Brew News - the Yorkshire Tea blog

Not so long ago, Kawah Putih lake, high up Mount Patuha in Java, had a mysterious reputation. Locals took the fact that no birds flew over it as a sign, and the whole area was considered to be eerie.

Even without the spooky background, Kawah Putih is remarkable – a lake of acid sat atop a volcano, surrounded by rocks bleached white by sulphur. But what’s it got to do with tea?

Suzy from our tea buying team flew out to Java recently, and she explains:

“Kawah Putih gets its suphuric content from the volcano it sits on, which last erupted in the 12th century, and the soil in this area is rich in the kind of nutrients and acidity that tea bushes thrive on.”

“Conditions are so good that, while I was on my recent visit, I was able to present one of our suppliers with our first ever quality award for this part of the world.”

Suzy’s trip to the tea estates of Indonesia was remarkable in lots of ways, so look out for more stories from this part of the world in the near future.

28,000 miles over 3 continents to visit 84 factories in 7 countries… all in the name of tea!

To those of you who’ve not read my previous posts, I’ve just returned from the tea buying trip of a lifetime. I’m the first trainee Tea Buyer at Taylors to complete a 6 month training trip for several years, during which I travelled to major tea producing countries across the globe.

We have a very personal approach to tea buying at Taylors and the face-to-face relationships we build with our producers is a real advantage in the fast changing world of tea. My trip was an important opportunity for me to build on these relationships, as well as getting lots of first-hand experience of the tea growing process along the way.

The first leg of my journey covered Rwanda, Malawi, South Africa and Kenya, where I had the chance to experience the buzz of the Mombasa Tea Auction, which sells tea from East Africa to the rest of the globe. Each week there are between 90,000 and 120,000 packages of tea on offer and, in the fast-paced race for the best teas at the best price, you have to think very quickly!

My time in Africa was also a chance for me to see how we’re helping in Rwanda. I visited estates that are part of a project part-funded by us and the Department for International Development to support 10,000 Rwandan farmers in quality and sustainability improvements, in partnership with Rainforest Alliance. It was really encouraging to see that the will is there to boost the marketability of Rwandan tea and certification will really benefit the farmers and workers on the ground. The rolling hills of Rwanda’s tea estates are literally covered in lush green tea bushes, and the volcanic soils and high altitude make for unique growing conditions that really set their tea apart.

South Africa was the last destination on the African part of my trip, where I learned not only about the black tea industry but also Rooibos (or Redbush) tea – not technically a tea as it’s not from the camellia sinensis bush, but it has been enjoyed for hundreds of years by the local inhabitants of the Cape and is renowned for having tasty and healthy properties.

India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia formed the second leg of my trip and I arrived in India just in time for the peak quality Assam season, which only lasts for a short while. Here I visited 30 gardens in 30 days, flying in a 4-seater plane across the great Brahmaputra river.

The processing of the leaf in Assam is unique and requires much attention to detail. Each factory has a chief tea maker, known as the Head Tea House. Many have been making tea for 20 to 30 years – and really, what they don’t know about Assam tea manufacture is probably not worth knowing!

I have to say I felt very proud to be travelling as part of Taylors. Everywhere I went I was really well received and my reception reflected the good reputation and relationships that have been established over the years. As a business we are much closer to the industry than most as we travel directly to the factories, roll up our sleeves, and work alongside our suppliers rather than visiting a head office miles away from the action.

From all of this exposure to so many of our suppliers around the world I have learnt an awful lot, but I also realise that I’ve really just scratched the surface of the tea industry. There are 19 million people around the world who are involved in tea production so I’m returning to Taylors with a great sense of responsibility, knowing that Yorkshire Tea represents a huge, complex, fascinating and friendly industry – so my training trip might be at an end but, really, my journey’s just beginning!

After an incredible six months travelling around six major tea-producing countries, gaining great exposure to the tea manufacturing process, plantation operations and participating in auctions, I headed to the last and final stop of my tea training trip: Indonesia.

Now, there was something a bit different about this trip for me. After six months travelling alone, I was meeting my boss, the Head of Tea at Taylors, Ian. I was really excited about seeing a friendly face and travelling with a colleague to see how he worked at the plantation level and the oportunity to learn from him. It would also give me the chance to see if I’d been doing it all right or all wrong for the last six months!

It was both Ian’s and my first time in Indonesia and an opportunity to really learn as much about the coutry, the people and the tea industry as possible. We started our journey in Jakarta, on the island of Java, home of the Indonesia Tea Auction, which takes place every week.

After visiting the auction we set off on what was to be a 2,000km round trip to east, central and western Java, visiting seven tea factories across three districts. Java is dotted with both semi-active and dormant volcanoes, resulting in rich volcanic soils that are really fertile. Indonesia first struck me as a really innovative place that’s making full use of its natural resources. In addition to tea growing, Java also grows plenty of rubber, coffee and cocoa. They also harness the underground geo-thermal energy from volcanoes and convert it into domestic power, like the picture below.

At the factories, Ian and I did lots of work to understand the manufacturing style in Indonesia. We made many more contacts, helping to build good, face-to-face relationships with producers there that will hopefully go from strength to strength. Just the way we like to do business.

From the cooler climbs of Darjeeling I travelled to Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it is historically known, home of Ceylon tea.

Sri Lanka is a mountainous, subtropical island and has six main growing regions ranging from high-grown to low-grown areas: Dimbula, Nuwara Eliya, Uva, Uda Pussellawa, Ruhuna and Kandy. Each produces distinctive characteristics in their tea. Traditionally Sri Lanka’s main export crop was coffee, until coffee blight ruined crops. With nothing left to plant, tea was quickly used a replacement and now plays a major role in the country’s economy, supporting around one million people.

Due to the mountainous climes and warm temperatures, tea from here provides a bright and flavoursome component to our blend. I was here to find out more. After landing in Colombo and spending time in the loud and fast-paced weekly auction I then travelled up to the tea plantations to visit some estates and factories that we buy from for both our Yorkshire Tea and Pure Ceylon tea.

This trip to the estates was a little different to my previous estate trips because I was travelling with Dushy Perera, a representative from the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP). As members of the ETP, Taylors of Harrogate and other members form an alliance of tea packers, big and small, who work together to improve the sustainability of the tea sector, and this incorporates both social and environmental impacts.

Last year, the ETP teamed up with CARE International on an EU funded project which focuses on improving labour relations between management and workers in Sri Lankan tea estates.
Together, ETP and CARE have been piloting the use of ‘Community Development Forums’ (or CDFs), designed by CARE, to improve the relationships and understanding between tea estates and their workers.

The idea of Community Development Forums is to create a ‘mini parliament’ on estates to allow better communication and representation to ensure the varied needs of workers are voiced by providing an equal forum of communication. Out of 2000 workers on the estate a representative from each village of the estate was elected, and in proportion to the male female ratio within the plantation. It brought a smile to my face to see as many women as men present at our meeting.

The CDF representatives reported how the project had not only improved management understanding of the workers but also the workers have a greater understanding of the work of the managers.

I attended a meeting between ETP, CARE International and members of the Community Development Forum on a tea estate who had been running the project for two years, to hear firsthand what the workers and management really think about the project. One worker told me that the meetings provided the opportunity for management to share information about the productivity or success of the estate and made the workers have a better awareness and feel a greater sense of ownership over the estate. “When we come to the table to meet we are all on an equal level,” said one CDF member, who then added, “it feels more like a partnership now.”

The Community Development Forums have also helped in identifying workers needs more quickly and have assisted workers in better agricultural practice, speeding up the process for supplying mosquito coils, training a group of youth volunteers to teach other community members about relevant issues through the medium of street drama, and last but by no means least have boosted the confidence of workers on the estate.

The success of this project has led to it being rolled out on other tea estates in Sri Lanka (at the request of the estates themselves) and potentially to other tea growing regions around the world.

Join me next week in Indonesia – the last and final stop on my Big Tea Tour!

Suzy

From the stimulating streets of Kolkata the next stage of my training trip was to take place in the cooler climbs of Darjeeling. Darjeeling nestles at the Western edge of the Himalayas at up to 2000 meters above sea level. As a result, Darjeeling offers some of the most stunning landscapes in India and a very special kind of tea. The steep slopes and high altitude provide a climate that leads to a unique character in the tea. Tea bushes grow here on inclines of about 60%, meaning that the tea bushes (and the estate workers!) have to be super fit and healthy to withstand such steep conditions… and they are. The religion most commonly practised here is Buddhism and across the tea estates colourful Buddhist prayer flags blow in the morning mist.

Darjeeling tea is known as the ‘champagne’ of tea amongst the tea fraternity for having muscatel character and a liquor and astringency similar to that of champagne. It’s because of the altitude and climate here that the tea leaves grow slowly, making them packed full of enzymes that, during processing, give it great flavour. The process here is very traditional in terms of manufacture and follows orthodox leaf processes whereby the finely plucked small leaves are rolled, oxidised and dried before being sorted into larger loose leaf grades of tea.

I had the opportunity to travel and taste with some very experienced Darjeeling experts who were able to share with me some of the secrets of making tea here.

I learned that the unique character of Darjeeling tea is not just down to the agro-climatic conditions but the variety of tea bushes that grow here. The varieties, or clonal types as they are referred to, add much in the way in providing distinctive characteristics. The older bushes related to the original China varieties give a more muscatel flavour, where as the new varieties that have evolved give a more peachy or fruity character so the blending of these characters actually starts in the tea fields, before processing has even taken place. Whilst Darjeeling tea is technically known as a black tea, as it goes through an oxidation process, the period that it oxidises for is actually much less than that of black tea, which we may add milk to. Because of this the liquor is a clear golden colour, and the taste is crisp and refreshing, so best to drink it without milk or with a slice of lemon.

After two months in India, Darjeeling is my final stop. So it’s time to wave goodbye to this fascinating country and say hello to Sri Lanka – another important tea-growing country, rich in tea history and culture, and the home of Ceylon tea. More from me soon.

Bye for now,

Suzy

Professional tea tasters use a set of defined tasting terms, some of which can sound pretty odd to the rest of the world. Most people know what we might mean when we call a tea ‘malty’, for instance, but how about ‘gutty’?

Gutty describes the ideal character of a good second flush Assam tea, so ‘guttiness’ in the tea is an indicator that the second flush season (the new wave of growth that follows the first harvest) has really arrived. Good strength in Assam tea can be found throughout the year, but ‘guts’ only comes during May and June. During the build up to this part of the season, buyers and producers alike get quite excited, and buyers will tussle to pay extra for gutty teas.

But what does ‘gutty’ actually mean?

Well, a tea with guts has all round quality. All the parameters to make a cracking brew have been met during the manufacturing process, and the leaves used have also got that special second flush ‘something’ – because the polyphenols essential to quality tea are only present in the buds in such concentration during the second flush.

During the processing of tea, a chemical reaction takes place as the plucked and cut leaves begin to oxidise. There are two main chemical compounds essential to this process, which are formed from the oxidising polyphenols: thearubigin (TR), which is responsible primarily for ‘body’ and theaflavin (TF), which is responsible for brightness and flavour.

These compounds are very delicate, and the trick is in achieving a balance of the two. During oxidation, the formation rate of theaflavin (the brightness and flavour) declines at a more rapid rate than the thearubigin (body) and the ideal balance is where the TF and TR proportion is at a ratio of 1:10. Once this ratio is achieved, the chemical reaction must be halted to maintain the balance, which is done by ‘firing’ the tea in a dryer.

During drying, provided the right balance of TF and TR has been achieved, the sugars present (in the form of chlorophyll) caramelise, which contributes to the sweet and malty character. (Just the way I like it.)

When left to cool, a brewed gutty tea will look as though milk has been added. (See the photo at the top for an example of this.) This is known as ‘creaming down’. One tea broker in Kolkata told me: “When a tea has guts you feel it in your guts, strong and thick. It creams down and gives you a real boost for the day.”

As many of you already know, the Yorkshire Tea blend contains plenty of Assam, so next time you have a cup, remember that rich and satisfying kick you get is all about the guts!

Till next time!

Suzy

After an incredible four weeks touring the enchanting tea gardens of Assam I’ve made it to what is the tea capital of India – Kolkata (Calcutta).

Since the very first tea plantation in Assam was established in 1835, Kolkata has been the most important administration centre for tea, later housing the auction and port where tea was exported to the UK on famous clipper ships. Today Kolkata remains the largest tea auction centre in the world and evidence of this city’s history and love of tea is all around.

Though we love our tea in the UK and drink on average 8 cups a day, the Kolkatans give us a run for our money. Tea culture and tea drinking here is alive with ritual and ‘chai’ shops are on every street corner – I simply had to take part. Tea making here, just like at home, is an art and crowds gather as the tea is being prepared. You can always tell a good chai shop by the 40 people waiting on the street in anticipation for their cuppa!

Chai shop owners buy the smaller grades of tea or the ‘dust’ types because they make super strong and thick liquors. The tea is wrapped in muslin cloth, mixed with cardamom and other masalas (spices), tied to form a giant tea bag, then placed in a pan of steaming hot milk and left to ‘cook’. Only when the liquor is a deep reddish-gold and the sweet smell of cardamom is present is it ready. Ritual pouring of the thick milky tea from one pan to another must take place to cool and ensure equal balance of flavour. Then indiscriminate amounts of sugar are added before being served up in a small earthen pot known as a khulur – just like the ones above.

The result? The sweetest, yet most refreshing pick-me-up that really is a must to try if you traverse these streets.

Our expert tea buyers are used to discovering talented people with quality products when they’re travelling the world. Usually it’s tea they’re after – but in the case of the Bodo Handloom Scheme in Assam, we simply had to make an exception!

From left to right: Homeshwari, Mina, Rita (wearing the Yorkshire Gold Apron!) and Tulu of the Bodo Handloom Scheme

The Bodo (pronounced Bo-ro) people are an indigenous ethnic group from the north bank of Assam’s Brahmaputra river. The ladies of the Bodo people are incredible weavers and make the most intricate, colourful designs with a handmade bamboo handloom. The amazing thing is that none of their many designs are written down or recorded anywhere. Instead they’re passed from generation to generation through the female members of the household.

The Bodo Handloom Scheme was established in 1995 at the Borengajuli Tea Estate to promote the ladies’ traditional weaving skills and provide access to market for generating extra income. It’s a not-for-profit scheme funded by estate owners  McLeod Russel India Ltd, with the ladies earning over 40% of the total cost of the finished product.

We started working with the scheme a year ago, when we asked them to use traditional Bodo designs to produce beautiful aprons with colour schemes that match Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Gold. Tea buyer Suzy took time out from her recent training in Assam to visit the villages of Borengabari, Nisputla and Tutlapara so she could meet the ladies in person, see them at work, and have a look at the finished results.

Suzy with Rehama Dwiamary, one of the talented ladies who made the fabric for the Yorkshire Gold Aprons

“I’m not sure I have the right words to do the enormous skill of the Bodo weavers’ justice,” says Suzy. “The aprons are 100% natural cotton and made from 100% sheer skill! To achieve a golden colour that matches our Yorkshire Gold, the ladies blend yarn together. The weave starts out as a red, light weave and when yellow is woven over the top diagonally you get a gold effect. ”

From what started as a cottage industry supplying the local tea fraternity of Assam, we’re proud to bring the work of the Bodo Handloom Scheme to the UK for their international commercial debut. We’re covering the cost of production of the aprons and all profit made through the sale of these traditionally woven items will go directly back to the scheme to help secure sustainable long term production, assisting the livelihoods of these incredibly talented women.

Meet Annie and Horen. Annie co-ordinates the scheme: arranging orders, sourcing the yarn and putting together the colour combinations and styles for market. Horen makes sure the finished products are perfectly packaged and ready to go.

We’re hoping that the first batch will arrive in Harrogate soon, and they’ll be available to buy on our website shortly, priced at £12. Or come along and find our Yorkshire Tea trailer at any of the events we’re attending and you can pick them up for a bargain £10 each!

Huge thanks go to all the people at the Bodo Handloom Scheme and McLeod Russel India Ltd for helping to turn this lovely idea into a reality.

Having visited 23 top Assam tea factories so far, I’m starting to pick up a thing or two. One of the highlights is experiencing the warm relationship built up between Taylors of Harrogate and our key producers. We like to reward quality, not just by paying good prices for quality tea but also in the factories and amongst the tea makers themselves. My colleagues before me, while visiting factories, have presented quality producers with ‘Quality Plaques’ and certificates, which I often see proudly on display in tasting rooms across Assam.

There is something very enchanting about being on a tea estate here in Assam, especially at this time of year when the quality second flush shoots are popping up. Tea bushes are carpeted with bright green supple leaves, nimbly plucked by ladies in the most vibrantly coloured, beautiful saris. Now these ladies are a key part of this whole process, as factories can only make good tea from good leaf raw material and so commitment to quality must start from here.

As we know, any old leaf just will not do, but there’s a little more detail behind plucking during this season. Two leaves and a bud are an absolute must, but not just that: the buds need to reach a certain level of maturity to capture really good flavour, and the nurturing of these buds is key. Some types of buds grow silvery, silky downs on them, a great sign of quality and a lovely sight when the sun reflects on the bush tops. So, as the ladies go about their work, they not only pluck two leaves and a bud but maintain the bushes and check that everything is in place for the new young buds that will be next week’s leaf. It’s quite an art.

If you’re regular to the site, I’m sure you must have come across us talking about our Yorkshire Gold Season’s Pick range by now. The idea is to showcase the absolute pick of the crop from key tea origins and packing it fresh off the boat so you get to try peak season tea at its freshest. We launched last year with Season’s Pick Assam, and I’m pleased to say I’ve now visited the estate it came from! I brought a box from UK to show them and we drank it for afternoon tea. Mr Gill, factory manager at Borsapori Tea Estate, said he thought it had even matured well and tastes better than it did when it left his factory!

And just to add to Sanjay’s elephant encounters in an earlier post, here’s where the said elephants scratch their backs… Bye for now!

After a brief stop back in the UK at Yorkshire Tea HQ, no sooner had I washed my clothes and got a haircut then I was back on a plane heading for India. The peak quality Assam season is here and it only lasts for a short time. Unlike some regions in Africa, such as Kenya, who produce tea all year round, the best Assam tea grows between May and July and I’m here to see the what we call the ‘second flush’ Assam season kick off.

Assam is a crucial part of our blend at Yorkshire Tea, adding strength and body. Rich, malty and deeply flavoured, it’s important not only for Yorkshire Tea, but as a tea in its own right, great at breakfast time or any time of day when you need a full tasting cup with good strength.

The region of Assam lies in the North Eastern corner of India bordering Burma and Bhutan and is the route through which the great Brahmaputra River flows down to the Bay of Bengal. Dotted on either side of the great river are tea estates producing great tasting tea. I’m here to spend a month travelling from the North Eastern Tip following the Brahmaputra River south and crossing the river to visit our key Assam tea producers and estates along the way, learning from the experts as I go.

Tea bushes in Assam lie dormant over winter producing no new leaves and tips to process into tea. As springtime sets in, the bushes re-awaken and new tea leaves are plucked and processed into ‘first flush’ tea. After those initial leaves are plucked, the bushes then take a few weeks to recoup, gathering energy and nutrients from the soil ready to produce the ‘second flush’ new leaves. Tea produced from this period is simply unique and generates unrivalled flavour and character in the tea.

At Taylors, we have special relationships with some of the very best gardens in Assam and arguably the world. These experts are kindly giving me a taste of how they make their magic. The processing of the leaf in Assam is also unique. The science of the process remains the same around the world (the leaf needs to be withered, oxidised and dried) but the process here is quite bespoke and requires much attention to detail. Many top producers use traditional methods of manufacture that, though not the most state of the art, produce amazing character in the tea.  Each factory has a chief tea maker, known as the Head Tea House. Many have been making tea for 20 to 30 years – and really, what they don’t know about Assam tea manufacture is probably not worth knowing!

As the season sets in, they apply their expertise on a daily basis, adjusting withering or oxidation times according to the climate and the state of the green leaf – not just of that particular day, but for each particular hour. Once the rolled and oxidised leaves have been dried, sorting takes place into various grades. For loose leaf grades, this sorting is all done by hand, requiring great skill and concentration, usually by a team of eagle-eyed ladies.

The blackish tea leaves contain amber flecks – these are the tips of the bush and lead to great flavour in the cup. A truly impressive process to witness!

Look out for more news soon!

Suzy