Up to 500 thousand tons - that's how much tea produces a small Kenya annually. 500 thousand tons is like 80 thousand large African elephants. The volume is a record not only for the modest area of this country, but also by the standards of global tea production.
Honorable Third Place
China, Japan and even India have been growing tea on their vast plantations for several centuries, and little Kenya had a timid start in this business only in 1903. It has achieved fantastic success in just 120 years, though. To date, Kenya ranks third in the ranking of tea supplier countries, with China as the leader with its 2.5 million tons, and India, following China with 1.5 million tons of tea produced. Meanwhile, Kenya is humbly followed by Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Japan and all the other tea-producing countries.
The Kenyan tea has a bright taste, giving a beautiful transparent infusion and invigorating effect. It is ideal for creating various blends. The Kenyan tea is also good as a monosort, still more often it goes into a blend, where it is mixed with Indian, Ceylon or any other tea. By doing so, manufacturers achieve uniformity in taste, which fans of a particular tea brand are accustomed to.
What a Kenyan Tea is Like
The major part of the tea products from Kenya is granulated black tea. It is strong, tart, with a slight bitterness, has a beautiful infusion and a high caffeine content. The British, who have long appreciated the charm of the Kenyan tea, prefer to drink it at breakfast when the body needs to get the maximum energy boost.
In Kenya, you can find both a premium hand-picked white tea (even more expensive than the Chinese equivalent), and an ordinary black tea, picked by machine and processed using the CTC technology, which allows you to minimize the final cost of the product.
The Kenyan tea is good in all respects. Sometimes it turns out to be much better than Indian or Ceylon in the price – quality ratio. That's why it can be a real discovery for many people. Experts explain this by the fact that tea in Kenya is grown almost everywhere, at an altitude of 1,500 to 2,500 meters above sea level. This automatically gives it the status of an environmentally friendly and high-grown product. The ideal climate of Kenya is also worth considering: well-distributed precipitation, long sunny days, and tropical haemorphic soils. In total, this allows you to grow a really delicious tea.
10 Interesting Facts About Tea From Kenya
- The first tea bushes were planted in Kenya by the Briton G. V. L. Kane – for decorative purposes only.
- Tea production in Kenya was seriously started by Arnold Butler, a Scotsman, who initially wanted to grow coffee in Africa, but something went wrong.
- The Kenyan tea is a close relative of the Indian tea, since it is made from the Assamica variety imported to Africa from India. It really tastes like classic Assam.
- In Kenya, tea is the main commodity and source of income.
- The tea in Kenya is grown by both large companies and small farms, the number of which reaches 550.
- Kenyan farmers earn the highest profit in the world from their production.
- About 50% of tea in Britain comes from Kenya.
- The main harvest seasons last from January to March and in June–July.
- The Kenyan tea is extremely rarely treated with pesticides, since there is no need for that.
- The tea from Kenya contains a lot of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that can fight free radicals in the body.
It seems that these facts are quite enough to make you obtain a Kenyan tea for your kitchen. Or you can present it to your parents who like to drink rich and strong tea.
Check this amazing Kenyan Tea on our store.
- Author: Elena Kocheshkova, journalist
- Expert: Andrey Skidan, a teatester and a Richard brand tea production manager
- Translator: Irina Ershova
- Source: tea.ru