Guru of Tea

A senior delegation representing trading interests of the Yunnan province (China) Tea & coffee industries asked the Guru to talk to them about the current state of the UK tea and coffee industry and what issues are most important to the UK consumer. Other presenters included delegate leaders, Bruce Ginsberg of Dragon Fly Tea, Cassandre Maury of the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation and Mr Nicholas McLean of MWM (asia). Below is the transcript I used to base my talk on;

Although we see a Starbucks on every corner the UK is predominantly a tea market although tea and coffee happily co-exist both on the high street and in the consumers mind.  125 million kg. of tea is sold on the UK market.  Tea has a share of throat (vs. all beverages) of over 35%, (coffee 16%, mineral water 5%, alcohol ca 16%) although this is a significant decrease vs. 1970’s (50% SOT) the recent decline in tea consumption has stopped. The UK is a black tea market with over 80% of tea drunk with milk (so called white tea!).
Consumption is driven by in-home consumption with over 90% of tea consumed in home and of that over 90% is in the form of tea bags. Coffee has similar statistics with  over 80% consumed in home & is also driven by convenience with soluble or ;’instant’ coffee being the dominant for consumed.
There is significant overlap between tea and coffee both in consumer’s minds and in their consumption patterns with over 40% of consumers drinking both tea and coffee. Where this is most seen is at different consumption occasions during the day – over 50% of breakfast drinks consumed in the UK are tea with 30% overall consumption of tea is drunk at breakfast. Tea seems more associated with meal occasions whereas coffee is a ‘break time’ beverage or  commuter drink - borne out by the fact that 20% of coffee is consumed Out of Home (OOH). The work environment is the next largest segment - only 10% of tea is drunk OOH but of that 10% over 82% is drunk in the office vs. over 74% of OOH coffee. Significant opportunities for both beverages in home and in the office although the retail environment is a great place to recruit drinkers and make them aware of new and interesting beverages!!!

There is growing interest in speciality tea (green, china varietals, herbals). Interest seems based on concerns about health – seeking a (potentially) healthy alternative to their normal consumption, lower caffeine during the evening etc.
Current interests / trends
The overarching benefit of ‘Health’ is a major driver with health & wellness, sustainability, provenance and organic being major drivers for the market. Speciality tea & coffee are a significant opportunity and some would say uniquely positioned to take advantage of these drivers. Black tea has been commoditized in the UK with large retailers & big brands often using tea as a loss leader to recruit customers to their stores. Speciality tea is growing because people see that it has something to offer that is different from their everyday ‘brew’. UK consumers like products with a story to tell. This can be based on history, provenance, sustainability or (caution needed) health……
A growing trend is ‘certification’, showing that the tea has been produced to certain standards to protect the industry workers, farmers and growers, or the environment, or both. Driven by consumer desire products displaying Fairtrade and Rain Forest Alliance logo’s are increasingly common on UK, EU and US supermarket shelves. Certification means that facilities are audited against agreed standards. Having an independent unbiased 3rd party auditing facilities has more meaning to the often skeptical UK consumer than business owners saying ‘trust me’! UK consumers are not only interested in where their products come from but what impact the harvesting, processing and transportation of these products has on our plant hence growing interest in Carbon and water footprints.

Regulatory challenges in getting product into the EU
The EU is an increasingly challenging environment to do business in. A fact that the UK tea council, it’s members and other tea companies take seriously and work hard  with the regulatory authorities on behalf of the global trade members. Pesticides and other chemical contaminants are a major focus and all UK companies have stringent quality control checks and systems where we rely on our partners in the growing regions to support us. But this is a partnership. Companies, and organisations in the UK are working closely with global partners, informing them of regulations and pesticides/herbicides that must be avoided if smooth export to the UK is to be achieved – beneficial to both parties! All the good news about health can be overturned by press & newspaper stories about contamination - as recently found in Poland - mites in Puer tea cakes.
Getting your message to the consumer – what can you say?
Caution must be also be used with labelling & health claims as in China people are aware of the health connections of tea but in the EU rigorous scientific proof must be produced to support any health claim. Please consider asking local tea research institutes to undertake research & publish the results in international scientific journals. International audiences will need help to understand speciality teas such as Puer in their own languages & using current scientific techniques and recognised medical research tools, biomarkers etc on which to base robust health claims.
I look forward to a long relationship between the UK & Yunnan tea & Coffee companies. End

The discussions and presentations concluded the delegation members then organised tastings of Yunnan teas and coffees with a focus on Puer teas which was a unique opportunity to savour many different types of Puer from the youthful (2 years old) to the venerable (20 years old!).Even flavoured Puers are now making an appearance. This is deffinitely a category to watch!