STiR coffee and tea magazine

22 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 5, 2017 (October / November) SRI LANKA Global Tea Challenges The 150-year Celebration of Tea conference in Sri Lanka and AITea conference were held back to back in August showcasing a broad range of top presenters, each focusing on different challenges in tea. Some of the important global tea industry challenges highlighted were: • Changes in population. Growing populations will drive demand for food which is predicted to increase by 50% by 2030 • Competition for agricultural land and productivity. The competition for land will stress the importance of yields per hectare • Climate Change. Impacting yields and prices. Tea is grown in some of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. • Labor Shortages. Tea is a labor- intensive industry and future labor shortages will impact the industry • Energy Constraints. Tea processing is energy intensive. By 2030, the total world energy demand is predicted to increase by 50% Junior chefs in Singapore paired with a unique tea and teas were served in wine glasses. Serving tea in wine glasses which were brewed and then served at room temperature gave the chefs an experi- ence like wine tasting. Australian Tea Masters collaborated with the master chefs to explain how terroir changes tea just like wine and how the criteria with tea pairing are in fact the same. Six courses were paired and the attendees experienced teas from around the world. UK Erosion of Fair Trade? Sainsbury's announcement that it is bringing oversight of its sustainable sourcing inhouse has alarmed many supporters of the Fair Trade, UZI, the Rainforest Alliance, and organic certification schemes. Whether this means their erosion is open to conjecture, but it is very clear that the entire logistics of tea sourcing will move in Sainsbury's direction. Many chocolate, food, and coffee firms have dropped Fair Trade and organic certifica- tion for their products and are applying their own, not third-party, standards. Sainsbury's is the second largest supermarket chain in the UK. It has been one of the major retailers of Fair Trade items in Europe, around $400 million a year. Now, it has announced it will work with African tea groups and cooperatives to implement its own Fairly Traded scheme. This drops third-party certification for its private brands. It will develop its own eco-labeling. The main goals for insourcing are to provide greater control and less bureau- cracy. The firm is better able to integrate sustainable sourcing certification across its bush to store shelf logistics. A controversial element is that the premium earned by Fair Trade growers will not be left to their own decision. Fairly Traded requires investment proposals that Sainsbury's will screen and approve, focusing on making sure the funds reach their intended target of improving workers' daily living. Critics oppose its lack of outside scrutiny, and see it as a new form of business colonialism and a weakening of industry commitment to the goals of Fair Trade. Whatever the outcome, this is a major shift in global industry dynamics. US Cheese Tea Cheese-topped tea? It sounds implau- sible and unappealing. But, as with bubble tea, it has spread at an accelerat- ing rate over the past seven years, from the food stalls of Taiwan. An article this month in Conde Nast Traveler is headlined "taking over China and invading the US." It clearly represents a major trend, not a gimmick. Stores are expanding rapidly and customers are lining up from Shanghai to LA. The basic idea is to add a foamed, creamy whipped white cheese topping to China tea. It offsets the initial bitterness of the tea that is by far the biggest single dislike of the younger (and trendier) target market. The lightly salted taste plays up the floral tea flavors and makes it taste smooth and creamy. Unlike bubble tea, most chai lattes and floral/fruit flavored blends, cheese- topped concoctions use high quality, varied leaf, not CTC and dust commodity ingredients. Heytea, one of the leaders, offers jasmine, matcha and oolong teas. Much of the appeal is to the health-con- scious: options include low-fat, low-sugar cheese toppings. Customers can custom- ize their tea with fresh fruits, including strawberries and grapefruits. The trendy element shows up in the deliberate highlighting of the exotic. LA's Little Fluffy Head café sells Dirty Mess Milk, Chedd-Cha, and Camouflage Matcha. The founder of Flamingo Bloom summarizes the innovation: "Nobody would ever think that cheese, mango and strawberries would go together with China jasmine tea… but when you play with all these flavors, they come together so nicely." So, the next big thing or hype and hope? The best response is a blogger who is "intrigued and terrified." SINGAPORE Junior Chefs Symposium More than 100 chefs gathered in August, including members of the gold medal winning Singapore Culinary Olympic team to conduct a junior chefs' sympo- sium. This was held to not only give junior chefs the opportunity to taste dishes prepared by the masters of cooking but also to experience tea and food pairing. Each dish was carefully Cheese-topped tea

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