A Tea Worth it's Weight in Gold

Many people think that their favorite tea, the one that they just can't live without, is worth it's weight in gold. Well, if your favorite tea is the finest pre-Qingming Longjing green tea, then you are not that far off! 

According to China National Radio, a sale of this style tea at the end or March, sold for about $57,000 per kilo. At the time, this price was about $4,000 more than the price of gold! 

Zhu Baichang, a dealer who sold the tea at the record price, said most of this year's harvest of West Lake pre-Qingming Longjing tea would cost 80,000 yuan per kilogram on the market, an increase of 10,000 yuan from last year.

"The 360,000 yuan per kilogram for the pre-Qingming tea was just a single case for presale promotion and we will donate the money to a local art group for deaf people," Zhu said. However, he said that the market price was still too much for "normal" people to afford.

Spring teas are the most lucrative harvest in China accounting for 75 percent of annual sales, according to the China Tea Marketing Association. These teas make up only 39 percent of the year's production by volume.

Huang and others in Chun'an managed to advance the picking time by one month this year and sold their early Qiandao jade leaves, a roasted green tea similar to Longjing, in February at prices of 5,000 yuan to more than 10,000 yuan per 500 grams.

He told the People’s Daily that it is not a surprise that West Lake Longjing went for such a high price - higher even than gold. "It enjoys the highest status among China's famous teas, mainly due to its long history and literary connections. Furthermore, it is now grown in a designated area around the West Lake, so the output is limited," he said.

People spend hundreds of yuan on a kilogram of normal Longjing tea, according to Zhu. The more expensive tea was bought by university, government and military officials as gifts, according to the radio report.

Longjing tea harvested prior to the April 5 Qingming Festival is more expensive because it is produced from the very tender first spring shoots. It requires skilled workers to pick every leaf by hand. Top-quality Longjing will be sold at 40,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan per 500 grams this year, about 25 percent higher than last year. 

Information sourced from: People's Daily, China National Radio

The Year of the Dragon

With many of our teas imported from China, it was hard to overlook today's beginning of the Chinese New Year. I decided to start my day off with a tea that reminded me of the upcoming Year of the Dragon. So naturally, I settled on a nice cup of Dragonwell green tea. It has always been a favorite of mine and I figured that it was a fitting tea to enjoy during the morning hours.

So many of our teas from China seem to have a great history and lore behind them. In many ways, this is what entices tea enthusiasts to try a new tea. The story can almost be as powerful as the aroma or taste.

There are hundreds of different types and grades of Chinese green teas, but only one has earned the accolades of tea drinkers worldwide, earning its reputation as the most prized and best known green tea. This highly sought after green tea is known as Longjing and is more commonly known today as Dragonwell. The story of this type of tea is one that I have always found to be most interesting.

Green teas are all processed in a similar manner, but taste and leaf appearance differ from tea to tea, depending upon the growing regions in which they originate. Longjing is cultivated in the Hangzhou region, which was at one time the ancient capital of the Song Dynasty. This region’s numerous lakes have helped in creating this tea’s special taste, as well as its modern name, Dragonwell. A centuries old myth tells the tale of a large Dragon which inhabited the lake region and lived in the caves and wells of the Tiger Run Spring. At this spring, the Qing dynasty Emperor K’ang-his came to drink tea which was made using the spring water and the year’s first leaves from the tea plants which grew around the spring. He found the liquor of his drink to be sweet and delicious. He then decreed that the eighteen oldest tea plants were thence forth reserved to provide Tribute Tea exclusively for the Emperor’s pleasure.

In modern times, Dragonwell lives up to its legend. In China it is praised for its “four uniques”: jade color, vegetative aroma, mellow chestnut flavor and singular flat leaf shape. We are proud to import the highest quality Dragonwell available. Each pound of this tea consists of thirty thousand hand-plucked young shoots, grown near the ancient Tiger Run Spring. Once the leaves are allowed to wither, they are then fired in a hot wok. The tea maker then uses his hands to flatten the leaf for about fifteen minutes. After cooling off for an hour, the leaf is returned to the wok for a shorter period at a lower temperature and is then packed by hand. Once you try this special green tea, you will see why the legend of Dragonwell has lasted for centuries.

Historical information was researched from James Norwood Pratt's, The New Tea Lover’s Treasury, 1999.

The Giants of the Tea Industry

As the owner of two small tea importing companies, striving to grow and thrive each year can be a monumental task. As is the case with all segments of the business world, there is a distinct hierarchy. Some companies are huge. They span the globe and seem to have unlimited resources. Other companies work hard at putting out a great product, but are limited by real world logistics. We definitely fit into the latter category. With this in mind, it is always interesting to hear about those global tea companies who are working to spread the word about high quality teas. The emergence of Teavana in numerous mall locations over the years and their status as a publicly traded company indicates that there is a definite potential for the success of the upscale tea shop concept. The Teavana model is unique and although it is not a personal favorite of mine, it does show that there is a real interest in fine teas all over our country. With this in mind, several larger tea importing firms (Adagio, Argo Tea Cafe, Harney & Sons, David's Tea, Teavalon) have opened their own stand alone shops in various locations in the US.

With these tea shop expansions on their mind, it was no surprise that Starbuck's has recently made a big push to reposition it's Tazo Tea brand for extensive growth over the next few years. Recent moves inside the Starbucks corporate offices and the accelerating growth of highly profitable tea retail chains such as Teavana Holdings, suggests Starbucks executives believe the time is right to boost their investment in Tazo. This became evident last week, when they  hired tea retail expert Charles Cain as Vice President, Tazo Merchant and Operations. Cain, the former business development director at Adagio Teas, has opened two brick and mortar showcases in Naperville and Skokie, Ill. with a third Adagio store to open in downtown Chicago later this month.

Tea is currently only the 7th most consumed beverage in the U.S. but it’s the most consumed in the world. As the U.S. is the leading consuming nation in the world, these market forces are converging and it won’t be long before tea overtakes coffee as America’s hot drink of choice. Starbucks and Tazo definitely have this goal in their sites and we can only imagine the endless possibilities that lay ahead of them.

Now a company as large as Starbucks can reach out to vendors, suppliers and customers in a way that so many companies could not even imagine. At a recent seminar about Retail Tea Trends we attended at the World Tea Expo East, the effect of these large tea chains on the consumer and the smaller neighborhood tea room or specialty food store was touched upon. Many small business owners saw the "fast food" tea location as a large competitor that they could never touch and one that would ultimately take away their customer base. This does sound like a logical explanation, but many in the room also saw the "Teavana" model as a distinct advantage for independents. Just think about it. A local tea rooms prices will be lower since you are not paying the huge mall rent. Their tea stocks will be fresher since they can control inventory much better than a huge company can, especially one that is expanding so quickly. Then there is the most important factor of all, the overall customer experience. There is a greater chance that a customer who had a positive experience when buying their teas will return. It is the overall customer experience at Teavana that has soured many emerging tea consumers. One person at the seminar put it best when they said "let your customers visit that new flashy tea store in the mall. One visit and they will be right back to your location and even more thankful that you are there!"

It will be interesting to see how Starbucks handles the Tazo expansion. Given their diligent approach to customer service over the years and the addition of Charles Cain to the mix, I am sure they will be marketing something very special.

Information sourced from World Tea News, October 10, 2011

The missing tea classification

Most avid tea drinkers know that there are several main tea categories that their favorite teas would fall under. Varying tea leaves are grouped into these categories, based on overall leaf oxidation levels and methods of manufacture. These tea categories consist of: black, green, white, oolong and pu-erh. These tea categories, or classes as they are oftentimes referred to, are highly represented in all tea merchants’ tea offerings. Unknown to many, there is actually one more category and it is one that is oftentimes overlooked due to its similarity to green tea. This final tea category is the rare yellow tea.

Yellow teas are unique to the high mountain regions of the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Hunan and Sichuan. Yellow tea’s specialized leaf manufacture is what helps give it its own classification. Here are some of the unique yellow tea properties and production methods that make it a tea in a class all by itself.

• Yellow tea is only manufactured during the early spring harvest; therefore, each pluck needs to be perfect to ensure a bountiful crop. The skillful tea pickers use the spring buds because they are the juiciest and most tender part of the tea bush.

• Yellow tea is manufactured by plucking, basket-firing or pan-firing, smothering and then finish-firing the leaf. It is the smothering step that is unique to this tea, allowing a special flavor to develop. During this step, the lightly steamed leaf is removed from the heat source and covered with a cloth, encouraging the leaf to reabsorb its own aromatics. This is known as "sealing yellow". This process introduces a sweetness and fragrance to the leaf.

• As with most hand crafted teas, this type of tea cannot be made by simply timing the process out. An experienced tea master creates this tea by constantly checking the tea’s smell, look and feel until it is just right. This type of experience is learned over decades of preparation. This craft is often passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, this type of tradition has been lost over the years, leading to lower product yield, essentially making this type of tea truly rare.

A recent visit to the 2011 World Tea Expo in June allowed us to visit a few Chinese tea importers that have personal relationships with yellow tea manufacturers in China. I am pleased to report that we will soon be cupping some Huo Shan Huang Ya or "Yellow Sprouting" teas and am hopeful that we can add this unique tea to the Mark T. Wendell line of products this Fall/Winter.

Our Recent Tea Tour

A few months ago we were approached by the International Studies Program at Harding University to see if we would be interested in discussing our knowledge of the tea world with their summer program, Tea in Postcolonial Literature.  

Harding's program takes a select number of students on a global trip to "introduce them to postcolonial literature and theory while using tea as a focal point through which to understand literature, history and culture."  They also emphasized "the power of tea to bring people together in a spiritual community."

Our visit took place a few days ago and was their first stop on an impressive global tea tour.  After leaving Searcy, Arkansas and touring Boston (steeped in tea history with the patriotic Boston Tea Party), they visited historic Concord and spent a few hours at our offices in Acton.  After leaving us, they were off to visit Darjeeling, India, London and Morocco.  What an amazing adventure for these students.  We all wanted to accompany them around the world with tea as their guide!

We were honored to have been asked to speak about our tea firms background , our knowledge of specialty teas and our daily operations here at our Acton warehouse and offices. Starting with a viewing of 12 varying types and styles of teas, we had great discussions about all our tea selections, how we have navigated the global commerce of tea for over 107 years and how tea really and truly transcends cultures across the globe.  It was noted that they were essentially travelling their "tea tour" backwards.  We showed them the packaged tin of tea about to be mailed to one of our mail-order customers and remarked that they now had the great opportunity to travel to the source in Darjeeling where it was first planted, nurtured and picked from the ground.

Sri Lanka's "ozone-friendly" tea branding

We recently discovered an article outlining a marketing tool to be put in place by the Ceylon tea industry. Beginning soon, teas grown at select Sri Lankan tea estates will be stamped with an "ozone friendly" logo on them.   

The 1.5 billion US dollar Ceylon tea industry aims to use the new logos to market the tea as a premium product just like French champagne, Scotch whisky and Basmathi rice and use certification to prevent its misuse.

"Due to the premium price received regularly for Ceylon tea, overseas packers frequently misuse the name by packaging other origin teas as Ceylon tea," the Sri Lanka Tea Board said in a statement.  Hasitha De Alwis, Tea Board director of promotion, said "Sri Lanka is the only country qualified to use the 'ozone friendly' logo for tea after it gave up using Methyl Bromide, an ozone depleting substance in tea production".

The ozone friendly tea label along with the names and logos of seven tea growing regions under Geographical Indicators would help to protect and add value to Ceylon tea, he told the official launch ceremony Wednesday.

The new GI logos will denote seven specific agro-climatic regions where tea is grown; Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Uva, Udapussella, Kandy, Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa in the central hills and southern region.

This an interesting way to promote the global responsibility of the Sri Lankan Tea Board and a way to prevent foreign tea vendors who may be branding teas as "Ceylon teas" when they originate form other sources.

To view the original article visit the following link. 

Darjeeling Tea Blockade Has Ended

We were pleased to have seen on the international newswires that the three-week long blockade of exports of prized Darjeeling tea has ended with the resolution of a deadlock between plantation workers and the estate owners over wage hike demand.

The Darjeeling Terai Dooars Plantation Labour Union, owing allegiance to Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, a political outfit demanding separate Statehood for Gorkhaland, recently lifted their blockade of 85 tea gardens in the hills of North Bengal since March 6, which prevented dispatch of the freshly-plucked first tea leaves of the season from the gardens to various export destinations.

The wage pact came at a heavy price for the planters, who were forced to agree to it in a desperate move to prevent the rotting of the season’s first tea crop, the most premium of all teas produced during a year and fully exported to Europe, United States and Japan.

We look forward to our First Flush Darjeeling offerings to be in place in the next month!

Are Darjeeling's First Flush Teas in Trouble?

Did you know that the Darjeeling region of India is currently experiencing a political stalemate that may severely disrupt its production of first flush tea? It seems that a political party seeking a separate Darjeeling state has introduced a plucking ban as a sign of protest. It is an attempt to drain local government's coffers, which rely heavily on foreign trade of Darjeeling tea. First flush teas, highly prized in export markets, attract highest prices for their lighter liquor and muscatel flavor. Almost 70% of Darjeeling's output is destined for export and the first flush represents a sizable portion of annual income. Darjeeling is home to 85 gardens spread over 18,000 hectares, with an annual production of around 7 million kilograms.

To learn more about this political event and its ultimate effect on the prized first flush teas of Darjeeling, click this link:   http://www.deccanherald.com/content/141651/storm-brewing-tea-cups-darjeeling.html