Tea Report
European Specialty Tea Association and Danish Tea Association to Merge
The Danish Tea Association, which has been promoting specialty tea in Denmark through education and competitions for five years, announced that its board voted to join European Specialty Tea Association (ESTA). Read more
Nepal Announces National Tea Traceability Project
Twenty years ago, Nepal's government turned its attention to tea both to alleviate rural poverty and generate foreign revenue from sustainably produced exports. Read more
White Tea: From Funding, China to Malawi, Vietnam, and India
The demand for teas labeled as “white” is growing fast. Just a decade ago, the market was well defined: pedigree regional Chinese and a very few individual varieties from Sri Lanka and Kenya, with a narrow and distinctive growing, harvesting... Read more
India E-Auction Still in Disarray
Five years after going digital, the tea auctions in India remain in disarray. The Federation of All India Tea Traders (FAITTA) warns that price discovery Read more
Kenya Planters Prevail as Court Permits Mechanization
In February, Kenya's High Court ruled that labor unions cannot prevent tea planters from mechanizing tea harvesting despite the likelihood of lost jobs. Read more
Global Tea Initiative (GTI) Colloquium Spans Tea Culture and Science
Tea scholars publish reams of research that rarely find an audience beyond academic journals and small gatherings at symposiums. Read more
Bought Leaf Hopes: Rising Prices Buoy Factories
Tea is perishable. Smallholders that are not under contract to supply raw leaf to a local plantation regularly must wait in line at local bought-leaf factories hoping to get a reasonable price. Read more
Global Tea Consumption Rose Slightly in 2020
A change in consumer behavior spurred a slight increase in tea consumption globally in 2020, overcoming massive declines in foodservice volume. Read more
Shippers Encounter Perfect Storm
Ninety-five percent of coffee imports in the US and Europe arrive in containers. Nearly the same percentage holds for tea. In a typical year, containers arrive, they are unloaded and returned to port with outbound cargo within 60 days. Read more
Tea Pivots Online
Online sales offer tea retailers a reprieve during the unprecedented upheaval in sales to foodservice venues. Read more
Kenya Reestablishes Tea Board
In early December, Kenya's National Assembly passed the Tea Act of 2020, advancing sweeping reforms in the tea sector. Read more
Consumers Remain Wary of Restaurants
OpenTable data reveals restaurant seatings were down 57% in the third week of November. Yelp notes that independently operated restaurants are most likely to permanently close Read more
T. Kettle Rebrands 45 Former DavidsTea Stores
Canadian turnaround investor Doug Putman has acquired leases and reopened 45 tea retail locations abandoned this summer by Montreal-based DAVIDsTEA, formerly North America’s largest tea chain retailer. Read more
Small Growers Experience Rare Win-Win Due to Tea Scarcity and Surplus
Rising green leaf prices that are squeezing margins at multi-national tea ventures are boosting the profitability of smallholders. Read more
Wollenhaupt Partners with Maruyama Tea
Japan's second-largest tea exporter and Germany's Wollenhaupt Tee announce a large volume, cold-chain distribution hub based in Hamburg. Read more
India Tea Exports In Deep Decline
A scarcity of shipping containers compounds the sharp decline in the tea harvest, making it impossible for India to equal its 2019 export totals Read more
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