STiR coffee and tea magazine

16 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 3, 2022 (June / July) Hand-Rolled Shizuoka Tea Brings Record Price The inaugural 2022 auction at the Shizuoka Japan Tea Market set a record for hand-rolled green tea at $15,500 per kilo. In April, a kilo of hand-rolled Saemidori green tea from Shizuoka, Japan, brought a record JPY1.96 million at auction. The sum, about $15,466, was nearly double the previous record of JPY1.08 million yen ($8,500) set in 2021, according to the Kyodo News. The first lot was listed at JPY888,000 above the previous record to open bidding and guarantee a record sale. The tea was grown by the recently established Fuji-Izu Japan Agricul- tural Cooperatives, a merger of eight tea cooperatives in Fujinomiya in the eastern part of the prefecture. Principles at the coop chose the numerical sequence 888 for good luck as it Rwanda smallholders supply Mulindi tea factory. Rwanda Smallholders Gifted Country's Largest Tea Factory Two UK foundations financed the training of thousands of Rwandan farmers and paid $3.1 million in bonuses to achieve productivity goals. Last year the factory generated $9 million on sales of 4 million kilos of CTC (cut, tear, curl) tea. As Rwanda privatized its tea sector a decade ago, philanthro- pist Sir Ian Wood seized a rare opportunity to acquire the country's largest tea estate. The Mulindi factory and estate contracted with 5,000 smallholders to supply 60 metric tons of green leaf daily, but the operation was unprofitable. Wood, an oil tycoon and chair of the Wood Foundation in Scotland teamed up with Lord David Sainsbury's Gatsby Charitable Foundation to finance the acquisition. The foundations immediately awarded 45% of shares to smallholders in several tea cooperatives. The foundation next established East African Tea Invest- ments to create a plan to gift the remaining 55% shares once the operation became financially stable. Over the years, $15 million was spent on factory improvements, field training for growers, and a marketing opportunity to supply Sainsbury's foundation as well as skill building in sound accounting and corporate governance practices. The venture invested $3.1 million in bonuses to achieve productivity goals. Over the decade household earnings improved for growers, and production increased to 130 metric tons daily capacity at the factory. The management team is now proud to call Mulindi their own. Last year the factory generated $9 million on sales of 4 million kilos of CTC (cut, tear, curl) tea. The inaugural 2022 auction at the Shizuoka Japan Tea Market set a record for hand-rolled green tea at $15,500 per kilo. "It's been a matter of great pride and satisfaction for Lord [David] Sainsbury and me to work with the tea farmers at Mulindi," said Wood at a March ceremony in Gicumbi, after meeting Rwanda President Paul Kagame. "It was difficult, to begin with, but the farmers' performance and income have greatly improved with the investments and significant training programs." He wrote that the handover is "a milestone in smallholder farmer empowerment in Rwanda." The country's 60,000 small-scale farmers contribute three-quarters of Rwanda's $93 million annual turnover in tea. The factory processes 60-80 metric tons of green leaf daily, averaging 1,500 metric tons per month. The average annual gross income of farmers has almost doubled to $2,880 per year. Wood and his immediate family established the Wood Foundation in 2007 to address economic and societal inequity. Sainsbury established the Gatsby Charitable Foundation in 1967. It has worked in Africa since 1985. represents the farms and 88 nights (the number of nights after risshun, that marks the traditional start of tea plucking in Japan). The buyer was Fujinomiya Fjujisan Seicha Co. A spokesperson for the cooperative said this year's cool spring weather was ideal for the Samidori cultivar. "These leaves grew under favorable weather conditions; they look and taste better than last year's tea," he said. Fujinomiya representative Takashi Doi said, "The fragrance is strong, and the color and shape are good." The Saemidori Cultivar originated in the Kyushu region in southern Japan. It is a cross between Asatsuyu and Yabukita 1 first bred in 1969 and registered in 1990. It is an early budding tea, susceptible to frost, that produces a bright, clear green liquor. Saemidori translates into English as "clear green." The tea has a higher concentration of amino acids than the more commonly planted Yabukita 2 cultivar. It is used to make sencha, fukamushicha, and gyokuro. Trading volume at the inaugural 2022 Shizuoka Japan Tea Market auction was moderate at 1,732 kilos; about half as much tea was sold compared to last year. Bids average JPY5,027 yen per kilo (about $40 per kilo in US dollars). The highest price paid for a machine-finished tea at auction is JPY88,888 per kilo. Japan is experiencing a good spring harvest as cooler weather improves quality. Late April is the peak of the season for hand-rolled green teas. Teas from Kagoshima and some Okinawa teas were also auctioned at good prices. 1 https://www.myjapanesegreentea.com/the-saemidori-tea-cultivar 2 https://www.myjapanesegreentea.com/yabukita Tea Report

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