In the past time, the output of world tea (excluding herbal tea) has more than doubled, which has also led to the growth rate of tea garden machinery and tea bag production. The growth rate of black tea production is higher than that of green tea. Much of this growth has come from Asian countries, thanks to rising consumption in producing countries. While this is good news, Ian Gibbs, chairman of the International Tea Council, believes that while production has surged, exports have remained flat.
However, the authors argue that an important issue contributing to the decline in black tea consumption, and one that was not discussed at any of the North American Tea Conference sessions, is the surge in herbal tea sales. Young consumers appreciate the properties that fruit teas, scented teas and flavored teas bring in sophisticated tea sets. During the Covid-19 pandemic, sales of tea, especially those that “enhance immunity,” “relieve stress,” and “help relax and calm,” have surged as consumers actively seek out and purchase functional, health-promoting tea products . The problem is that many of these “teas,” especially stress-relieving and calming “tea” products, don’t contain real tea leaves. So while global market research firms tout the growth of global “tea consumption” (tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water), the growth appears to be herbal teas, which are not good for black or green tea production.
In addition, McDowall explained that the degree of mechanization of tea pruner and hedge trimmer is increasing rapidly, but mechanization is mainly used to produce low-quality tea, and mechanization leads to the unemployment of tea picking workers. Large producers will likely continue to expand mechanization, while small producers cannot afford the high cost of mechanization, producers are squeezed, which will cause them to abandon tea in favor of more profitable crops such as avocados, eucalyptus, etc. .