Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/581281
18 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 5, 2015 (October/November) Tea Report: Jane Pettigrew BANGLADESH Expansion in Panchagarh Panchagarh in the north of Bangladesh, has been growing tea since 2000 when cultivation was launched by the then Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. Produc- tion in this new tea region has been steadily increasing, boosting earnings for local farmers. The Bangladesh Tea Board said recently that development of the tea sector in the region has created employ- ment for more than 12,000 people, including 8,500 women who have been lifted out of extreme poverty by earning better wages as tea pluckers. Other benefits, such as three meals a day, sanitation, safe drinking water, and health care are further improving lives. Since 2005, production has increased about 100,000 kg per year. In 2014 the region produced 1.421 million kg of quality tea, and is expected to surpass that in 2015. Some 3,500 acres are now planted and six large companies, including Kazi and Kazi, whose tea sells internationally under the Teatulia brand, Tentulia Tea Company, Kartoa Tea Associate Ltd, Green Care Agro Limited, Green Energy Tea Factory, and North Bengal Tea Factory all grow tea in the area. There are hopes for further expansion of the industry in this and neighboring regions in the future. DENMARK ETP's First Danish Member A.C. Perchs, Copenhagen tea dealers, has become the first Danish company to join the Ethical Tea Partnership. The company dates back to the 18th century when Jenz Bay Perch opened a retail store in Christianhavn, a very old district in Copenhagen. In 1835, his son Niels Brock Perch founded the company's teashop and the store stayed in the family until 1894 when it was taken over by the Hincheldey family who still own it today. A.C. Perchs imports from all over the world with well-established supply chain relationships. Now that it has joined ETP, staff will work with producers to ensure they meet interna- tional social and environmental stan- dards. Sarah Roberts, executive director of ETP, said, "The story behind A.C. Perchs is fascinating and very romantic. I'm pleased to welcome them to ETP and hope this prompts other tea companies from Scandinavia and other parts of Europe to join our expanding membership base. With each new member, we cover more producers and can scale up our efforts to ensure we're moving towards our vision of a thriving tea industry that is socially just and environmentally sustainable." Christian Hincheldey, owner of A.C. Perchs says that the company "acknowledges the importance of ETP's work. Only through mutual respect for the world we live in and live off, can we create a sustainable tea industry. 100% sustainability as a goal can only be reached if we all come together, and the ETP creates the platform for this journey. We look forward to taking part in this process." Learn more: www. perchs.dk FRANCE Kusmi & Jean Paul Gaultier Kusmi Tea has partnered with fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier to create two new tin designs for its two oldest tea flavors - Anastasia and Prince Vladimir. Kusmi was one of Gaultier's sponsors at his retrospective show at the Grand Palais in Paris earlier this year and Gaultier chose his signature nautical stripes and rose tattoos to create the eye-catching new tea tins for the two A.C. Perchs, Copenhagen Jean Paul Gaultier design