We’ve talked a lot about ‘our work in Rwanda’ over the last few months. Here’s a little more information to explain what we mean by that.

Anthony from the Rwandan Tea Authority is pleased to see Season’s Pick Rwandan on sale

Rwandan tea is a vital part of our Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Gold blends. And as the country’s number one export earner, it’s very important to Rwanda too.

However, while the last decade has seen improved infrastructure and new economic opportunities for Rwanda, the disruption of the civil war in 1994 is still evident. For example, there are now only a few factories processing consistently top quality tea, which threatens the competitiveness of Rwanda’s tea industry and the livelihoods of many farmers.

That’s why we’ve matched a grant from the Department for International Development (DfID) to fund a project supporting 10,000 small-scale Rwandan tea farmers – it’s part of a wider UK government initiative called the Food Retail Industry Challenge fund (FRICH).

Our aim is to raise the quality of the tea being produced in Rwanda, through training in cultivation and processing, and to improve social and environmental practices, by partnering with the Rainforest Alliance. We’re even investigating the potential for farmers to raise extra income by protecting (or ’sequestering’) carbon.

Our tea buyers know that at its best Rwandan tea is hard to beat. To see for yourself, try our Season’s Pick Rwandan tea, which is currently available in selected supermarkets.

By creating a premium market for high quality, sustainably-grown tea and committing to purchase a significant volume from farmers in Rwanda, we’ll be supporting local tea communities, providing good living and working conditions for farmers and their workers.

That’s what our recent visitor, Anthony Butera, had to say about the UK. The reason why that’s particularly striking is that he is Director General of the Rwandan Tea Authority. Rwanda, land of a thousand hills. A place so beautiful that our tea buyers get a bit of a glow about them whenever they start talking about their visits there.

The rolling hills of Rwanda

Nevertheless, Anthony insists that to him the Yorkshire Dales are more beautiful than the lush tea-covered peaks of his home. But this is more than a simple case of the ‘grass being greener’.

Yorkshire’s beauty is less obvious during such a grey and chilly February, but it is still a place where life is good for the vast majority. And though Rwanda is unquestionably gorgeous and Anthony’s passion for it is clear, it is a country in great need of development.

Anthony with our tea buyer Sanjay

We’re working with people like Anthony to help Rwanda build a stronger tea industry, which will, in turn, improve the lives of over 10,000 farmers and their families. As one of the country’s biggest exports, tea is vital to Rwanda’s future. With support, the industry can drive development and provide the country’s rural population with the means to build a better life for themselves. Look out for further updates on this in the near future.

So yes, at first glance, it’s impossible not to be struck by the natural beauty of Rwanda’s ‘thousand hills’, but this is still a country with a mountain to climb.

It’s giveaway time on the blog once again! This time we’re offering a pair of tickets to the Baby Show, the UK’s biggest event dedicated to babies and pregnancy. Taking place at ExCel in London from Friday 19th February to Sunday 21st February, it’s great for anyone who’s expecting or already has little ones.

Yorkshire Tea decaf is a big hit with mums who want to cut down on caffeine but don’t want to settle for a second-rate cup of tea, so we’ll be there spreading the word and giving out free samples, alongside many of the best baby and parenting brands.

The event promises to be a fantastic shopping experience where you can test out the latest products for little ones, and take the opportunity to speak to expert midwives, nursery nurses and, of course, fellow mums and dads. With TV presenter and mum Tess Daly, baby expert Miriam Stoppard, nutrition expert Annabel Karmel, breast-feeding guru Clare Byam-Cook and others all taking to the stage to share their collective wisdom, the show is not one to be missed!

For a chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, just send an email titled ‘Baby Show’ to our Liz with the answer to the following question:

Which TV presenter will be making an appearance at the February show?

The Baby Show 2010 takes place at ExCel, London (19-21 February); NEC, Birmingham, (21-23 May) and at London’s Earls Court, London (22 – 24 October). Tickets are available now and can be ordered from www.thebabyshow.co.uk

No matter how you make your Yorkshire Tea at home, the journey tea makes to get to your cup is quite something! I have had the opportunity to see in the detail the impressive process tea goes through to give it the characteristics necessary to end up in a Yorkshire Tea bag. After visiting 16 tea factories and working with expert tea makers I have gained first hand insight into what I now know is both a science and an art. Here, I will do my best to share what I’ve learned so far……

Where the magic begins- two leaves and a bud.

Left to its own devices tea bushes (or Camellia sinensis) would grow into a tree up to 30ft high, but this is no good for tea plucking as you can imagine! Bushes are maintained in neat waist height tables for two reasons – one is for ease of plucking and the other is that keeping a bush tightly pruned makes more lovely green shoots appear, which is just what you need for processing into black tea. When tea leaves are picked the rush is on to take the leaves back to the factory for processing as quickly as possible to ensure the lovey nutrients and enzymes that play a vital role are preserved.

Once in the factory the leaves are sorted to make sure only the best quality is there, and that damaged or old leaf is discarded. The leaves are then spread out in big troughs and left for ‘withering’. This is the first and most important part of the process and requires real skill and experience.

There are two stages to withering: first,the ‘physical’ stage where all surface moisture is removed and second, the ‘chemical’ stage, where initial breakdown of enzymes take place. Left for too long these enzymes would die and you would be left with flavourless tea. Left for too short a time and you’d have thin tea that doesn’t really pack much of a punch. The length of time the leaves must wither depends upon the climatic factors and can last between 12-22 hours. Only when the leaves contain between 65%-68% moisture are they ready for the next stage.

The leaves are rolled and crushed to release the juices that contain crucial enzymes needed in the process. The leaves are then cut 3-4 times and exposed to the air. These juices release chemicals that start the oxidation process, where leaves turn form green to brown. This is another fine balancing act. It is time and temperature dependent so our skilled colleagues must judge on the day whether or not to apply heat and react to the heat of the day. After the leaves have been left to oxidise they then go for drying and are passed through a hot air dryer to extract the remaining moisture and to seal the leaf.

It’s a fine art to get all of these factors right to produce quality tea because if you let any of the stages slip, the quality of the tea will be affected.

The result is various shapes and sizes of lovely black tea which is then sorted and packed ready to be sent off to various destinations around the world, not least to us for Yorkshire Tea!

Some of these teas will end up in the Mombasa Tea Auction, where I made my debut yesterday. But that’s another story! Will tell you all about it in my next blog.

Bye for now!