STiR coffee and tea magazine

16 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2017 (August / September) Tea Report: Dan Bolton CHINA Selenium-rich Tea Ankang City, located within the southern area of Shaanxi Province, China, has one of the highest levels of ground-based selenium in the world. As such, tea crops grown in this area become enriched with selenium, and this naturally includes the local tea offerings. Popularity and interest in the tea has soared in recent times as its selenium- rich nature has been confirmed. Selenium is an essential trace mineral for good health, assisting in providing a healthy immune system and optimal cognitive function. It is also seen to be beneficial for both male and female fertility. It is not naturally produced by the plants it is found in,and is instead taken up into the plant's system through the soil. Therefore selenium-rich soils like those found in Ankang are important agricultural resources, and the tea grown in them may be able to play a richer role in our inner health and wellbeing. The teas have a natural sweetness and both black and green teas are produced. [SJ] Queueing for Whipped Milk Tea An interesting phenomenon is occurring among Shanghai's consumers, and in this case at the center of it all is tea in a plastic cup, topped with whipped cream. Outside new modern Chinese tea house Hey Tea ran a two-hour-long queue to acquire the offering, and far from being frustrated at the situation, most consumers seemed to be enjoying the experience. This is another instance of China's unique queueing culture, wherein consumers will document their experience of waiting in line and eventually acquiring the product using social media. Hey Tea's tea with whipped cream for the equivalent of $5 has become a true status purchase, and the tea itself doesn't seem to matter as much as being able to say you waited in the queue for it for two hours. This thwarted the plans of scalpers, who attempted to make money by offering to jump the queue for a $10 fee, since consumers were buying the tea just as much as they were buying the two hour-long wait to receive it. The most important thing to be doing to make use of this queueing culture, it seems, is to have a common, delicious foodstuff with a modern twist, followed by a strong social media campaign. Shanghai's queueing culture isn't going anywhere, and it wouldn't be surprising to see more tea shops, bars, and houses take advan- tage of this further down the line. [SJ] - INDIA New Emphasis on Exports India exported 222.45 million kilos (m.kg) of tea in 2016, which is only a sixth of the tea grown there. Most of the exported tea is lower grade for blending. Only a small portion is processed as full-leaf orthodox. The Tea Board of India is seeking new markets with a strategy that involves government support in negotiating free trade agreements with countries, followed by official trade delegations eager to dislodge existing suppliers. The strategy appears to be working. In the first four months of 2017, India exported 73m.kg of tea compared Selenium-rich tea in a greenhouse Everton organic black and green teas Whipped cream topped milk tea with 69m.kg the previous year. India Tea Board chairman Prabhat Bezboruah said the United States is a 200m.kg tea market. India currently supplies 10 million kilos. Trade delegates on a recent visit to New York met with Tea Associa- tion of the U.S.A. The association estimates US consumption at 84 billion servings in 2016. Gains have been steady for more than two decades. Bezboruah said India experienced a good harvest and while most of the tea grown there is for domestic consump- tion, growers are producing a lot more specialty tea. Now is the ideal time to promote third-party certified sustainable and organic teas as well as greater variety such as white tea and green teas. CO 2 Neutral Tea Garden The Jalinga Tea Co. in Kolkata has achieved a CO 2 neutral certification, the first tea estate to be certified under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Jalinga director Ketan Patel is offering cooking stoves to offset emissions, a first in reducing the carbon footprint within the tea supply chain. His short term goal is 10,000 stoves reducing emissions by 40,000 tons.The ingenious cooking stove project requires 60% less wood while speeding cooking time by 50% with no carbon emission or fumes. The byproduct is charcoal which is used to fuel dryers in the tea factory. Workers are paid 3 cents per kilo for the charcoal they make. Patel said several brands are taking advantage of the benefit. Everton, an Italian brand launched an organic CO 2 neutral black and green tea and Madura Australia plans to do the same. The organic tea grower exports 1,700 metric tons annually and intends to supply tea workers with 35,000 stoves in 2018. Learn more: newsroom.unfccc.int/

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