Japan’s green tea sector has also been experiencing a renaissance. Due to the impact of the Japanese food boom and increasing health consciousness, the amount of Japanese tea exports has more than doubled over the past ten years. According to Japanese Ministry of Finance Trade Statistics data, the demand for powdered tea, including matcha, has increased, and exports in 2023 reached a record high of approximately 21.9 billion yen (approximately $132.6 million). The bulk of exports goes to the United States, which accounts for about 34 percent of the total export volume, most of it is matcha, while leaf tea is popular in the European Union and Taiwan. The Ministry reports that organically grown tea accounts for nearly 80 percent of exports to the European Union and United Kingdom, the bulk of which is green tea.

The Ministry also noted that the current popularity of Japanese green tea in the US is also reflected by the fact that many Silicon Valley companies even offer Japanese green tea as a work conditioning drink in their employee welfare programmes.

Traditionally, most Japanese green tea is produced and grown in the Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan’s leading tea-producing area and its Shizuoka City is known as the ‘town of tea’.

The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is creating conditions for a further increase of exports of Japanese green tea internationally. By 2025, the export value of Japanese green tea should reach 31.2 billion yen (about $197 million), compared with about 25 billion yen (about $158.8 million) in 2023. This is part of the existing state strategy to increase the overall export value of Japan’s agricultural products to over 2 trillion yen in 2025 (circa $12.63 billion) and 5 trillion yen (circa $31.57 billion) in 2030.

Consumption grows in Africa

In recent years, the African region has become one of the major consumers of green tea. For example, Morocco, located in Northern Africa, currently ranks as the world’s sixth largest tea consumer. Green tea accounts for the bulk of tea consumed in the country and it is supplied by China, which leads in terms of tea exports to the region, well ahead of its major rivals.

Harvesting in West Java. Image: Barbara Dufrene

Official statistics of the Moroccan Association of Tea and Coffee Producers (AMITC), report that the kingdom alone accounts for nearly 25 percent of the overall volume of global exports of China green tea, including 46 percent of the ‘Gunpowder’ variety and 54 percent of the ‘Chunmee’ variety.

According to AMITC data, with an annual average of 82,000 tonnes, Morocco is considered one of the world’s leading importers of tea, most of is green tea varieties. Per capita consumption of green tea in the country is estimated at 1.85 kilos per year. AMITC plans to launch production of its own green tea brand as efforts to grow tea started in the 1970s in the Larache region of the country.

In general, green tea consumption in the North African region and in countries in the Sahara region such as Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Ivory Coast has significantly increased in recent years, and the growth is ongoing.

Most analysts expect that with the emergence of Northern Africa as one of the world’s major green tea-consuming hubs, the level of competition for its market among global producers will be heightened in years to come.

In addition to China and Japan, the African region is also under the radar of another major regional player — Indonesia.

Indonesia: growing production

In accordance with the Indonesian Tea Statistics Report from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the national tea production in the country varied in the range of 120,000-130,000 tonnes annually during the period of 2022-2023 with the possibility of an increase this year.

In geographical terms, West Java is the largest tea producer in Indonesia with a volume of 66.87 percent of total national production in 2023. Currently, tea is planted on an area of 108.75 hectares in Indonesia with an average productivity of 1.6 tonnes/hectares/year. Most of these areas are green tea. However, according to local experts, the capacity of Indonesia’s green tea processing industry is still limited.

Despite maintaining a high popularity, most analysts do not expect a sharp growth in demand for green tea in Indonesia, over the next several years. Per EM’s Barry, “we are anticipating a slight decline in global green tea consumption [between] 2024 and 2025 of around 1 percent in retail volume terms. That is primarily coming from declining consumption in China and Japan, both of which are very mature markets and facing challenging demographics.”

New green tea markets

In addition to the African nations, a major impetus for a further growth of green tea and its consumption is expected to be provided by India, as well as Turkey and some Arabian nations to a lesser extent.
“The standout in green tea consumption growth is absolutely India, which has been seeing consistent double-digit consumption increases for some time. There is little reason to expect that to slow down.

India is already of course a massive consumer of tea, but health and wellness trends have shifted an increasing number of Indian consumers towards green over the black tea that has historically dominated in India,” Barry explained. “A couple of other big historically black-drinking markets are also seeing similar shifts, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.” He said black tea is not seriously threatened in any of these countries but there is an increasing number of occasions shifting to green.

The green tea segment has always been of interest to global players, many of which have significantly expanded their presence in recent years.

An example is US-based Harney & Sons Teas, which has continued to increase its green tea offerings, most notably introducing additional specialty Japanese teas. Emeric Harney, a spokesperson for the company, said that one of its new green teas is called Wazuka Guricha and comes from the Wazuka Valley, the other Asanoka Sencha from the Miyakazi prefecture.

Harney believes the US will provide some major opportunities for growth in the coming years. “America will continue to grow its green tea consumption in 2024. We still find that our export markets show a tempered interest in green teas.”

The US market will remain a priority for another major player – The Republic of Tea. Kristina Tucker, minister of enlightenment and commerce at The Republic of Tea, said the brand continues to see demand for innovative green tea blends. “Our organic Double Green Matcha in tea bags consistently grows year over year since its launch in 2007. Demand for matcha is growing fast again as well as our green teas with a wellness benefit, such as our organic SuperGreen Brain Boost tea.”
Currently, The Republic of Tea offers over 50 varieties of green tea, and “we plan to continue to innovate new blends for green tea lovers. As our focus is on the American tea drinker, we certainly anticipate continued strong demand for green teas in the USA.”

• Eugene Gerden is an international freelance writer who specialises in covering the global coffee, tea and agricultural industries. He works for several industry titles and may be reached at gerden.eug@gmail.com.

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Sumidagawa Brewing.
Image: Yumi Nakatsugwa

Asahi YOU. US, Ltd has found an innovative way to further the circular economy. The wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Group Japan, Ltd, was established in January 2022 with a focus on sustainable products and activities, not only within the Asahi Group but also in collaboration with municipalities, universities as well as other business entities. Coffee and tea companies are now benefitting from two of its craft beers, Kuramae Black and Sayama Green, which are using coffee and green tea remnants or by-products that are infused into the beer.

Kuramae Black is a coffee-blended stout beer, named Kuramae after the location of Asahi’s initial product partner, Ennoki coffee roastery. The company hopes Kuramae Black will become popular among the local community and be recognised as a special product of the region. As a coffee roaster, Ennoki conducts test roasts before finalising the roasting profile of each coffee bean. They were concerned that there was nothing to do with the remaining test-roasted beans after cupping, other than discard them. Subsequently, Asahi YOU. US developed the idea of making a craft beer using the test-roasted coffee bean.

Kuramae Black launched in July 2021. It is brewed in Sumidagawa Brewing, which had been experimenting with a coffee-flavoured beer for a long time, and it was aware that stout beer could be the best to blend with brewed coffee, as it has some similarities in colour and flavour. “Since we source the test-roasted coffee from Ennoki and another two roasters now, we cannot expect a high level of consistency unlike when we order the specific blend for the product. We closely communicate with those roasters about when and how many beans we need for the next batch so that they can prepare the stock,” said Ichiro Moda, unit leader of Asahi YOU. US. “However, it is inevitable that the taste and flavour of the bean as well as those of Kuramae Black are slightly different each time. We positively see this variability as one of the characteristics of Kuramae Black.”

Sumidagawa Brewing, a microbrewery located on the premises of the Asahi Group’s head office, produces craft beers such as Kuramae Black and Sayama Green. It was originally established in 1995, and now is under the management of Asahi YOU. US. When making Kuramae Black, it brews stout beer and coffee separately, then blends them at about 70 and 30 percent, respectively. The stout beer contains 7-8 percent alcohol, which is reduced to 4.5 percent in Kuramae Black.

Left: Kuramae Black. Right: Sayama Green
Images: Asahi YOU. US, Ltd

Going Green

Sayama Green is beer blended with a green tea infusion, which launched in April 2022. Sayama in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, is one of the most famous tea-producing districts in Japan. When making Sayama Green, they use a by-product of sencha called keba-cha (hairy tea). Keba-cha is the surface of the stem of the tea leaves that comes off during the rolling and drying process and is separated from the sencha in the final cleaning by a sorting machine.

When producing Sayama Green, keba-cha is brewed in room temperature water for three hours in order to extract a clear liquor with sweetness and umami, without much bitterness or astringency. After the infused keba-cha is strained, the liquor is boiled for a few seconds to sanitise it. Finally, the cooled infusion is blended with an Indian Pale Ale (IPA) of 30 to 70 percent, with an alcohol content of 4.5 percent.

Keba-cha is sourced from three young tea producers in Sayama: Okutomien, Yokotaen and Ishidaen. Masahiro Okutomi of Okutomien explained, “When neatly shaped whole leaf sencha is sorted, some by-products are collected separately such as stems, powdery leaf, keba-cha and so on. Those by-products are still drinkable and usable teas. They are refined by firing or roasting, then sold as stem tea, roasted tea, or powdery tea in tea shops. Keba-cha can be added to tea bags after cutting into smaller particles.” He said that it is also helpful to clean up the tea- processing machines before resuming manufacturing, since the hairy keba-cha can absorb tiny dust or odour in the machines. “We are pleased to offer keba-cha as a raw material for Sayama Green, that is a unique and effective way to utilise keba-cha and increase its value.”

Asahi YOU. US supplies its craft beers in barrels for catering services, mainly beer restaurants or pubs in the neighbouring areas. The canned products are also sold in liquor shops or ecommerce sites. The company produced 3,300 litres of Kuramae Black in 2022 and estimates it will produce 4,200 litres in 2023. Asahi YOU brewed 4,050 litres of Sayama Green in 2022 and expects 4,100 in 2023.

• Yumi Nakatsugawa has been working as a freelance writer specialising in food and restaurant management. While freelancing, she developed a love of black tea as well as tea- producing countries and tea people. Her passion for black tea has brought her to Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea to see tea production firsthand. Based in Japan, Yumi may be reached at: ym_n@nifty.com.

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A total of thirty-six Highly Commended and thirteen Gold awards were presented by The Leafies judges, which include preeminent tea leaders from brands such as Fortnum & Mason, The Ritz London, Postcard Teas, Twinings, Lipton and more. A selection of Special Awards were also presented to individuals, estates, or institutions that were effecting positive change within the industry in areas such as education, community empowerment, innovation and environmental stewardship.

This winner of the Fortnum & Mason Best in Show award, and therefore the highest scoring tea of the entire competition, is Yame Tea Kumaen’s Gyokuro Saemidori, an exquisite steamed green tea produced by a tiny tea garden in a remote mountainous region in Fukuoka, Japan. Guests at the ceremony were able to sample this tea, brewed by Kazumi Nakatani who travelled from Japan, amongst twenty-five of the award-winning teas made available to taste.

Zealong Tea Estate were another notable winner of the afternoon, scooping three awards in total for its Aged Oolong, Aromatic Oolong and the UKTA Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising Zealong’s phenomenal efforts pioneering a tea culture in New Zealand and demonstrating a tireless commitment to environmental regeneration through its sustainable farming practice. Zealong CEO Gigi Crawford and International Marketing Manager Sen Kong were present at the ceremony to serve their teas and said “this award acknowledges 25 years of hard work bringing about a tea industry and culture in New Zealand by Zealong Tea Estate, we are deeply honoured and grateful to receive this award.”

The Leafies aims to connect primary tea producers with buyers and hospitality professionals and offer exposure to a global tea-focused market. A selection of winners will once again be selected for sale across Fortnum & Mason’s Rare Tea Counter, where six winning teas from last year are still currently being sold. Ottilie Cunningham, tea buyer for Fortnum & Mason, said, “An enormous thank you and huge congratulations to everyone for another successful year of The Leafies. The organisation that goes into the entire thing is immense and it is really exciting to see how much it has grown since last year’s launch.”

New for this year were categories for retailers who are selling tea online or in store and connecting tea drinkers with carefully selected high-quality teas. Triple award-winning Japanese tea shop, Chaki Co was started by three former tea producers in March this year. Dorothy’s Teas, a former UK Tea Academy student and retailer based in Cumbria, UK, won Gold in the BRITA sponsored White Tea category for her Shannon Estate Silver Needles White Tea.

The full list of winners is available on the UK Tea Academy website here.

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For centuries, coffee was a key ingredient in the Arab World’s hospitality industry and now in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), visitors are driving a new coffee consumption trend that has given the hospitality sector a more commercial meaning.

Serving coffee in the Arab world, including in the UAE, has shifted from being a mere ceremonial act of generosity to a more meticulous latest technology-driven service with coffee consumption now dominated by modern international and regional coffee companies that have now taken over from the “sheikhs and heads of tribes, elderly Bedouin men and women and owners of coffee trading shops” as the region becomes more integrated into the modern global coffee market.

For the UAE, a confederation of seven Emirates in the Arabian Peninsula, positive growth has characterised the coffee market in recent years despite being jolted by the outbreak and subsequent spread of Covid-19 in early 2020. The pandemic did indeed put breaks on exports, imports and rising consumption levels of coffee in the UAE, thus impacting sales of products such as ground coffee, instant coffee, whole bean, coffee pod and capsules.

The UAE’s coffee market growth has been attributed to the expanding urbanisation, higher living standards and fast recovery of the country’s tourism and hospitality industies post Covid-19. There has been an increase in consumption of diverse coffee products such as hot drinks, ready-to-drink and flavoured beverages as well as export and import volumes especially during the post-Covid period according to statistics by UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

FAO estimates the UAE’s coffee consumption per capita across all the seven UAE emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, and Fujairah at 0.890 kg in 2019, albeit a 15.2 percent decline from 2018 figures. However, the negative consumption levels were reversed in 2020 when the annual average rose to 1.5kg for each of the 9.9 million people in the UAE. This though was less than the 5.7kg, 5.2kg, 3.9kg, 3.9kg, 3.1kg and 2.7kg consumed in other Middle East markets of Lebanon, Qatar, Cyprus, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan respectively according to Mohamad Merhi, managing partner and co-founder of Dubai-based specialty coffee roastery Cypher Urban.

On average, UAE coffee consumers could have drunk 14.8 million kilogrammes of coffee in 2020, an amount likely to rise on the back of Emirates’ rising per capita income, increasing tourist arrivals, expansion of the hospitality sector and preference for spending on non-alcoholic beverages across the Middle East.

Dubai offers a business friendly environment

The surge in per capita coffee consumption in the UAE coincides with an increase in coffee retail business, especially in Dubai, as franchise coffee chains and domestic coffee retailers take advantage of the conducive environment to set up coffee outlets.

According to the the UAE’s Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) sector in the Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai, as of March 2022, had licensed 615 companies as coffee traders hence reinforcing the Emirate as a global trading hub for the commodity.

The coffee businesses include manufacturing, wholesale, and retail, import and re-export, as well as the retail of hot coffee in cafés and restaurants, ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee in grocery stores and retail outlets according to the report.

The report showed that the total number of licences issued during 2021 increased by 148 percent compared to 2020, when 69 licences were issued, compared to 171 licenses in 2021. UAE nationals topped the list of investors in the trading of coffee at 31 percent of the total followed by other nationalities such as British, Italian, Turkish, French, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Kuwaiti.

Dubai and Deira areas accounted for the largest share of the companies engaged in coffee trading with with 368 and 243 licences respectively. At least 64 percent of the coffee businesses in Dubai, the report says, are limited liability companies with a fast-growing number of Emirati companies engaging in the coffee trading. Some have even expanded to the global coffee market from the UAE according to the report including opening outlets in several countries via the services provided by Dubai Industries and Exports, an agency of Department of Economy and Tourism.

Elsewhere, the opening of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the UAE’s largest free-trade zone located in the Jumeirah Lake Towers district of Dubai, in 2005 was a turning point for the UAE’s coffee trading as the facility has steadily transformed itself and Dubai into an international commodity trading hub.

“The tea and coffee industries are increasingly turning to DMCC because of its world-class facilities, which include superior logistical and processing support for all stages of the value chain, cutting out intermediaries to deliver increased value for farmers, producers, and consumers alike,” said DMCC in its first half of 2022 report.

In 2021, the 7,500m² temperature controlled DMCC Coffee Centre stored and processed more than 9,000 MT of both green and roasted coffee “from a broad range of producing markets across Central and Southern America, Asia and Africa.” DMCC said it “doubled its membership count, demonstrating the significant progress made by the Coffee Centre as a high-quality logistics and distribution hub.”

And in 2020, Dubai Customs reports show trade in coffee in the first half of the year grew 5 percent to AED 253m (USD $69 million) compared with AED 240m (USD $65 million) in the prior-year period with volumes traded increasing to 14,000 tonnes.

Furthermore, the FAO indicates the UAE imported more coffee than it exported for the three years to 2020 as domestic consumption spiked driven by the growing expat population, tourist numbers and a fast-emerging Western coffee consumption culture. Coffee exports reached 4383.35 tonnes in 2020 up from 2768.94 tonnes in 2018, a 58.3 percent increase according to the UN agency. The UAE imports coffee from origin markets before adding value and re-exporting the commodity to high-consuming markets.

The highest export volumes were between 2018 and 2019 when the UAE sold an additional 1199.85 tonnes more to the international market. However, in what could be an indicator of an increasing coffee consumption trend in the UAE, FAO figures indicate the seven emirates imported more of the commodity for the three years to 2020 when an estimated 6497.08 tonnes of coffee were purchased by the Emirates.

Coffee imports rise steadily

Coffee imports, just like the exports, showed an upward trend from 5246.73 tonnes in 2018 that increased steadily by 23.8 percent at the end of 2020. The highest increase in coffee imports into the UAE was between 2019 and 2020 when an additional 1047.96 tonnes was sourced by both the public and private sector coffee buyers.

Elsewhere, Merhi said the value of coffee imports by the UAE increased steadily between 2018 to 2020 from USD $104 million to $175 million. The Emirates imported USD $111 million worth of coffee in 2019. The UAE coffee imports were equivalent to 9.1 percent, 9.2 percent and 14.3 percent of the total Middle East coffee imports totals for 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively.

However, the effects of Covid on the global coffee trade impacted 2021 coffee imports with the UAE reporting a 13 percent decline in value to USD $145 million down from $175 million in 2020. The drop in imports, does not however, reflect across the Middle East market where the value of coffee imports increased from USD $1.2 billion in 2020 to $1.4 billion in 2021.

Official projections by the UAE government show the Middle East & Africa coffee market will grow at a CAGR of 7.5 percent between 2022 and 2027 while that of the UAE would increase by 8.3 percent for the same period.

Elsewhere, the DMCC Coffee Centre has provided an enabling platform for the international coffee franchises to offer customer-driven coffee products to cater for the diverse global coffee cultures triggered by the increasing number of tourists. The FAO indicated a 58 percent increase in tourist coffee consumption in the UAE between 2016 and 2019. It said that consumption increased from 2424 tonnes in 2016 to 3850 tonnes in 2019. Visitors consumed 3466 tonnes and 3521 tonnes of coffee in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Furthermore, the UAE’s population has been growing steadily, with the country’s labour force coming from more than 200 nationalities. The foreign population in the UAE represents 89 percent of the Emirates total estimated at 9.9 million in 2020. Due to the diverse cultures, the UAE is in the middle of a changing coffee consumption trend that is aligned more to the Western world. This change ultimately influences the UAE’s coffee trade with the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, the UAE’s coffee market and trade received a major boost from hosting the second edition of the World of Coffee Dubai, an event that was organised by integrated event management firm DXB Live in partnership with Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). World of Coffee (WOC) is touted as a suitable platform for international coffee businesses wishing to break into the Middle East’s emerging coffee industry. Both coffee producing and consuming countries exhibited at the event that was held in January.

DXB Live’s senior vice president, Khalid Al Hammadi, said the event, one of the world’s major global coffee industry events in 2023, is a major boost to the UAE’s stature as “a regional and global hub for the coffee industry.” He added that “World of Coffee Dubai 2023 also provided industry representatives with exceptional opportunities to network with their peers.”

Moreover, the UAE’s economic growth is expected to remain robust according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), supported by “a strong rebound in tourism, construction.” With the Emirates’ overall GDP growth projected to reach above 6 percent in 2022 up from 3.8 percent in 2021, the UAE coffee market is likely to growth further as the country intensifies implementation of structural reforms that are providing investment opportunity for both the public and private coffee market players.

The UAE tea market remains strong

The UAE is also emerging as a key trading hub for the global tea market with the country increasing both its exports and re-exports to consuming markets especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

An emerging health-conscious population, especially after the Covid outbreak and a preference for beverages that have immunity-boosting qualities, is driving the growing UAE tea trade with the International Trade Centre estimating the value of the country’s total exports and re-exports in 2020 at USD $316 million and $39 million respectively. Currently, the UAE is the world’s largest re-exporter of tea with a major share in the global market, according to government reports.

The UAE has leveraged on this growing tea trade to set up the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Tea Centre within the Jebel Ali Free Zone where subscribed members have the option to 100 percent own the tea trade operations with little or no personal and corporate tax or restrictions especially in when it comes to capital repatriation. At the Centre, traders have opportunity to package their tea, sourced from various producing countries, for re-export. In 2022, the Centre produced 8,200 tonnes of packaged tea, including 400 million tea bags, the equivalent of 27 percent growth compared to 2021.

More tea trade opportunities are likely to emerge during this year’s Global Dubai Tea Forum, the first one after a five-year hiatus. The event, slated for 25 – 27 April, under the theme ‘Unpacking the Future of Tea: From consumer trends to new market opportunities’, will bring together global tea producers, suppliers, buyers, governments, and other industry stakeholders “to discuss and explore the key consumer trends, market forces, and significant opportunities that will drive tea’s global growth.”

Since its inception, the Tea Centre has transacted around 425,000 metric tonnes of tea from 12 different origins servicing about 50 brands, per the DMCC.

Key tea buyers from Dubai such as India and Sri Lanka have set up shop at the DMCC Tea Centre to enhance access to the market with possibility of expanding to the rest of the Middle East markets where tea re-exportation is popular.

Kenya, India, Sri Lanka are top suppliers of tea to the UAE in 2020 per the ITC. Kenya’s and Sri Lanka’s value of tea exports to the UAE increased in 2020. While India’s declined. Overall, the UAE’s tea re-exports of flavoured and non-flavoured tea declined by 50 percent to USD $39.8 million according to ITC statistics that have been derived from the United Nations Comtrade database aggregates.

Similarly, imports dipped by nearly 8 percent during the same period, a trend observed since 2017. The value of tea imports dropped to USD $187 million in 2021 versus $194 million the previous year.

The ITC reports that Russia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Ukraine are the UAE’s biggest tea re-export markets as the Middle East country rides on its flexible trade norms, favourable taxation policies and strategic geographical location to strengthen its position itself as a global tea-trade hub.

For some of the UAE’s export and re-export markets, the ITC’s statistics shows an interesting trend between 2018 and 2020 such as the emergence of Saudi Arabia as the preferred tea export destination dethroning Russia from among the top five. The value of the UAE’s tea exports to Russia in 2018 was estimated at US $49.71 million, higher than that of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman estimated at $48.52 million, $6.59 million, $3.96 million, and $2.34 million respectively. However, in 2020, Saudi Arabia emerged as the top export destination with tea valued at $86.48 million, more than 1000 percent increase.

Tea exports to Kuwait and Oman in 2020 grew by more than 1000 percent and 800 percent to USD $44 million and $22.56 million, respectively. Conversely, tea imports from the UAE that year by Russia and Iraq declined by 41 percent and 55.89 percent, respectively.

Consumption

Tea remains a popular beverage in the Middle East with market research firm Frost & Sullivan saying demand for tea as a hot beverage “is increasing in the GCC and is strongly backed by product innovations incorporated into the product and marketed in the region.”

The report further notes that increased interest in health and wellness is driving the demand for infused tea in the GCC market. Additionally, Frost & Sullivan find that the post-Covid period has seen an increase in demand for infused herbal tea, especially with ingredients such as peppermint, ashwagandha, ginger, and probiotics. The popularity of the teas is driven largely by the products’ overall functional property-enhancing qualities more specifically those associated with boosting of consumers’ body immunity. The UAE, like in many GCC markets, is experiencing a trend where consumers prefer green tea partly because of they have found new flavours in the product.

With the UAE’s focus on long-term growth for its coffee and tea markets backed by a deliberate move by public and private sector to integrate innovation into these commodities’ supply chains, chances of this Middle East country emerging as one of the top global markets in tea and coffee, are extremely high.

• Shem Oirere is a freelance business journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has spent more than 25 years covering various sectors of Africa’s economy including the region’s agribusiness. He holds BA in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of South Africa and earned a higher degree in journalism from the London School of Journalism and is also a member of the Association of Business Executives (ABE).

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Black tea still leads in terms of global production volume, but green tea has seen a slight but gradual gain in share over the last 10 years. According to the London-based International Tea Committee (ITC), the share of green tea production has increased from about 30 percent to 33 percent. Estimates put the world’s total green tea production at 2.1 million metric tonnes (mmt) in 2021.

China drives green tea production, contributing over 1.8 mmt. This makes the Middle Kingdom the provider of over 85 percent of the world’s green tea. In relation to its own production, however, green tea comprises about 60 percent of its total annual production. Green tea holds the largest share in terms of China’s output, with black tea being the next closest at about 14 percent of annual China production. It is worth noting, however, that China’s classification system for teas distinguishes between green tea and flower tea. Because of this, all forms of jasmine green tea – from specialty jasmine green pearl teas to jasmine green tea fannings – are not counted towards the green tea totals but are designated as flower teas. Depending on interpretation, this can serve to under-report the actual amount of green tea produced.

Japan is the next best-known home of green tea production, contributing about 0.8 mmt of green tea per year. The majority of Japan’s green tea comes in two forms. Sencha accounts for a little over one half, and bancha makes up more than a third. Matcha (tencha) and gyokuro each contribute less than 4 percent of the total volume but their average value in USD per kg is more than double that of sencha.

Other well-known tea-producing countries, including India, Argentina, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Vietnam either do not parse out green tea production from black, or mainly focus on reporting green tea exports.

China leads in exports

As may be expected, China also dominates in green tea exports. China’s 2021 green tea exports totaled 0.31 MMT, or nearly 85 percent of China’s total exports. Value-wise, however, green tea exports represent roughly 60 percent of China’s exports. China’s average annual export rates reached USD $5.55/kg, with green tea averaging $4.44/kg compared to black tea at $10.25/kg. China’s main export partner has remained Morocco for several years now, as the country has relatively high per-capita tea consumption and a longstanding tradition of drinking green tea (eg Moroccan mint tea).

Vietnam appears to be one of the next largest green tea exporters, though nowhere close to China’s volume. In 2021, Vietnam exported 62,000 mt of green tea, or just shy of half of the nation’s total exports. Vietnam’s top tea export destinations include Pakistan, The Republic of China (ROC), and Russia. It is unclear as to the share of green tea exports among these countries, especially when Pakistan and Russia are known for purchasing significantly more black tea than green.

Japan, on the other hand, exported over 6,000 mt of predominantly green tea. As mentioned above, Japan’s production is largely divided between sencha and bancha. About one-third of Japan’s green tea exports went to the US.

Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India each exported between 5,500 and 3,000 mt of green tea. Indonesia’s major tea export partners include Malaysia, Russia, and the US. Sri Lanka’s top export destinations include Iraq, Turkey, and Russia. India’s three largest tea export countries include Russia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

US imports of green tea grows

Of the world’s top three tea-importing countries (Pakistan, Russia, and the US), the US provides the clearest picture of green tea imports. Of Russia’s 135,000 mt of imported tea, at least 85 percent of it is black tea. Similarly, tea imports into the US in 2022 showed about 14 percent, or 16,618 mt was green tea. Of that total, nearly 7,000 mt originated from China. A further dissection of US green tea imports reveals that 1,800 mt was organic green tea, of which about 1,000 mt came from China.

Producing countries consume the most tea

Considering that the world’s top two producing countries (China and India) generally keep about 85 percent of their produced tea within their borders, these countries hold sway over global green tea consumption. China’s domestic sales of green tea reached 1.3 mmt. During that period, China only imported about 4,300 mt of green tea.

India’s green tea volumes also remained available for the domestic market. As with China, at least 85 percent of India’s total tea production volume didn’t leave the country. This proportion held true for green tea as well. About 15 percent of India’s green production was exported, leaving about 85 percent within its borders.

The US also held relatively steady in an 85/15 split of black-to-green tea consumption, with more emphasis placed on iced tea.

In relation to per capita consumption of tea, some of the major countries increased their consumption over the past ten years. Most notably was Morocco, a major green tea consumer, which increased an estimated 15 percent per head. China’s per capita also saw a significant rise from just shy of 1 kg per head to roughly 1.75 kg.

The outlook for green tea is positive

Compared to black tea, green tea consumption still appears modest but with positive signs for the future. The UK has seen declines in black tea consumption, while green tea has remained relatively steady. Green tea in the US also holds promise, as consumers are attracted to the reported health benefits of green tea.

The Japanese tea industry still sees potential for the further expansion of matcha exports, with matcha being viewed by international markets as a more premium and health-forward tea option. The nation has seen decreases in production of leaf tea and increases in powdered teas and teas used for RTD. The Japanese government has established initiatives to upgrade tea farms, modernize tea harvesting and processing, and promote Japanese teas in the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

China’s expansion of new tea fields also indicates a continued trend toward steady production of green teas. China’s internal estimates classify about one third of the nation’s current tea plants as over 30 years old and recommend removing or replacing these less-productive bushes. A gradual phasing out of old fields and the advent of new fields coming online will help keep China on top as a green tea powerhouse.

• Jason Walker is marketing director of Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Firsd Tea, Walker served in a variety of roles in tea and beverage business capacities. His experience includes business services for small tea companies, a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education and co-founding a coffee business. His insights draw upon his diverse range of experience in sales, operations and management in the tea world. He may be reached at: jason.walker@firsdtea.com.

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In the Western world, black tea is still the most consumed tea beverage, particularly by older demographics. However, consumption levels remain substantially below production, resulting in a market where black tea has become highly undervalued. There needs to be significant changes within the industry, including a substantial expansion of the consumer base, to increase the value and create a sustainable market for black tea.

Low prices pose significant challenges to sustainability

“Black tea is hugely undervalued, it is being sold for barely the cost of production, and that is on a good day — it is usually below the cost of production,” said Shabnam Weber, president, Tea and Herbal Association of Canada. “Brands are placing a higher value on their green tea products, even in circumstances where both their black and green tea haven’t been blended with any other products and are in similar packaging.”

Although there has been an elevated interest in other teas and infusions, black tea remains the category sustaining most of the tea industry in the Western world. “When we are talking about wanting fair pricing and sustainability, we cannot get there without black tea,” said Weber. “To obtain these goals, there needs to be more money in the pot so that it can be distributed across the supply chain.”

Image: Vahdam Tea

Peter Goggi, president, Tea Association of the USA, agreed, emphasising that the price of tea is not sustainable, making it increasingly difficult for farmers to survive. “There is way too much tea in the world, and there are only two ways to take care of that: either increase consumption or reduce the amount of tea that is produced,” he said. Reducing production levels will profoundly impact those countries that depend on tea as a primary industry. However, increasing consumption levels is a complex task.

“In the USA, we are still undeveloped in terms of the number of people drinking tea,” said Goggi. “85 percent of people drink tea, but not every other day, so it’s about converting that daily consumption into reality.” When it comes to consumption levels at origin, there is also room for growth. Countries like China and Kenya have little to zero consumption of black tea. South America, which includes several coffee-consuming countries, is another market that black tea could potentially tap into.

Increasing the overall quality and, in turn, the value of black tea is another way to help drive the product’s price up. “The specialty tea arena has demonstrated that consumers are willing to pay for tea, and so, there is no doubt that we need to raise the overall quality of tea being sold and, in turn, charge for it,” said Goggi. One of the side benefits of focusing on quality is that it naturally reduces the quantity of tea produced as the producers will not be plucking as far down the bush.

In the US, black tea remains the most common beverage, with iced being the most popular American preparation method. “Covid helped the overall tea market in the United States; it is valued, practically by millennials, Gen Z and Gen Xers as a destressor,” said Goggi. “People were drinking more tea at home, and this trend seems to be continuing, the growth of hot tea in the United States is happening.” In addition, the wellness trend has helped to accelerate the growth of black tea in the American market, with consumers gravitating towards the beverage for its taste and health properties.

“We are still very much a black tea-drinking nation, and rank in the top five tea consuming countries, per capita,” said Sharon Hall, chief executive of the UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA). “But the percentage of black tea consumption is decreasing, with standard black tea accounting for 50 percent of the category. Seventy-four percent of the UK nation reported drinking some form of black tea during the day, with 40 percent drinking a cup several times a day. The key drivers for black tea in the UK are taste and, for the 18-29 demographic, the desire for a warm beverage. However, an increasing proportion of the population is shifting towards other warm drinks, with 55% reporting drinking green tea and 47 percent drinking herbal infusions. True tea sales value fell by over 6.0 percent to £578 million (2021 vs 2020), however, decaffeinated tea did continue to grow in value (1.3 percent) to almost £68.5 million.

“Over the past few years, particularly across the pandemic, we’ve witnessed increasing interest in products prioritising both planetary and human health. Ethics and the environment are high up on consumers’ agendas, supporting a rise in demand for organic and Fairtrade products,” shared Adele Ward, Clipper Teas marketing director, which is owned by Ecotone, UK. “We are also seeing a significant increase in demand for our Organic Decaffeinated Black Tea, which uses the natural CO2 process for decaffeination.”

Image: TAZO Tea

The need for innovation

Black teas remain a huge part of Vadham India’s overall portfolio because traditional tea consumption has always been dominant in the black tea category across India and other geographies. Vahdam has seen a growth of 5-10 percent in its black tea sales across all channels. “There’s been a change in outlook toward the consumption of tea, a growing prominence of black teas in cafés and QSRs, and a change in leisure drink habits across age groups leaning towards tea,” said Bala Sarda, founder and CEO of Vahdam Tea. “This has resulted in a higher demand for black tea worldwide.”

Continual innovation in the black tea category is critical, shared Sarda, to respond to the changing pattern of consumers actively seeking more from their beverages, whether it’s wellness, flavour, or newer formats, like lattes. “Vahdam’s formulations and format innovations have repositioned black tea as a preferred wellness beverage for the new-age millennials and Gen Z consumers, who are looking for an alternative that is contemporary yet clean, stylish yet sustainable and healthy yet high-fashion,” he said.

Health perceptions are skewed towards green

The continued interest in health and wellness has helped drive the demand for tea; in fact, it remains one of the critical drivers for consuming green tea in the Western world. However, one of the challenges in Canada, shared Weber, is that there remains a disconnect between black tea and its health benefits. “Every time we survey people’s perception of the health of the tea, black tea always ranks at the very bottom,” said Weber. “Canadians are quicker to associate the benefits of flavonoids with herbal teas before black tea. So, there’s a huge disconnect that’s happening, there is no question that green tea has had a head start, but the fact that the herbals are outranking black tea is shocking.”

Although the USA has been good about sharing the tea and health message, more needs to occur to help drive the consumption levels. “We need human studies to demonstrate an improvement of health in the population,” said Goggi. “That is the holy grail to get that structure/function claim; then we could state claims like drinking tea helps you to prevent cancer.”

Image: teapigs

However, these messages may fail to connect with the younger generations.

“Cardiovascular health, metabolic, and bone health, which are all significant benefits that black tea provides. However, I’m not sure that the younger generation is really in that headspace at the moment,” said Hall. “We must find ways to fit black tea into their lifestyle and understand how it will work for them.” Potential messages that could connect with the younger generations suggested Hall, are hydration, specifically as a pre- or post-exercise beverage, and highlighting how black tea can be consumed as an alternative to alcohol.

“As a category, black tea declined by 5.6 percent versus two years ago. Despite this, organic and Fairtrade tea is up by 0.3, in line with positive changes to consumer habits,” said Ward. “We’re confident that tea will remain a staple for years to come, not only for its taste but for its link to taking a break — especially in line with younger consumers who are increasingly prioritising wellness. As a brand, we’re always looking for ways we can bring new younger consumers to the category by offering this, alongside our fun identity.”

This includes increasing focus on black tea promotions through traditional and social media channels to drive demand and increase consumer awareness. “I don’t know if that is because the tea market has become dominated by black tea for decades that we’ve kind of taken it for granted, thinking people will always drink it,” said Weber. “You can’t take it for granted; you must celebrate the goodness of black tea.”

The reality is that black tea is competing with a growing number of beverages, making it increasingly challenging to draw younger demographics towards this beverage, which is in desperate need of a facelift. However, failing to connect with younger demographics places the black tea sector at risk of disappearing. Attracting and maintaining the interest of the younger consumer is essential to both drive demand and enable the market to increase the price (and in turn the value) of black tea. “The positioning of black tea as a culturally important part of our lifestyle is essential to have a sustainable industry; this includes getting millennials to drink black tea so that they encourage the tea-drinking habit in the next generation, alpha,” said Hall. “Otherwise, we’re not going to create a new generation of tea consumers.”

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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Their signature tea, Nine Ladies Dancing, a black teais joined by the Tea Gardens of Scotland’s roasted green tea — the first of its kind to come out of Scotland.

The Bvlgari Hotel and Residences is a luxury boutique hotel in Knightsbridge, London with a distinctive modern burst that oozes glamour and authentic elegance. The Bvlgari Group has hotels worldwide in major cosmopolitan cities and luxury resort destinations with further openings planned over the next few years.

Commenting on the debut at the Bvlgari Hotel, a spokesperson for Tea Gardens of Scotland said, “We have been delighted by the encouraging uptake of our tea and how well it has been received. Our aim was to produce an authentic, high-quality, hand-crafted tea, it is a real joy when years of hard work pays off. To be included on the tea menu at the Bvlgari Hotel is a dream come true for us all.”

Nine Ladies Dancing is a black tea with amber to light gold liquor, a bright clear cup, and light, delicate, sweet caramel, chocolate, dried fruit, and woody notes. Named Frisky Rascal after a rescued red squirrel, this Perthshire grown green tea has been carefully crafted from the combined leaf of just three independent gardens in the county. It is a roasted green tea with pale green/lemon liquor, a vegetal and floral aroma that is light, smooth with toasted nuts and grilled artichoke notes.

Regarding the new Frisky Rascal tea, Ronnie Murray of the Tea Gardens of Scotland, said, ‘We have spent many hours exploring match making combinations to achieve perfect pairings for our green teas. There is no shortage of food pairings to complement and enhance the wonderful flavours.” We are all delighted with ‘Frisky Rascal’ tea, it is different, smooth, vegetal and nutty notes make it stand apart from so many green teas that we love from elsewhere in the World. It has been amazingly well received, way beyond our expectations, we are all thrilled.’

A spokesperson for Canton Tea, which specialises in high end, rare teas, and which has helped the Tea Gardens of Scotland place their tea into high end hotels, in London said, “Canton supplies some of the world’s top hotels and we are delighted to introduce Nine Ladies Dancing and Frisky Rascal to Bvlgari Knightsbridge to be available on their Fine Tea menu with their afternoon teas. At Canton we are in awe of the dedication and craftsmanship of these ladies of Tea Gardens of Scotland. The feedback from our customers has been positive which is great credit to the astonishing achievement of these Scottish tea growers.”

Tea Gardens of Scotland consists of nine female Scottish tea growers who all grow tea in their separate gardens in Perthshire, Fife, Angus, and Kincardineshire. They began planting tea seeds in 2016. For the Nine Ladies Dancing Tea, they all pluck on the same day and combine their leaf to make this black tea. It is pure, 100% Scottish grown tea. Tea Gardens of Scotland has previously sold to Fortnum & Mason, The Royal Penthouse Suite at the Corinthia Hotel and Canton Tea.

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Tea and coffee have been competing for throat-share in the West for many decades and consumption patterns continue to shift. Markets are becoming more global, new generations opt for wider choices, diversification has become key to growth and social and economic sustainability are today an intrinsic part of the list of goals. There is a desire for specialty teas to move towards a more unified platform, but the path to do so is a challenging one.

In the late 1980s, tea was the leading caffeinated hot brew in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Russia, whilst coffee was the king of the morning in North America and the rest of Europe. The multinational brands were dominating with mostly blended black teas in tea bags, and the premium segment comprised the spring leaves harvested from a few world-famous origin areas, located mainly in India and Sri Lanka. When China came back to the market in 1982, with Deng Xiao Ping restoring private ownership and encouraging foreign trade, the market was shaken up with a wealth of new cups arriving in the West, all unknown and unheard of. These countless varieties of specialty teas, coming in different colours and many different shapes and grades generated a keen need for learning more about them to assess these cups and to understand their high prices.

Importing, trading, retailing & brewing premium cups

In the wake of China’s opening access to its ‘ten thousand teas’, the big issues were how to provide product knowledge for the suppliers/retailers on one side and for the consumers on the other side, how to ensure accurate information and how to manage authenticity concerning origin, process, botanical cultivar, and harvesting period etc.

Green teas were the first to puzzle the Western palates, followed by white teas, oolong and puer teas. All these cups were new and exciting with striking leaves to brew them. After generations of tea buyers, tasters and blenders having been trained in-house by the traditional tea majors and family companies the new specialty teas brought along a fully new challenge.

The big question of how and where to find complete and accurate product knowledge became a key issue in the late 1990s, with many operators doing their own sourcing travels to origin to learn about the product on the spot. Several highly renowned companies were founded during this period by passionate tea explorers and tea travellers, such as the French companies Mariage Frères, Palais des Thés, Jardins de Gaïa, and Cha Yuan; the Canadian company Camellia Sinensis; the British Fine Tea Merchants and Postcard Tea; and the Americans Seven Cups and Rishi Tea, to name a few. These well-known and fully acknowledged tea pioneers have paved the way for many more new operators, attracted by the novelty of this fascinating, exotic and high added value niche market.

Education, teaching and training

To profitably market the new cups, the urgent need for education occurred rapidly and was picked up in various forms according to national market patterns. It was in North America that the first nationwide initiatives were taken to provide accurate knowledge about these new specialty teas to the tea professionals. The Tea Association of the USA founded the Specialty Tea Institute (STI) in 2001, and the Tea & Herbal Association of Canada (THAC) launched the Tea Sommelier Certification Programme in 2006. These educational structures, vetted by the two countries’ domestic tea industry, provide fully endorsed curricula, thus ensuring that the tea professionals will acquire in depth knowledge about specialty teas.

Image: Newby Teas

Peter Goggi, president of the Tea Association of the USA, underlined the importance of the statutory tea associations, which can offer nationwide legitimation and endorsement, which is a significant competitive advantage compared to other self-proclaimed tea schools and tea training educators. STI offers certified education, which leads to graduation, giving tea professionals the status of accreditation by the Tea Association of the USA. THAC’s Tea Sommelier Certification Programme applies similar rules and offers a wide range of educational courses with certifying exams, open to tea professionals and to tea lovers.

In Europe, the tea-sourcing pioneers and specialty tea company founders acquired their tea knowledge on the ground, a learning which is not easy to access by many, hence the need to provide teaching and training to all the other tea professionals at home to prevent mis-and dis-information, and to introduce all the new cups in an attractive and fully competent way. With the national Tea Industry Federations being run by the tea majors, there was no interest to invest in specialty tea education in the early times. Therefore, the private sector followed up and the first tea school in Europe was launched by Palais des Thés in Paris, France in 1999, with the teaching open to all, however without any exams, certification or graduation. Since that time most of the French specialty tea companies have launched their own tea training lectures and tasting sessions and many tea drinkers flock there happily, to learn more about these delicious cups.

With the same objective to introduce tea training and tea education for tea professionals and to open the tea drinkers’ minds to the new and enlarged universe of the ten thousand cups (from China), renowned tea pioneer and tea author, Jane Pettigrew, launched the UK Tea Academy in London (UKTA) in 2016. In Italy, the tea expert, Gabriella Lombardi established the ProTea Academy in Milan in 2016, offering tea education and tea training to tea professionals as well as to tea lovers.

There are company tea courses and private tea schools also in Spain, Denmark, Czech Republic, and Poland, etc., all with the aim to allow the customers to learn more about the many fine cups on the market to foster consumption.

It is important to note that very sophisticated training and education is also sometimes made available by origin country operators, which have established their tea houses in the West, such as Thés de Chine in Paris, and others who come from Taiwan, Japan and Korea, where tea is not only a fragrant cup but intimately linked to ancient cultural traditions.

With the desire to share their own professional experience with tea lovers to foster an in-depth knowledge of these fine cups, many valuable tea books have been authored by well-known tea pioneers since the early years of the new millennium, a further useful tool for spreading tea knowledge in Europe and North America.

Exploring new cups from the Far East

In the early years of the new millennium, black tea producers in Darjeeling, Malawi, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka, etc., became so fascinated with China’s silver needles that they launched their own white teas to display their abilities and skills. White teas were arriving from many new origins at that time, always beautiful, whilst not always brewing to expectation. Responding to a need for ‘good order with basic processing steps properly defined,’ an ISO-tea technical report, ISO/TR 12591 White Tea Definitions, was published in December 2013, after several years of discussions, which defined and enshrined terms and definitions for these beautiful teas. Finally, the white tea-frenzy calmed down as production costs were huge for the untraditional white teas, and today, most of them come from China as before.

Spring harvest from Sikkim Temi Tea

With highly proactive promotion by Japanese major Ito En, matcha was introduced to North America over the last few years, and it has created a true craze for premium green tea powder in the USA and is now gradually gaining ground in Europe too. As some producers in Korea and China were keen to join the matcha-boom, there arose again a need for having some agreed basic rules for the sake of ‘good order’, hence the ISO sub-committee on tea convened a Matcha Tea working group in 2018 and a technical report, which lays down basic rules and requirements, published as ISO/TR 21380:2022 Matcha Tea in April 2022.

There is no end to this yet, since one also finds today puer tea made in Malawi and Laos and elsewhere and Oolong tea from India and Indonesia, therefore two new working groups have been organised by ISO-Tea to continue drafting basic definitions and terms to complete the framework of ISO standards for the new tea categories.

The international level

In 2013, Ramaz Chanturiya, CEO of the Russia Tea & Coffee Federation launched the Tea Masters Cup with the focus on promoting specialty teas with the end consumers through highly educated and knowledgeable tea professionals in the Russian tea market. Highly successful domestically, he then introduced this benchmarking scheme on an international level, embedded in a high-profile event, Tea Masters Cup International (TMCI), in 2015. Up to the Covid disruption, there have been four TMCI competitions in Turkey, Korea, China and Vietnam.

In 2015, the first Teas of the World contest was run by AVPA, a not-for-profit agency, based in Paris, France, with the purpose of promoting terroir food products, such as edible oils, coffee, chocolate and tea. The concept targets the promotion of fine teas, submitted by the producing companies at origin, for a quality assessment carried out by professional tea tasters and tea experts, and awarded with medals for commercial purpose, attracting the media, Western retailers and customers. The fifth contest took place in July 2022 and the number of samples submitted has increased hugely since inception.

Premium sencha cups from different cultivars

In 2018, the European Specialty Tea Association (ESTA), was launched in the UK, with the purpose to create a European-wide platform for the promotion of specialty teas. The plan follows the lines of the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), founded in 1998, and unified within SCA in 2017, with a structure of national chapters and accredited tea Certifiers who train, educate and assess.

Outlook for the post-Covid times

With the unending stress generated by the sanitary crisis, tea is becoming the sought-after soothing, relaxing and restoring cup, attracting many new consumers. However, the premium and specialty teas continue to require educated retailers and tea professionals, hence the need to maintain the ongoing efforts for more training, authentic and qualified storytelling and improved competence for brewing practices.

Despite many attempts, there is not yet any fully agreed definition nor an approved set of criteria required for a tea to belong to the category specialty tea, although origin, cultivar, harvesting period, and manufacturing process are most likely to figure somewhere on the list. The market share of specialty teas varies greatly throughout the Western consumer countries, which impacts the degree of consumer awareness and the growth potential. It may well take some more years of training, educating and promoting before reaching comparable market patterns to build a federating platform on European level with the support of the national federations for tea and herbal infusions.

• Barbara Dufrêne is the former Secretary General of the European Tea Committee and editor of La Nouvelle du Thé. She may be reached at: b-dufrêne@orange.fr.

The post The complicated task of categorising ‘specialty’ tea appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

All tea leaves are green on the bush, except for rare purple and white leaf varieties. It is the tea-manufacturing process that divides the made teas into the two main families: the black teas, which are fully oxidised and the green teas that preserve their green colour through a heat shock, which halts further enzymatic development, be it with dry heat through panning/frying or by steaming.

These two different ways of processing are neatly divided out between the Asia-based tea-producing countries, where green tea is the ancestral cup, and the former colonial tea growing areas, where black teas are commercially produced for export to the European consumer markets. The cup profiles are contrasting and completely different, which can make it truly uncomfortable to switch from black tea to green tea, unless there are powerful incentives such as highly favourable health benefit announcements or the expectation of discovering highly attractive new flavours and tastes.

There are many traditional local varieties of green teas in China, the world’s biggest green tea exporter with over 300,000 metric tonnes in 2019; followed by Vietnam with green tea exports around 96,000mt, and Japan around 76,000mt. Japanese green teas are usually made with the steaming process, which makes the leaves needle shaped and the premium quality mainly goes to export. Most green teas are marketed as loose leaf and are rarely blended and the CTC process does not apply to them.

The catechin buzz

When green teas started to tip toe into the European markets, it was under the premises of tea and health research, carefully monitored by Unilever for the start, out of their Tea Research Center in Colworth, England, with its carefully tendered tea bushes, well shielded against Britain’s cold winters.

Green tea from Paris, France-based premium tea purveyor, Palais des Thes. Image: Barbara Dufrene

In these early times, mainstream green tea, mostly gunpowder from China, was introduced with messages that made it a remedy cup against aging, strokes and cardiovascular disease, promoting the antioxidant power of the green tea polyphenols, i.e., the various catechins. Doctors were contacted and informed about the benefits of green tea and many then advised their senior patients to drink green tea instead of coffee. This very rapidly rang alarm bells for the coffee companies and generated an important campaign of funding scientific academic research, with the purpose to underlining the health effects of both cups, by elaborating research on the physiological effects of the tea and coffee polyphenols. These compounds all belong to the same big family of natural plant chemicals, but they have many different names and structures etc.

With green tea on the verge of becoming a medicinal cup, as many swallowed the astringent drink for better health, but without any pleasure, new input was required. At that time the European labelling provisions were drafted and hence ISO methods were being developed to allow the measuring of the various cup’s catechin contents, to attract more consumer interest and foster consumption. However, the finalised EU health claim regulations did not include any such health benefit claims for tea, neither green nor black, considering that the science was not sufficiently sustained, which was a blow to mainstream green teas. A new strategy was the switch to flavoured green teas, blending them with attractive plants, such as mint and lemon, to appeal to new target groups, namely younger consumers who had no previous black tea experience and were keen to discover these easy to brew, flavourful, untraditional novelty cups.

Exotic premium terroir green teas

Following the promotion of green tea as a healthy beverage to attract European tea drinkers was the introduction of premium green teas. First came China’s famous Longjing tea, with its lovely flat pan-fried leaf and nutty buttery flavour notes. Originating from Zhejiang’s beautiful and famous West Lake area, the high yield cultivar Longjing number 43 had been fostered in the heart of China’s Tea Science and Research capital, Hangzhou, with its mythical origin story carefully spinning all over the Western tea drinking world.

Matcha tea at a tea salon in Paris. Image: Barbara Dufrene

The West Lake Longjing green tea became the first tea ever to be awarded an EU Protected Geographical Indication in 2011, followed by the same distinction given to the black teas from India’s 78 Darjeeling Tea Estates. This carefully groomed process has made green teas more conspicuous by giving them status, which attracted growing consumer interest for this elegant, tasty, expensive, and healthy premium origin cup.

It was also clear in the early years of the new millennium that consumers needed to be informed and educated, to better understand and fully appreciate the new green origin teas. Tea schools and tea training institutions sprang up, with the founding of the US Specialty Tea Institute for training the American tea professionals in 2002 and the Ecoledu Thédu Palais de Théin 1999 in Paris, France, for educating clients and consumers, as the pioneers and fore runners.

London-based Jing Tea Baojing Gold green tea. Image: Jing Tea

These developments have paved the way, not only for more premium green teas from China, but also for the premium green teas from the neighbouring producing countries, namely Japan and South Korea, with their different taste profiles, attractive stories and hefty prices. They are all riding on the wave of a recently emerged demand, issued by a target group of well educated, widely travelled and affluent tea lovers who are happy to invest in fine green teas and their brewing accessories for their own pleasure and joyful relaxation.

The new premium green teas 

China’s fine green teas are mostly rather robust and hence easy to brew, with freshly boiled water poured over the leaves, extracting the flavours through several infusions, with a great preference for the early spring picks. These cups offer a rich range of pleasant, sweet, buttery and chestnut/nutty fragrance notes, which are familiar to the Western palates. The leaf is always beautiful, after unfolding with re-hydration.

Various green teas and their resulting cups. Image: Barbara Dufrene

Following in the footsteps of China, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture has launched an intense promotion of Japanese premium teas, which also offer longstanding cultural traditions but have a completely different taste profile and more complex brewing requirements. Attracting a growing fringe of knowledgeable consumers who are keen to explore novelty cups, these generally small volume and expensive premium cups also build on the Zen attitude and the high theanine content of the shade grown harvests, which are made into matcha, gyokuro and some premium sencha.

South Korea has picked up the thread and has also started to promote fine green teas in Europe, originating mainly from the volcanic island of Jeju, south of the peninsula. Most of these highly fragrant cups are rare, precious and expensive, but sought after for moments of relaxing and delight, individually or shared with company who also care and fully appreciate such treasured leaves.

Increased availability and further potential

Good mainstream green teas are available on all supermarket shelves, either as genuine leaf or in tea bags, there is also a wide choice of flavoured green teas provided by multinational brands like Lipton, Tetley’s and Twining’s. The premium operators and the small retailers all carry green teas from prestigious origins in their portfolios. There is a growing focus on Japanese green teas, which are being heavily promoted in France, Germany, Italy and in the UK.

Image: Clipper Tea

Statistics from the International Tea Committee’s 2021 Annual Statistics Bulletin show however, that the import share of green tea varies widely, with 3.6 per cent in the UK, 7 per cent in Ireland and 10.4 per cent in Russia – the three big markets where black tea remains the king of the cups – 12 per cent in the Netherlands,14 per cent in Poland, 24 per cent in Germany, 26 per cent in Italy and 57 per cent in France. Adding up the total tea imports of these eight markets, the overall share of green tea imports amount to 12.6 per cent, compared to 8.5 per cent in 2007, which is a moderate growth for a 17-year period.

Supply is mainly sourced from China, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam, with small volumes of premium teas imported from Japan and Korea. China’s premium green teas are hardly available for export, all gobbled up by the affluent domestic consumers who have even recently paid USD $730 for a 500g pre-Qingming Westlake Longjing lot, as reported by the China Tea Marketing Association in Beijing.

There remains a huge potential for expanding green tea consumption further in Europe with the younger generations, who have no previous black tea-drinking experience and are keen on Eastern traditions such as the Zen-attitude and mindfulness, whilst the light colour and taste of the cup continues to attract health-oriented and more senior tea lovers. The pandemic has also increased the focus on stress reduction, healthy hydration and well-being, which is expected to increase the demand for green cups.

• Barbara Dufrêne is the former Secretary General of the European Tea Committee and editor of La Nouvelle du Thé. She may be reached at: b-dufrêne@orange.fr.

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Producing black teas for European consumers was the remit for the new colonial tea estates, which had sprung up in India, Sri Lanka and East Africa after British settlers had gained access to the botanical material. The big leaf tropical variety, Camellia sinensis var assamica, was discovered by British explorer Robert Bruce in the Burmese/Assam jungle forests in the 1820s.The small leaf high grown variety, Camellia sinensis var sinensis, was smuggled out of China in the 1840s by Scottish botanist Robert Fortune.

Tea cultivation prospered and spread outside of China, with research and technology improving both yield and quality, attracting more investment and fostering the emergence of big brands, based on short supply chains, integrated from the leaf to the cup. Dominated by the British tea trade and the London Tea Auction, which closed in 1998, all these cups were black teas, grown as export-cash crop for the West.

Premium black teas from Darjeeling at a tea shop in France

That situation gradually underwent changes from the late 1970s onwards when China softly tip-toed back into the global tea scene, followed by Japan and South Korea, all displaying their ancient tradition of producing green teas, which were their main domestic hot brewed cups. An important expansion of the cup offering was gradually introduced by these newly arrived stakeholders, who promoted their novelty green teas with the help of significant government budgets. A new era began for European tea consumers, who discovered the green, white, blue-green, and dark teas with their completely new taste profiles, leaf and quality grades, and brewing styles.

Black Tea versus Green Tea

Black tea has been dominating the European tea market since inception, with its easy brewing way of using freshly boiled water, a steeping time of several minutes and one spoon per person plus one spoon for the pot, a straightforward and simple way for achieving a tasty brew. The widely shared adding of milk and sugar made the cups not only reviving and rehydrating, but also providing nutritional value, for breakfast as well as for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon break. Black tea was served in factories, company offices and purchased on-the-go, as an intrinsic part of the daily diet.

During the late 19th century tea was also an important vector for social and family gatherings, like sitting together for afternoon tea, meeting out-of-home in a public tea garden, or inviting friends and celebrities for a tea party. Industrialisation followed by globalisation allowed the big brands to bring black teas to any household in Europe, most conveniently with the introduction of the tea bag, and then with ready-to-drink (RTD) teas, all these cups being black tea.

Single origin Ceylon black tea (from Sri Lanka)

When green teas were introduced to Europe, with a first entry point being Chinese food establishment, they were met with surprise by their pale colour and rather weak taste. When premium qualities became available in retail shops, they quickly generated a need for knowledge and learning, because the green tea cups were different from the established black tea profile.The novelty needed to take root, which takes some time.

It is worthwhile to note, that Europe had not experienced any previous encounter with green teas, contrary to the craze in the United States for Japanese green tea, that had developed after the opening of Japan by the Meiji Emperor in the later 19th century, which had boosted the Japanese tea economy, attracted many American coffee consumers to the green cups, and lasted asa significant fashion and consumption trend from the 1870s until World War I.

Premium teas versus mainstream teas

Black teas, which arrived in Europe from India, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and East Africa, have an established market segmentation. The premium cups are mainly single origin leaf teas from prestigious mountainous areas such as the Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling, India and the central highlands of Sri Lanka; and the upper mainstream teas are leaf tea blends, most often assembled from Sri Lanka/Ceylon, Assam and Kenya teas, according to established taste profiles, like strong breakfast, mild afternoon, good with milk. Finally, the mass market black teas are mainly tea bags with blended CTC (cut/crush, tear, curl) teas, i.e. small particles and dusts, usually containing a mix of various origins.

The premium green teas sourced from the traditional origin markets, which are China, Japan and South Korea, are mostly unblended leaf. To attract consumer awareness, there have been long-lasting promotion operations to introduce such quality green leaf to Europe with claims ranging from terroir origin, dedicated cultivars and artisan processing to health benefits. With China and Japan rivalling for throat share, Korea joining in, consumption is taking root slowly but steadily.

Premium black tea from Saitama, Japan

Concerning the mainstream green tea segment, it is important to note, that the CTC process is not applicable for green teas. Mass market green teas are known as ‘gunpowder’, consisting of more or less tightly rolled leaf, they come mainly from Zhejiang, China’s summer harvests, and are made mainly for North African consumers who blend them with mint and herbs to soften the astringency.

All green teas remain newcomers to the Western markets with their untraditional taste profiles that have no background experience on which to build. The fact that they require more skills for knowledgeable brewing ways as well as additional and different accessories makes them less convenient to prepare, which may be one of the reasons for the continued consumer preference and unchallenged market dominance of the long-established black teas.

Amongst the most popular flavourings for robust black teas are the various citrus fruit, such as bergamot and the world famous ‘Earl Grey’ recipes and the ‘Russian Teas’ with orange and lemon added, which all pair perfectly with black teas and smooth out some astringency. Other highly popular recipes are the spicy teas like Christmas teas and of course, ‘chai’, a spicy milk tea.

Classic and new premium black teas

The reputation of the first flushes from Darjeeling and the spring picks from Ceylon’s highland regions have never lost their longstanding fame and ‘must have’ attraction. The same applies to the famous Chinese black teas, namely the Keemuns from Anhui Province, the Dianhongs from Yunnan Province and, of course, the iconic cup favoured by the British Royal family, Lapsang Souchong from Fujian Province. These incredibly fragrant and iconic terroir teas all rank at the top of the list of the European tea consumers’ most favoured black teas, sought after by many discerning and affluent tea drinkers.

French tea experts Carine Baudry and Lydia Gautier, tea book authors, tea teachers and both deeply involved in the premium tea hospitality segment in France, acknowledge that the revival of special afternoon tea offers, namely by the Palace Hotels, focus on the famous premium origin black teas on their menus. This confirms that these exquisite premium black cups have maintained their position as great favourites of the French tea lovers, also because their familiar and appreciated flavour profiles pair perfectly with sweet dishes, such as the highly elaborate French chef desserts.

Premium black breakfast tea from Korea

In addition to the classic famous black teas, most portfolios now also include an interesting selection of newcomers, fine black teas from untraditional origins, namely from Nepal, from Japan, from South Korea, and from East Africa. Skillfully processed, these fine terroir black teas are mostly single estate products and have attracted attention as award winning cups, after competing in their home markets as well as internationally. They greatly appeal to the consumers who look for novelties, whilst staying within a well-established cup profile.

Continuing to dominate

Investigating statistical details, between 2007 and 2020, green tea imports into the main European markets have grown from 8.5 per cent to 12.6 per cent of the total import tonnage; these figures include the UK, Russia, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, and Italy as per the International Tea Committee’s (ITC) Annual Statistics Bulletin. This shows clearly that black tea continues to fully dominate the European tea market in volume and value. However, green tea is gaining progressively in throat share.

Established senior tea drinkers’ preference for black tea will likely remain, whilst younger generations will be attracted by the proactive communication that continues to focus mainly on green teas. As premium quality becomes pricier–due in part to climate change incidents and the lower yields induced by the requirements for certified organic farming–consumers will have to make choices, and they may consider investigating other tea categories. Revamping the image of genuine black tea to highlight its benefits, provenance and profile, is an option that holds considerable potential.

• Barbara Dufrêne is the former Secretary General of the European Tea Committee and editor of La Nouvelle du Thé. She may be reached at: b-dufrêne@orange.fr.

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Clipper Teas has launched its new Organic and Fairtrade Green Tea & Mint, in a large 80 bag pack, in time for Fairtrade Fortnight (21 February – 6 March).

It also comes following the launch of Clipper’s consumer campaign which encourages tea drinkers across the UK to ‘Make it Better’ and not settle – especially when it comes to tea.

For more information, visit clipper-teas.com.

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Bigelow brings innovation to both Green and Black tea with 100% daily value of healthy antioxidant Vitamin C. Bigelow has included highly sought after ingredients long known for their beneficial properties, like Echinacea and the immensely popular super fruit, Elderberry. Citrus is also a natural way to support a healthy immune system. These two new Vitamin C teas join Bigelow’s I Love Lemon plus Vitamin C Herbal Tea already on grocery store shelves, a classic favourite among tea drinkers and lemon lovers, according to the company. 

The new Bigelow Green Tea with Elderberry Plus Vitamin C features smooth green tea with a slightly tart berry flavour and a smoky finish.

The new Bigelow Lemon Echinacea Black Tea Plus Vitamin C is a robust black tea with tart lemon and earthy Echinacea.

“We’ve seen the demand for products that support a healthy lifestyle expand tremendously over the past few years” says Cindi Bigelow, president and CEO of family-owned Bigelow Tea. “Tea has always been a source of comfort and well-being in the lives of our consumers. Expanding our line of Vitamin C teas recognises our consumers desire to sustain a healthy immune system while embracing that moment of calm in their everyday lives through a delicious cup of our Bigelow plus Vitamin C teas.”

Bigelow Tea offers over 150 varieties of tea, including top sellers like Lemon Ginger plus Probiotics. The new teas are now available for purchase in stores and online on the Bigelow Tea company website (www.bigelowtea.com) and other select online retailers. The average suggested SRP is $3.19.

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The new matcha LOVE ENERGY + line is an innovative green tea and matcha blend with functional ingredients that benefit the body and mind with Soothe, Immunity and Focus. Each variety contains 50mg of natural caffeine for a gentle energy boost and is powered by green tea and matcha’s unique properties. The drinks contain Catechin Antioxidants, Vitamin C and L-Theanine, an amino acid known to provide a state of “calm alertness”, while supporting mental clarity and wakeful relaxation.

“As we see more consumers seeking plant-powered energy products to help navigate their health and wellness during these times” says Rob Smith, vice president of sales. “Our matcha LOVE ENERGY + couldn’t be more timely in helping consumers customise their daily wellness routines. With so many unhealthy energy drinks on the market, we are excited to deliver a clean and natural energy with functional benefits.”

Packaged in a colourful recyclable 8.2fl oz steel can, the three flavours are:

Matcha LOVE ENERGY + Soothe: Japanese Matcha, Honey & Ginger: Soothes the body and mind with a balanced combination of honey, ginger and calming L-Theanine.

Matcha LOVE ENERGY + Immunity: Japanese matcha, Acerola and Yuzu:Maintains defenses with a powerful blend of the superfruit acerola, matcha and vitamin C.

Matcha LOVE ENERGY + Focus: Japanese matcha, Blueberry & Ginseng:Matcha and L-theanine partner with ginseng for an empowering, focused blend.

Made with 100% Japanese matcha and delivering a balanced boost of energy, matcha LOVE ENERGY + takes the stress out of managing a daily wellness routine and helps consumers “stay grounded.”

ITO EN is known for its tea expertise and commitment to sustainable practices to include an award-winning tea leaf recycling programme creating eco-products and tea farming practices. Recognised as one of 50 Companies Changing the World in FORTUNE, the company was awarded the “Sustainability Award” at the North America Tea Conference and “Best Industry Innovation Leader” at the World Tea Expo 2017.

Matcha LOVE ENERGY + will be available in specialty and natural food stores, grocery and supermarkets nationwide. Products will also be available at online retail stores at a SRP of $2.49 per can.

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“Not only are we thrilled to bring back our Golden Latte for winter, but we are also proud to introduce our Golden Tonic,” said Patrick Main, senior beverage R&D manager. “Turmeric and ginger continue to grow in demand, particularly in beverages driven by their reputed functional benefits. These beverages highlight the flavorful and fragrant ingredients for a delicious and invigorating beverage to restore after the holidays.”

Crafted with ‘superfood’ ingredients, including ginger and turmeric, the following Peet’s 2021 winter beverages are handcrafted with restorative spices and ingredients and available across participating Peet’s coffeebars from 6 January to 2 March 2021.

• Golden Tonic (Iced or Hot): Smooth Mighty Leaf Green Tea Tropical, steamed with a touch of earthy turmeric, joins bright yuzu citrus and warming ginger with a touch of honey.
• Golden Latte (Iced or Hot): A touch of turmeric, honey, and warming ginger are steamed with milk before meeting freshly hand-pulled Espresso Forte in the Golden Latte.
• Peetnik Rewards Exclusive – Golden Chai Latte (Iced or Hot): Bold Mighty Leaf Masala Chai, aromatic and sweet with warming spices, and perfectly steamed milk get a boost from golden turmeric. Available exclusively to members of the Peetnik Rewards programme.

For more information, visit: peets.com/winter. Customers can order the winter beverages and warm breakfast offerings online for pickup and delivery at pickup.peets.com.

In addition to the golden beverages, Peet’s single-origin Ethiopian Super Natural is a returning favourite for over 20 years. This dark roast showcases the Hambela region’s most selected coffee and is abundantly fruity and known for its distinctive blueberry notes.

“Presenting a memorable sip in the New Year, our single-origin coffee from Ethiopia is fragrantly fruity, sweet, and full,” said Doug Welsh, roastmaster, Peet’s Coffee. “With a whiff of white flower, a concentrated dose of dried blueberry, and a shot of candied citron, our dark roast brings to life the finest, most select fruit, freshly harvested and sun-dried in Ethiopia.”

Available now through to 2 March 2021, and while supplies last, coffee fans can purchase Ethiopian Super Natural at participating Peet’s coffeebars, as well as at www.peets.com, for $19.95 per pound.

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At the recent World Tea Summit, World Tea Conference & Expo’s virtual event, Peter F. Goggi, president of the Tea of Association of the USA, said that the pandemic enhanced tea consumption. “Tea consumption increased dramatically during Covid because of tea’s health and wellness message, but it also because it provided a feeling of comfort for many consumers.” He suggested that the “comforting aspect of tea should be cultivated during these ‘Covid times.’”

In the US, tea continues to grow in both dollars and volume, led by RTD and specialty tea, and driven by the health and wellness and “naturalness” message. While tea sales may have suffered on the foodservice side, retail sales — both brick ‘n mortar (in-store, curbside pickup) and e-commerce sales have increased during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Green tea consumption trails black tea by 6:1 in the US but green tea consumption continues to grow. “Green tea is seen as ‘good for you’ with consumption being encouraged by registered dietitians/nutritionists, the medical community, the fitness community and the specialty tea community,” said Goggi. [The “good for you” aspect was also mentioned by Roy Upton, president, American Herbal Pharmacopeia, in his presentation on herbal strategies. He said that new research has found that gargling with green tea can help reduce viral and bacterial infections.] However, evidencing consumers’ continually evolving palates, Goggi shared that green tea is beginning to be seen as “good tasting.”

Globally, however, the tea industry still faces multiple challenges. During his presentation, Goggi highlighted three: supply and demand, free and unencumbered trade, and sustainability, which may be the biggest concern for the industry.

“Supply continues to outstrip demand,” he said, adding that “we must drive consumption and reduce supply.”

On the trade side, Goggi explained that “we are constantly fighting for free and unencumbered trade,” but there is a lack of international harmonization, as well as differences in standards and tolerances, and tariff problems.

While the tea industry is becoming more sustainable, challenges remain among all three pillars – environmental/ecological, social and economic – but the biggest threat currently, is economic sustainability. “The producers are not making money. Tea prices have not moved since the 1950s, when taking inflation into account,” said Goggi. “This marginalizes workers at origin and allows for unsustainable economic models, impacting the means for people to maintain the social fabric in their towns and villages.”

He pointed out that while large retailers advertise and speak about sustainability, they do little about allowing the price of the product in their stores to rise, disallowing the opportunity for producers to realize a reasonable margin. “The time has come to put pressure on retailers to ensure that every player in the supply chain receives fair value for the work they do,” urged Goggi.

But, he noted, producers also need to understand and engage the consumer and the ‘changing world.” Specialty tea consumption is growing so producers must leverage their terroirs and continue on a path towards premiumization, thus improving the quality and value of tea.

However, “producers generally want to produce a good product and consumers want to receive good value. These are not conflicting goals. A great model to use is that of specialty tea,” Goggi said. “Producers are improving the quality of their tea, promoting uniqueness through their terroir, and the price/margin [ratio] make this a great business. The challenge is how to adapt this model across the entire tea supply chain.”

On a side note, the 2020 World Tea Awards were announced during the World Tea Summit. I’m proud to report that Tea & Coffee Trade Journal won “Best Tea Publication.” This is an honour and I would like to thank all our tea writers for their amazing story contributions and unyielding enthusiasm. We would not have won without your story ideas, well researched and well written stories, and your passion. Thank you all!

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com
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Founded in 2019 by Ryan Fortwendel, a former executive of e-commerce at Marc Jacobs and passionate volunteer and philanthropist, Minna was created after Fortwendel noticed that popular sparkling water flavours often fell flat. After visiting a local cafe that served hot brewed tea poured over ice and topped with sparkling water, he reportedly had a eureka moment, to make what he would call “lightly brewed sparkling tea” more readily available in the market.

Continuing to build Minna’s reputation as a “better for you” sparkling beverage, Cherry Cacao Green Tea is unsweetened, with no sugars or added sweeteners, using only organic, non-GMO ingredients, and Fair Trade tea. Minna’s newest flavour features green tea that is balanced to ensure smoothness without the tannin aftertaste, as well as notes of cherry and hibiscus on the front and cacao on the back note, giving a chocolate “nod” at the end.

Minna says it is redefining what it means to give back, with a social mission to include everyone (Minna means “everyone” in Japanese). The brand donates 1% of sales to nonprofit organisations that advocate for inclusion. “As we continue to develop the brand and launch new flavours, we are focused on supporting those advocating for equality,” said Fortwendel. Starting with the introduction of this new flavour, all of Minna’s sparkling teas will be produced using only Fair Trade teas.  “In our first year, we constantly analysed our processes of how we could do things better. With a social mission of equality, we need to make sure that we are supporting the source as well. The farmers. We want our consumers to know from start to finish, we are doing our part to be a better beverage brand.”

For the month of June, 1% of all Minna sales will be donated to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “As a gay founded brand, we support the LGBTQIA+ community year-round not just in June, said Fortwendel. “In this moment, we feel it’s important to amplify the voices and stand in solidarity with the Black community during this revolution.”

Cherry Cacao Green Tea is available at drinkminna.com ($28/12pk and $25/12pack with monthly subscriptions), as well as on Amazon. Tropical Green Tea, Citrus Black Tea, and Lime Hibiscus Tea flavours are also available online and at finer retailers throughout New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, and select tri-state Whole Foods Market stores (NE, SE, and Rocky Mountain Whole Foods Market Regions).

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