STiR coffee and tea magazine

20 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2017 (April/May) everyday clothes, but now they have proper uniforms. On their return to the UK, Jenny and Joanne said, "We have witnessed first-hand just how poor the environment and the facilities are. We have therefore decided that all our fundraising efforts this year will be dedicated to assisting the children and the school. We will work with the school and the community to ensure that the funds go to where they are needed most." RWANDA Praise for Tea Industry When Sangwani Hara, chairman of the Malawi Tea Association took a delega- tion of five colleagues on a visit to Rwanda, he was full of praise for the way Rwanda runs its tea industry. He said that his team was "enlightened and learned a lot from the steps that Rwanda's tea industry has made in its evolving years." He praised the agricultural structure, and commented, "Rwanda has a good agriculture performance model that we can learn from to improve our tea sector." Malawi is the second-largest tea producer in Africa (Kenya is the largest) and the visit will enable the Malawians to benefit from experiences of Rwanda's tea farmer co-operatives, ownership, and management of tea factories, policy- making and regulations, gender equality, and farmer empowerment. But George William Kayonga, Rwanda's National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) chief executive officer, said that the visit was also an opportunity for Rwanda to learn from the Malawians on tea industry development. "NAEB will use the interaction and knowledge gained from the visitors to find ways to advance the local tea sector's performance. There- fore, building a strong relationship with the continent's largest tea producers will benefit Rwandan farmers." UK Lotusier Tea Humidor Interior design company Lotusier has introduced the Tea Humidor, a new approach to storing fine teas. Exquisitely designed by Åsa Eriksson-Ahuja, the new tea chests elevate the preservation and presentation of tea. Teas are stored in optimal conditions where the air around the tea is neither too dry nor too humid, to meet new potential buyers. The group gathered at The Institute of Director on Pall Mall and included various speeches from members of the Chinese delegation and from members of the UK tea trade about the business opportunities that exist between China's Fujian province and the UK. The following day tea retailers, bloggers, and other interested members of the tea industry met at Claridges to hear presentations from Huang Yuqi, the vice governor of Fujian province and from the director-general of the agricul- ture department of Fujian province Huang Huakang. Representatives of the producers of Fujian's white tea, green tea, jasmine tea, oolong tea from the Wuyi mountains, and Lapsang Souchong smoked black tea were also present. Several teas were brewed in Gong Fu style and served to the audience and after the formal presentations there was plenty of time for people to mingle and chat. After two days in London, the Chinese delegation left for Spain. PureChimp Matcha As sales of green tea and matcha continue to rise, PureChimp hopes their new retail offering will help put matcha on every- one's shopping list. Matcha is now widely used as an ingredient in everything from ice cream to coconut water and, says Dean Legg, founder of British start up. "There are a number of matcha tea bags available, but these are a long way from genuine matcha tea, which of course is in powder form. Those powder products that are available are unfortunately priced at a premium that is prohibitive for many shoppers wanting to try matcha for the first time. We've worked hard to produce a product that is of the very highest quality, but whose price point and branding we hope will appeal to those new to matcha." While matcha Tea Humidor for storing teas Fujian delegation visits London and protected from light and odors. The humidors consist of a chest made of rare woods and other fine materials that have been sensitively and responsibly sourced, and inside it six hand-blown, air-tight, crystal tea storage jars, each of which contains a two-way humidity system that allows the ability to add or remove humidity. Most teas should be stored at 55-70% relative humidity for the subtleties of flavor to be maintained and this presents a huge challenge in very humid and very dry countries. The humidor allows the regulation of optimal humidity for each of the tea jars and the ability to monitor it using the German- made hygrometers fitted inside the lid of each tea container. Founder and designer Eriksson-Ahu- ja, says "I was inspired to create the Tea Humidor whilst searching for a unique gift for my husband. It is truly exciting after four years of further development to be able to share this invention with others who appreciate tea and beautiful objects." The Humidor is a collectable objet d'art and showcases the skills of numerous expert craftsmen, as displayed in the marquetry of the exterior and the hand-crafted crystal ware inside. It is currently available in five designs, each inspired by a different tea drinking culture: the Cha-Jing, inspired by China; the Saicho, inspired by Japan; the Indus, inspired by the Indian subcontinent; the Andalus, inspired by the Middle East; and the Euro-American deco design. Chests are priced at $8,700 and up. Available direct from Lotusier and stocked by Thomas Goode in Mayfair. Learn more: www.lotusier.com) Chinese Tea Delegation In February a delegation of tea produc- ers from Fujian province visited London to meet existing customers such as Twinings and Fortnum and Mason and

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