How to Grow Great Tea
First build your mountains. You want to aim for an altitude of between 4,000 and 6,000 feet for your tea gardens. Try to make sure they have rich volcanic soil, so you won’t need much fertilizer, and if you can place them in a part of the world that hasn’t been growing tea long enough to develop pests that feed on tea plants, you won’t need pesticides either.
You’ll need plenty of moisture, so a humid climate with two rainy seasons is just perfect. And those mountain mists will help hold the moisture close to the plants and protect them from the sun. Moderate temperatures are best, but the elevation will take care of that, even if you’re close to the equator.
If you don’t want to go to all that trouble, but you’re looking for the perfect tea-growing conditions, you might consider the mountainous regions of East Africa. In fact, you really should check out that corner of the mountains called Rwanda: you’ll find Rwanda has all the requirements for growing truly great tea.
If you don’t believe us, just try our Superb Black Tea from the Mountains of the Moon in Rwanda. If you try it, you’ll like it!
You’ll need plenty of moisture, so a humid climate with two rainy seasons is just perfect. And those mountain mists will help hold the moisture close to the plants and protect them from the sun. Moderate temperatures are best, but the elevation will take care of that, even if you’re close to the equator.
If you don’t want to go to all that trouble, but you’re looking for the perfect tea-growing conditions, you might consider the mountainous regions of East Africa. In fact, you really should check out that corner of the mountains called Rwanda: you’ll find Rwanda has all the requirements for growing truly great tea.
If you don’t believe us, just try our Superb Black Tea from the Mountains of the Moon in Rwanda. If you try it, you’ll like it!
Making It Right
The quality of the green tea leaves grown in the Rwanda is
among the best in the world, but the processing makes all the difference in producing premium tea. It’s important to get the leaves to the factory
for processing as soon as possible, because the fresh leaves
deteriorate very quickly if not processed within hours of picking.
In remote tea-growing areas, this can be a hindrance to creating a great final product. Our tea is produced by a factory located in the mountains that takes the tea of the surrounding fields, both the factory owner’s estate and the smallholders in the area. The proximity of the factory helps ensure the high quality of the final product and allows producers to get the full value of their tea without having to sell to middlemen for transport to a factory.
The estate that grows our tea is certified under the international food safety standards ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 22000:2005 and participates in the Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance programs and the Ethical Tea Partnership to ensure ecologically sensitive use of the land as well as good working conditions and fair treatment for those who pick and process the tea.
In remote tea-growing areas, this can be a hindrance to creating a great final product. Our tea is produced by a factory located in the mountains that takes the tea of the surrounding fields, both the factory owner’s estate and the smallholders in the area. The proximity of the factory helps ensure the high quality of the final product and allows producers to get the full value of their tea without having to sell to middlemen for transport to a factory.
The estate that grows our tea is certified under the international food safety standards ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 22000:2005 and participates in the Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance programs and the Ethical Tea Partnership to ensure ecologically sensitive use of the land as well as good working conditions and fair treatment for those who pick and process the tea.
Rwanda’s Tea Advantage
Tea makes an essential contribution to Rwanda’s economy as one of the country’s top three exports and has been key in rebuilding the country after the ravages of the 1990s.
The first tea bushes were planted in Rwanda in the 1950s. In 1958, the crop was 60 tonnes, increasing to 1,900 tonnes by 1990. The devastation of the 1994 Genocide affected tea as much as the rest of the economy, but by the late nineties yields had recovered and reached 14,500 tonnes by 2000. Current production is more than 23,000 tonnes per year. Around 97 percent of the crop is exported, providing essential foreign currency for the country. The tea is generally picked by women, and the year-round harvest allows them to earn a regular cash income.
The tea crop is Rwanda’s second most significant export earner and is a vital source of income for more than 30,000 smallholders and 60,000 households across 11 of the 30 districts in the country. These smallholders produce more than 65% of Rwanda’s tea.
The World Food Program recently praised Rwanda’s farmers for their high standards and the excellent quality of their agricultural products, and the Ministry of Agriculture is optimistic that bridging linkage between farmers and traders will help strengthen current initiatives to promote agriculture.
Because of the high quality, Rwandan tea now fetches the highest prices at the weekly tea auctions in Mombasa, Kenya. The government is encouraging the planting of more tea estates and wants to see five more factories built to process the raw leaf, adding to the eleven factories currently in use. Also on the agenda: modernization of the existing tea factories and road improvements to allow prompt delivery from fields to factories.
The first tea bushes were planted in Rwanda in the 1950s. In 1958, the crop was 60 tonnes, increasing to 1,900 tonnes by 1990. The devastation of the 1994 Genocide affected tea as much as the rest of the economy, but by the late nineties yields had recovered and reached 14,500 tonnes by 2000. Current production is more than 23,000 tonnes per year. Around 97 percent of the crop is exported, providing essential foreign currency for the country. The tea is generally picked by women, and the year-round harvest allows them to earn a regular cash income.
The tea crop is Rwanda’s second most significant export earner and is a vital source of income for more than 30,000 smallholders and 60,000 households across 11 of the 30 districts in the country. These smallholders produce more than 65% of Rwanda’s tea.
The World Food Program recently praised Rwanda’s farmers for their high standards and the excellent quality of their agricultural products, and the Ministry of Agriculture is optimistic that bridging linkage between farmers and traders will help strengthen current initiatives to promote agriculture.
Because of the high quality, Rwandan tea now fetches the highest prices at the weekly tea auctions in Mombasa, Kenya. The government is encouraging the planting of more tea estates and wants to see five more factories built to process the raw leaf, adding to the eleven factories currently in use. Also on the agenda: modernization of the existing tea factories and road improvements to allow prompt delivery from fields to factories.
Most Rwandan tea currently goes to Kenya to brighten popular Kenyan blends, but this may be changing. Britain is a major
purchaser of Rwanda’s Fair Trade Certified* tea, and Sainsbury’s, one of
the biggest British supermarket chains, recently switched its entire
range of tea and coffee lines to Fair Trade. A commitment by Sainsbury’s
to carry Rwandan tea has encouraged farmers to increase Fair Trade production in
Rwanda.
We’re hoping that once Americans discover for themselves the wonderful flavor and quality of Rwanda tea, more of those tonnes of tea will be crossing the Atlantic for U.S. consumption.
We’re hoping that once Americans discover for themselves the wonderful flavor and quality of Rwanda tea, more of those tonnes of tea will be crossing the Atlantic for U.S. consumption.
A Fair Deal for Growers
*Fair Trade guarantees livable wages for workers and their families, improving their opportunities for better health care, housing, and education. By choosing this Fair Trade Certified™ tea, you are directly contributing to the livelihood of tea-growing communities.
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*Attention Businesses!
If you sell or serve tea, e-mail us at wholesale@excellent-tea.com for wholesale prices and shipping options.
