STiR coffee and tea magazine

20 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 5, 2017 (October / November) Tea Report: Peter Keen CHINA Brand Appeals to Millennials Chinese millennials can now drown their sorrows with a new range of teas by Sung Teas. The tongue-in-cheek marketing plays on the despair felt by some young Chinese regarding their career and marriage prospects. "Achieved-absolutely-nothing black tea" and "My-exes-life-is-better-than- mine fruit tea" are just two blends in the range. The brand name itself has also come from a new culture that has been trending on the internet, "Sang" which is based a Chinese character associated with the word "funeral" describes being dispirited. "Sang" culture, which revels in often-ironic defeatism, is fueled by internet celebrities, through music, and the popularity of certain mobile games and TV shows, as well as sad-faced emojis and pessimistic slogans. It's a reaction to cut-throat competi- tion for good jobs in an economy that isn't as robust as it was a few years ago and when home-ownership – long seen as a near-requirement for marriage in China – is increasingly unattainable in major cities as apartment prices have soared. The tea brand has received backlash from China's Communist party, with concerns it is promoting a pessimis- tic culture but its ironic nature is still appealing to Millennials. INDIA Darjeeling Absent from Auction In August 2017, for the first time in 156 years, no Darjeeling teas entered the wholesale markets worldwide. An indefinite strike led by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) halted the harvest in mid June. The last lot of leaves reached the market at double the price and one-tenth the volume of the previous year. Gardens only managed to produce about 5% of the high quality second flush. Overgrown bushes due to the cessation of pruning will require several months maintenance to restore yields. This situation has given small holders who continued to maintain their gardens during the idle period and those in Nepal an opportunity to export even more tea into the Darjeeling area. The long-term financial damage to Darjeeling region is serious and has raised concerns for the viability and the survival of many of the Darjeeling gardens. Tocklai Releases New Cultivar The Tocklai Tea Research Institute in Jorhat, Assam released TS560 a new drought tolerant varietal. "The new seed variety is a gift for Darjeeling from Tocklai," said TTRI director, A.K. Barooah. The seed was presented in September at the 53rd annual general meeting of Tea Research Associa- tion, which governs the research institute. The seed has been in development for 26 years and is ideally suited to Darjeeling. Parents are AV2 and Phoobsiring 312, two popular Darjeeling clones. During the past century the institute has developed 27 different clones specifically for Darjeeling's orthodox tea production "We are hopeful that the new seed variety would bring added cheers to the Darjeeling cup of tea which is known worldwide for its flavor," Barooah said. The 87 tea estates of Darjeeling produce 8.5 to 9 million kilos of tea a year, most of which is exported to UK, Germany, Japan, and the USA. Darjeeling has experienced greater fluctuations in rainfall in recent years compared to historical records. There are longer dry periods and, when it rains, it pours. Seeds develop a more robust root system and are less likely to die of thirst than plants sprouted from leaf cuttings. Insect Infestation in Assam Eastern Assam is experiencing the unwanted return of scale, an insect that defoliates tea bushes. A. K. Barooah, director of the Tocklai Tea Research Institute (TTRI) told STiR that "Scale recently has created a serious problem in some of the tea estates in eastern Assam." A sap sucking pest, scale is a silent killer if not noticed in time. The insect is mostly active on branches inside the bushes where damage is not easily seen. The insect pierces the plant tissues with its thread-like mouth sucking branches dry. Widespread infestations can lead to velvet blight. The worst part is that the attack is seen more in quality tea clones used in the production of orthodox tea, he said. "Clones like TV1, Teenali 17, TA 17/1/54 and P126 are more prone to scale infection," he said. Tea gardens in the Dibrugarh, Golaghat, and Tinsukia districts are cautioned to be extra vigilant. Defenses include alkaline wash, bush sanitation, shade management, and proper drainage. The body of the insect is covered in a waxy substance that limits penetration of water-based pesticides. Scale is normally limited by beneficial predators and parasites but due to climate change and over-dependence on synthetic pyrethroids, gardens have experienced a reduction in natural predators, explains Barooah. "We are researching ways to get rid of this pest and have already recommended a few to the tea gardens," he said. These include drenching the infested plants including all branches up to the collar region, and mixing agro spray oil with insecticides to enhance efficacy. "A recent study conducted by TTRI revealed that a combination of aloe vera extract and Himalayan salt has shown promising results in reducing scale," he said. – Pullock Dutta KOREA Drinking Real Gold Tea According to the principles and practices of Eastern medicine gold is good for our health. Gold calms and stabilizes the mind. After researching the Japanese "fad" of adding gold into food in Japan a Korean Master Choi Young-gi looked at ways to incorporate gold into tea and in 2009 Choi succeeded with the first organic cultivation of gold in tea. He began by watering the tea plants with golden colloid solution which was electrolyzed. The result is the first tea leaves that contain gold. This rare gold tea is unique in the world and is created into green and black teas which appar- Damage from attack by scale insects

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