STiR coffee and tea magazine

50 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2019 (December / January 2020) O By Thomas Schmid rganic certification of tea and coffee is principally governed by Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture, which also approves and issues certificates under the "Organic Thailand" label. Since 2017 There also exists a private organiza- tion, ACT Organic Co., which is authorized to issue organic certificates for farms that adhere to the ministerial rules. Certification is a necessity Thailand has greatly bolstered its coffee production in recent years, including dozens of organic coffee brands, but it is not a major exporter. Apart from Doi Chaang and a few others export focused producers most locally grown coffee remains in the country. This is because Thailand has transformed into a large-volume coffee importer. Annual domestic consumption far outstrips domestic production but the situation is markedly different with tea. Well over half of the country's annual tea crop is exported. While organic tea plays a relatively minor role in the domestic market, organic cer- tification is a necessity for export. One of the most prominent (and earliest) organic tea producers in the country is Thai Tea Suwirun Co. Ltd., based in the mountainous far-north province of Chiang Rai. The family-owned business has been growing tea for more than 40 years and cur- rently cultivates 224 hectares of tea gardens that yield an annual maximum of approxi- mately 1,500 tons. But the company additionally also purchases leaves from contract farmers in the wider region. The harvest is processed at the company's own facility into four main product groups: black tea, green tea, oolong, and herbal tea (or rather, tea leaves mixed with a variety of Thai herbs). According to marketing manager Jaruwan Natinwirun, 70% of annual output is marketed under the house brand "Suwirun", which is subdivided into five product series: Original, Tinny, Garden Tea, Sirintra, and Aoki Cha. The remaining 30% is produced for other brand owners. Thailand Tea Organic Mandate Thailand was an early adopter of organic cultivation and has made great strides in producing fine organic teas for export. Tea pickers working in a Thai Tea Suwirun plantation in northern Thailand [Thai Tea Suwirun Co. Ltd.] USDA NOP-certified organic oolong tea as marketed by Thai Tea Suwirun

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