In the late 1980s, however, the Tea Board of Indonesia began to instigate programs to refurbish the tea gardens and infrastructure of the tea industry. This has encouraged renewed interest in the flagging tea industry, and today Indonesia proudly boasts an export production of 168,000 metric tons of tea from thirteen tea-growing provinces on Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.
INDONESIA’S TEA-GROWING REGIONS
Indonesia is biologically one of the richest and most complex regions on earth. On Java much of the land is dominated by mountainous interiors, where high peaks and smoking volcanoes are flanked with forest and fertile terraced fields. The shape of the island is long and slender, featuring a nearly continuous chain of mountains all the way down the middle of the island, from west to east. These mountains feature thirty-eight peaks that were at one time (or are currently) active volcanoes, such as Bromo, Kelut, Merap, and Papandayan.
The principal areas for tea production are found in the island’s mountainous western regions, in the highlands outside of the cities of Bogor and Bandung. In these high elevations tea gardens benefit from close proximity to lush rain forest preserves and the region’s rich volcanic soil. These forests are thick and verdant, filled with nature preserves, botanical parks, archaeological ruins, and abundant exotic bird life. During the colonial days the Dutch cultivated large tea plantations in the valleys south of Bagor. Coffee plantations were planted further south, near Sikabumi, and rubber plantations were established to the northeast, near Citereup. Southwest of Bandung, in the Pangalengan district, the Chakra Group, one of Indonesia’s largest tea producers, operates four estates—Dewata, Gunung Kencana, Megawatie, and Negara Kanaan. The Dewata Tea Estate is located near the Gungung Tilu Rain Forest Preserve and the Perhutani Forest and is typical of the tea plantation communities developed by the Europeans in the nineteenth century.
The dry climate in Indonesia encourages year-round plucking, but the best tea is harvested from July through September at elevations from 2,500 to over 5,000 feet. The finest Indonesian tea is produced by orthodox manufacture, although a large quantity of CTC tea is also produced to meet the needs of teabag packers. Some of the best Indonesian teas are compared in flavor and style to high-grown Ceylon teas for their tasteful finesse and rosy flavors. Lesser amounts of undistinguished green tea are produced. Tea accounts for approximately 17 percent of Indonesia’s agricultural production.
Tea auctions are held every week in Jakarta on Java. Although Indonesian teas are not easy to find, tea enthusiasts should seek out orthodox black leaf from these estates in Java (Cibuni, Cisaruni, Kertasarie, Santosa, Taloon, Tjidadap, and Tjubuni) and Sumatra (Bah Butong, Gunong Dempo, and Gunong Rosa).
Nepal: Tea from a Himalayan Kingdom
The eastern border of this Himalayan kingdom lies very close to the Darjeeling region of India. In fact, Nepalese tea growers boast that they can drive to the Darjeeling region in just six hours. With soaring elevations reaching close to seven thousand feet in both places, the rarified, thin air that slows leaf maturation and breeds complexity and finesse in Darjeeling teas also works its magic on the tea grown in this tiny sliver of a country. Nepalese teas are hard to come by and unfortunately have yet to be discovered by the vast majority of tea connoisseurs in the West. This is due to Nepal’s relative isolation, a lack of modernization, and the fact that the tea industry did not benefit from development and investment by others. In fact, just the opposite occurred in Nepal, as the tea industry suffered negative consequences from years of ineffectual government control and a long delay in transition from government ownership to private ownership and investment opportunity.
Nepal’s major claim to fame and most significant tourist draw is majestic Mount Everest. The capital city of Kathmandu, located between eastern and central Nepal, is a crossroads for visitors to the Himalaya regions as well as for trekkers and climbers. It is also a religious and cultural magnet for Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhists and other pilgrims and zealots. The hodgepodge and chaos of Kathmandu is a cultural stewpot of colorful temples, exotic street bazaars, and Freak Street—the street off of the main square dominated by counterculture American and European hippies in the 1970s seeking momentary “enlightenment” in this high-altitude Zanadu.
NEPAL’S ORTHODOX TEA
Nepal’s tea gardens were started in the late nineteenth century in the far corner of the eastern region. Nepal produces both orthodox and CTC teas—the orthodox teas are stylish, tippy, flavorful, and aromatic, often nearly indistinguishable from Darjeeling tea. The fine, hill-grown, orthodox teas are made in the districts of Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, and Dhankuta, along the Indian border near Darjeeling. These districts are declared as tea zones; an additional tea zone is located on the fertile, lowland plains of the Terai region, where most of the CTC production is carried out. Nepal does not have any large tea estates; its tea industry is comprised primarily of smallholder tea farmers who sell their fresh leaf to the tea factories or the cooperatives. Although Nepal produces some excellent quality, fragrant orthodox leaf, it has many obstacles to overcome before the tea industry can truly flourish. Isolated locations in rugged pockets of land, poor to nonexistent roads and road conditions, political unrest, severe poverty, and severe mismanagement by the formerly government-controlled tea industry have all conspired in the past to prevent the tea industry from moving forward. Additionally, the Nepalese government does not provide subsidies or incentives to the tea farmers, so the costs of producing tea are high, which is a disadvantage to the tea farmers.
Nepalese tea gardens have become privatized in the past twenty years, and the involvement of private sector interest has made great strides toward increased tea production. From 2002 to 2004, a tenfold increase in tea production was recorded, and export quantity reached just over 1,000 metric tons for the first time. The best orthodox leaf teas comprise just 10 percent of Nepal’s entire production and are exported to markets, including Canada, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Much of the CTC production is consumed locally and sold abroad for blends.
NEPAL-DARJEELING BLENDS
Industry sources suggest that in the past there was such a demand for Darjeeling tea that a large portion of the Nepalese leaves plucked at the gardens in Ilam were (and sometimes still are) blended in with Darjeeling teas to pad out the annual yield or, even worse, sold and marketed completely as Darjeeling. The problem lies in that Nepalese tea is auctioned through India at the Calcutta tea auctions, and from there Nepalese tea can end up in anyone’s blend. There is demand for Darjeeling tea far beyond what that region can supply, so the temptation for some to stretch tea exists. Figures suggest that as much as three times the amount of Darjeeling tea is sold than is actually grown. This activity is suspected in warehouses across the world and in Calcutta, where no one is the wiser. To combat this, Darjeeling has instituted a quality protection seal to assure tea buyers and consumers that what they are purchasing is 100 percent pure Darjeeling tea; Nepal is likewise working on such a proof of authenticity label.
Because good prospects for orthodox tea in Nepal have been proven, the Nepalese government has given priority to increased tea production in the eastern districts. In addition, improved cultivation practices, the latest technical know-how, and efficient management systems are bringing the tea industry in line with other tea-producing countries in the region. Various organizations are working with growers, packers, manufacturers, and exporters to ensure continued success with Nepal’s tea industry.
The Nepal Tea Planters Association (NTPA) is comprised of twenty-three CTC factory members, and the Himalayan Orthodox Tea Planters Association (HOTPA) represents 18,000 tea farmer members with eleven orthodox tea factories. HOTPA is a nonpolitical, nonprofit organization established by the joint efforts of small farmers and entrepreneurs with the intention of promoting orthodox tea manufacture in the hilly region of eastern Nepal. HOTPA is hoping to motivate small landholders to cultivate tea and for Nepalese entrepreneurs to invest in tea-processing facto
ries. Nepal is woefully short on leaf-processing ability; unlike the tea estates in India or Ceylon, Nepalese orthodox tea growers must send their leaf out for processing. This results in the inability to offer quantities of estate-grown tea, as the leaf winds up in collective blends that are graded by leaf size.
CODE OF CONDUCT INITIATIVE
In conjunction with Winrock International, a United States–based organization dedicated to alleviating poverty in Nepal and other parts of South Asia, Nepal has developed a code of conduct policy that they hope will be an inspiration to other tea-producing countries. While the code ensures social responsibility to workers and the environment, it also sets standards for excellence in the workplace and in tea production, and supports integrity in pricing, fulfillment of commitments, and consistency in all transactions. The code maintains to uphold thirty-two points under the four main categories: respect for nature, respect for people, respect for the production system, and transparency of operations.
Nepal, which hopes to garner greater visability in the marketplace for its orthodox teas, is staunchly behind the ethics of the code. The hope is that other tea countries will sign on. The use of an identifying logo is available to members of the code, and those who sign on may find that their profits rise as more tea-drinking consumers want to vote with their dollars in support of this type of environmentally and socially sound policy.
Members of HOTPA have established five new leaf-processing plants, and another three are being established. HOTPA is calling on the private sector to generate employment in the rural areas and support the Nepalese economy by promoting orthodox tea as a major export commodity. HOTPA believes that Nepal has the potential to devote more than 74,000 acres of land to tea production, which is a five-fold increase, and that the focus must be on manufacturing high-end orthodox leaf for the specialty tea trade. Emphasis needs to be placed on the pure and pollution-free environment in Nepal and the special characteristics of the handmade tea that is produced by the smallholder tea farmers. To achieve this goal, HOTPA has established a marketing arm, the Himalayan Tea Marketing Cooperative (HIMCOOP-NEPAL) to promote Nepalese tea and increase exposure in international markets. HIMCOOP’s goal is to position Nepalese tea at the highest level of niche marketing, a fitting goal for tea that is grown on the rooftop of the world.
TEA PRODUCTION IN NEPAL
Most tea gardens in Nepal are privately owned, but a few are still publicly owned. The Nepal Tea Development Corporation, a government agency, now only owns seven tea gardens (two for orthodox tea, five for CTC), compared with the private sector, which touts sixty tea gardens. Smallholders account for approximately 2,468 gardens. One collective venture and a model for other smallholders to follow is the Kanchenjunga Tea Estate, located at Ranitar in the remote hilly region of the Panchthar district. This privately owned 232-acre estate lies at the foothills of Mount Kanchenjunga, the second-highest peak on the Himalayan range. The estate is owned collectively by a hundred tea farmers. The total amount of land under cultivation in Nepal claims close to 25,000 acres. Slightly less than half of that is devoted to orthodox leaf. The greatest concentration of orthodox tea production is made by the efforts of the smallholder tea farmers located in Ilam and in Panchthar.
THE TEA FROM THE HIPPIES ON FREAK STREET
Back in the late 1970s we befriended a sweet young couple in our then café-store. They were low on cash but in need of food and coffee, which we gladly offered them. To repay us for our goodwill, they gave us a colorfully illustrated tin of Nepalese tea that they had purchased on a recent trip. This tea was fragrant and delicious, with a light, pleasing style that was very different from other tea that we sold in our shop. We added the tin to our collection of tea miscellany. The red tin has a picture of Kathmandu on one side and a picture of women picking tea in the gardens on the other. One panel is written in Nepali and the other in English. It says that the tea is from the Ilam Tea Company and is touted as a “golden flowery orange pekoe—a superb hill tea with a delicate flavor.”
We were taken by this tea’s delicious nature and the notion of traveling to someplace so far away and exotic. We tried to locate the source; it took close to a year! But now we feature this Nepalese tea in our shop. We believe in its greatness. To this day we remain eternally grateful to the nameless hippie couple who shared with us their precious tin of tea from Kathmandu’s Freak Street.
Nepal enjoys a four-season tea harvest before the bushes go dormant for the winter season. Each season brings tea to market that features distinctive character traits and flavor profiles. Spring cropping begins in late February and continues into mid-April, and contributes small-leaf teas that are light in body, fresh in flavor, and delicately aromatic. The second crop of tea is plucked in the summer months of May and June. The leaves have grown somewhat larger; the flavor of the tea is more substantial and full, and the liquor is bright and rose-hued. The monsoon flush starts in eastern Nepal in June and continues until the end of September. During this time the fast-growing leaves reflect the abundant moisture that the plants are being exposed to. The quality is considered standard. Lastly, October brings the autumn flush, the final flush of the year. Autumnal teas are delightful to drink and a real connoisseur’s delight. The tea has lingering, rich aromas and deep, smooth flavors. The leaf has lost its rosy color and has taken on a mature, dark amber color.
Africa: The Last Frontier of Tea’s Colonial Expansion
Although a relative newcomer to tea, Africa ranks fourth in world production with an impressive 476,641 metric tons produced. Tea is grown primarily in the African nations of Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Smaller crops are beginning to develop in Burundi, Cameroon, Congo/Zaire, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, world tea production is expected to grow 1.7 percent annually until 2014. Significant growth in tea output is expected from the African countries of Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania as tea bushes come of age and the skills of the tea workers reach their full potential.
KENYA
Compared to the number of years tea has been under cultivation in such countries as India and Sri Lanka, tea is a relative agricultural newcomer to Kenya. Despite this, Kenya has made excellent progress in developing its tea industry. Tea is a valuable cash crop for Kenyan tea farmers; for many of them it is the sole basis of their yearly income. This direct correlation of crop yield to income is the incentive that has spurred Kenyan tea farmers to achieve astonishing success. In 2004 Kenya ranked as the third-largest producer of black tea in the world and the world leader in tea exports—an astonishing feat to accomplish in less than fifty years. Tea has become the largest subsector of the agricultural community, employing approximately 3 million or 10 percent of all workers in Kenya, and the principal cash crop generated for foreign exchange.
Tea was first cultivated in Limuru in 1903 by a European settler named Caine on a small two-acre piece of land. To regulate and promote this up-and-coming industry, Kenya’s tea board was founded in 1959 as an adjunct to the ministry of agriculture. The tea board had responsibilities that focus exclusively on matters of tea growing, research, and manufacture, as well as trade and promotion at home and abroad. Later, in 1964, the Kenya Tea Development Authority was established to promote tea farming by small landholders in the highlands.
The Great Rift Valley. In Kenya tea is grown on both sides of the Great Rift Valley, the vast and wide ecological divide that cuts Kenya in half, right down the middle. This African rift system is the largest in the world and forms a long gash in the earth that begins in Ethiopia and carves its way through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique. In Kenya the Rift Valley floor is a hot, dry, and parched place, but the lofty highlands provide the altitude and upland climate necessary for vigorous and exceptional tea growth.
The eastern section of the Rift Valley is home to Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa. Known in the Kikuyu language as
Mount Kirinyaga, it is one of the few locations on the equator that maintains glaciers. Mount Kenya, located in Nyandarua or the Aberdare Highlands, is home to the Kikuyu god Ngai. This mountainous area is named after the Englishman Joseph Thompson, the first Westerner to venture into this region of Kenya. In 1950 part of the highlands was designated as the Aberdare National Park, an area that stretches down the mountain slopes to the Nyeri region and the outlying eastern tea-growing district.
From Nyeri the largest concentrations of tea gardens trail one another southward through the regions of Kiambu, Maragua, Muranga, and Thika, and they end just north of the bustling capital city of Nairobi. The tea gardens are positioned at elevations ranging from 4,900 feet to 8,850 feet and grow in rich, volcanic soils in a lush, tropical climate. Bountiful sunshine and copious amounts of rainfall in the vicinity of 47 to 106 inches annually provide a plentiful soaking necessary for lush growth. In the western side of the valley, the majority of tea gardens are found in the highland regions of Bomet, Kericho, Kisii, Nandi, Nyamira, and Sotik. Close to an equal number of tea gardens are located on the east side of the rift in Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Meru, Muranga, and Nyeri, but the gardens on the western side bring the largest quantity of tea to market in most years. The highest-producing regions are Kericho, Nandi, Kianbu, Nyamira, and Nyeri.
The Story of Tea Page 29