Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491377
34 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 2, 2015 (April/May) In the Czech Republic, the demand for green teas has increased and customers of- ten go shopping for tea carrying magazine and newspaper articles in which the names of particular teas are highlighted. The sales team at Oxalis, which has shops all over the country, has noticed that, "In the past, flavored green teas prevailed but now people are discovering pure teas and they think that if they drink teas without flavoring they are healthier. Many articles have been published recently about the health benefits of green tea and people do care about a healthier lifestyle and natural products with health benefits. And a lot of customers ask for matcha." In North America, Eva Lee of Tea Hawaii & Company, in Volcano Hawaii, said, "Interest in green teas tends to come in waves, due in part to news coverage. Many people have the idea that green tea is bitter and when they experience a tea that is really sweet, they become very interested. Many people comment that green is better than black." At Tea Hong in Hong Kong, Leo Kwan has observed that: "The rise of interest in green tea has been quite steady, even before white. My customers are beginning to understand that it's quality that matters. The habit of good tea – consistently drinking a reasonable amount – is what delivers the benefit. The rise of high-end tea following the trend of drinking only for health is logical. Health has converted new drinkers but it has to be the taste that retains them." In Canada and America, the trend towards green teas was particularly noticeable between 2007 and 2009, according to Kevin Gascoyne of Camellia Sinensis in Mon- treal. "Seven or eight years ago, it was all about antioxidants, since many sources cited green teas as the only tea that contained them. Many drinkers discovered a real love for green tea during that time. Some customers buy for the highest antioxidant level or caffeine content, as many of our teas have been tested in the lab and the results are openly available." In Africa too, where black tea has long been both the traditional product in tea fac- tories and the chosen beverage among consumers, tea drinkers have developed a taste for greens. Alexander Kay, who produces a range of specialty green, white, oolong, and black teas at his Satemwa Tea Estate in Malawi, has seen "a rise in interest in steamed green teas amongst both our international customers in the U.S., EU, and Russia, and also with our local and regional customers in Africa." And in Argentina, Victoria Bisogno sells her Charming Blends brand to custom- ers in Latin America and Spain and feels that: "The benefits of drinking green tea are quite prominent in people´s minds right now. There has been a rise in consumption and more green teas are consumed than whites, but I don´t think this is anything new. Attention now is moving to white tea and also to Puerh." Perceptions about white tea Most tea retailers have also noticed increasing sales of white teas over the past few years. 'The rise has been for at least 10 years since some scientific reports said that they have higher levels of polyphenols than green teas," said Kwan. "Antioxidant is the word we hear the most often!" In Argentina Bisogno thinks that people are attracted by informa- Zwirnerei a. d. Wutach GmbH P.O. Box 1163 79778 Stühlingen · Germany Phone +49/ 7744/ 9396-0 Fax +49/ 7744/ 9396-20 info@zwirnerei-wutach.com www.zwirnerei-wutach.com TEA BAG THREAD FOR ALL TYPES OF TEA-PACKING MACHINES Tencha green tea being funnelled into a stone mill that slowly grinds the tea leaves to make very fine Matcha powder Shou Mei white tea with its darker, more oxidized leaves, available from Oxalis in the Czech Republic WHITE TEA White teas are the least manufactured of all teas and processing simply involves careful plucking, drying slowly in the sun, and then indoors, in a warm room. The finest quality white teas are made using just the tightly furled buds that have been picked in the spring. Bud teas are known as 'needle' varieties and the best known is Chinese Yin Zhen Silver Needle made from the silvery buds of the Da Bai (Big White) varietal. Bai Mu Dan White Peony teas are made by picking one bud and one or two leaves in the spring. Shou Mei, like Bai Mu Dan is made using one bud and one or two leaves, but is picked later in the season. Gong Mei is made from the buds and one or two leaves of the smaller-leafed Xiao Bai varietal. Both Shou Mei and Gong Mei are considered poorer grades. Popular White Teas Yin Zhen Silver Needles, Bai Mu Dan White Peony, Nan Mei (Wild Tree White), Yunnan White, Shou Mei, Nep- alese White, Jasmine Silver Needle (China) Darjeeling Avongrove (India).