STiR coffee and tea magazine

Volume 4, Number 3

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18 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 3, 2015 (June/July) Tea Report: Jane Pettigrew INDONESIA Indonesia's pepper intercrop In February the Indonesia Tea Board met in Bandung to discuss growing pepper alongside tea on selected Indonesian tea estates. Attending were Rachmat Badrudin, chair of the Indone- sia Tea Board; W.D.L. Gunaratne, executive director IPC (International Pepper Community); Nur Haryanto, information officer of IPC; Sofiati Mukadi, vice chair, Indonesia Spice Council; and representatives from the Directorate General of Estate Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Spice Research Institute of Indonesia (BALITTRO) and the board of directors of Pt Kabepe Chakra, which operates a number of tea gardens mainly in West Java. This meeting followed discussions in November 2014 when Gunaratne made a presentation at a Spice Seminar organized by the Indonesia Spice Council. Intercropping tea with pepper is already a commercial success in Sri Lanka and India, and has been shown to improve productivity of the land and the crops. Intercropping allows farmers to increase their earnings at a time when tea prices are low but white and black pepper prices are high. The group decided that the tea board would establish demonstration plots at selected tea plantations that are suitable for pepper intercropping. INDIA Ambootia Group grows Ambootia Tea Estate has grown tea organically since 1996 and owner Sanjay Bansal has an inspirational vision for the future of tea in northeast India. At a time when many estates in Darjeeling and Assam are struggling to continue their historic role as producers of fine teas, Ambootia Group is taking over the management of sick gardens in order to convert them to organic-biodynamic production. Bansal's long term plan for sustainable tea production will secure a more settled and successful future for the gardens and for the workers who pluck the tea, care for the plants and process the tea in the factories. Ambootia now owns 17 gardens in Darjeeling and Assam, including Chongtong, Happy Valley, Monteviot, Moondakotee, Mullootar, Nagri, Nurbong, Sepoydhoorah (Chamling), Sivitar, and the most recent acquisition Rangaroon, and expects to own 21 in the very near future. The environmental- ly-friendly, organic, and bio-dynamic farming methods employed prevent soil erosion and rid the soil of chemical residues left by former owners; the use of renewable sources of energy such as hydro-electricity reduces the company's carbon footprint; and creative schemes on all the gardens offer employees a chance to be closely involved in the care of the gardens and the environment while earning better wages and attaining a better standard of living. Learn more: http://ambootia.com/ JAPAN Matcha popcorn Chicago-based snack retailer Garrett Popcorn has launched the world's first matcha-flavored popcorn, Matcha CaramelCrisp in Japan. Garrett Popcorn Shops is a gourmet popcorn brand, established in Chicago in 1949, and has handed down the secret family recipe through three generations. The company has a total of 40 shops around the world – 16 in the US and overseas including Ambootia garder workers Black pepper K L O T H & K Ö H N K E N T E E H A N D E L G M B H K O N S U L - S M I D T - S T R A S S E 8 j SPEICHER 1 - D -282 17 BREMEN FON + 4 9 - 4 2 1 - 3 4 8 5 2 6 4 FAX + 4 9 - 4 2 1 - 3 4 7 7 7 2 0 W W W . K K T E E . D E M A I L @ K K T E E . D E IT SUITS ALL MERCHANTS TO TRADE FAIR AND QUALI-TEA !

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