The Fair Trade organization was started to provide a fair alternative for small farmers by offering them a fair price for their products. It provides a partnership with individual farmers and cooperatives that is aimed at greater equality in international trade. Often these farmers are connected to co-operations so they have more selling power. Many Continue reading →

The London Tea Auction, controlled by the East India Company until 1834, was first held in 1679 and for the last time in 1998. Tea was more and more auctioned by the container-load (sometimes when the ships were still at sea) and the tea-producing countries started their own auctions. The expanded East India House, Leadenhall Continue reading →

What are the top tea-producing countries in the world? I looked at the reporting from the Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations, and this is what I found: Ranking 2006 Production (2006 in tons) Ranking 2003 Production (2003 in tons) 1. China 1,049,500 2 788,815 2. India 892,730 1 838,000 3. Sri Lanka Continue reading →

The Camellia Sinensis plant brings us five different categories of tea: black, oolong, green, white and pu’erh. The difference lies in the quality of leaf used, the type of plucking and subsequently processing of the leaves. Other ways to categorize teas are by country or region of origin, “singles estates” or blends (a categorization similar Continue reading →

Camellia Sinensis – The Tea Bush All teas, except for Herbal Teas, come from just one plant: Camellia Sinensis. Up to 1753 the tea plant was called Thea Sinensis. This shrub-like flowering evergreen plant is usually grown in tropical climates at high altitudes. The best teas are grown at altitudes between 3000 and 7000 feet. Continue reading →