Trip to America

I may be the tea guy, but I am very aware that a tea drinker is usually partial to a few cups of coffee in any given day. Because of this and our relationship with Burton Hollis, I recently had the pleasure of travelling to America with renowned coffee roaster, David Burton, to attend the SCAA (Speciality Coffee Association of America) conference in Minneapolis (image below).

This is a conference on a huge scale – stands from plantations, producers, roasters and retailers from across the world. It was a complete culture shock for a tea guy like myself. I know that the coffee industry is bigger than the tea one (give it time, people, give it time) but I was not prepared for the diversity of the stands, the growers and the ethnicities that were on display. We take it for granted when we sip our latte that “NZ roasted” covers it all, but a mere coffee bean undergoes a lot before it reaches our shores.

It was an information overload but given the amount of travel time I have given it some thought and these are the observations that I would like to share with you…

Ethical Coffee
The coffee industry has given a lot of thought and energy into the ethics of production. We see Fair Trade a lot here but overseas it is developing into something much bigger and we are seeing new movements like the Rainforest Alliance (www.rainforest-alliance.org ) and Coffee Kids (www.coffeekids.org ) gathering momentum and making a real difference.

Baristas
We went to the US National Barista Championships and felt incredibly patriotic when we learnt that one of the lead technical judges was Chris White from New Zealand. The standards of Baristas in the States is rising quickly and we saw some very theatrical performances – it was like watching a celebrity chef the way they engaged the audience.

Best Cup of Coffee
We drank a lot of coffee (as you would imagine). It is always interesting drinking coffee with David Burton. I agree with him when he says that street coffee in America is very bad. They favour a dark roast and then mix it with way too many creamers and flavours for it to be enjoyed. The best cup was a Colombian coffee, reputed to be the best coffee in the world and now I understand why it is referred to as ‘black gold’. David commented that a trip to America always reminds him that we are doing a good job in New Zealand.

Tea
A tea man cannot survive any trip without a good cup of tea along the way and I made sure to fit in a visit to Harris Tea (www.harristea.com ) in Anaheim. They are the largest private label supplier of tea in the States producing both speciality and mainstream tea and I felt right at home.

Proud to be a Kiwi
I always love traveling and letting people know that I am from New Zealand (yes I am aware that I am a POM, but I still call New Zealand home). What was interesting was how many people related to New Zealand on a more passionate level and for one reason in particular. Not the All Blacks, not the politics, but Flight of the Concords. Those boys have worked some magic with the Americans and we felt the love!

It is good to be home. It is good to be back tasting and blending tea, but I am delighted to have gained more insight into the coffee industry which has given me a new found appreciation for that cup of black gold I have every now and then!

Sri Lanka

Great news – I just booked my next flight to Sri Lanka! I’ll be heading off soon, with the CEO of the Bell Tea Company, Mark Hamilton. This will be his first trip to Sri Lanka and I can’t wait to show him around all the different estates, and introduce him to our friends and tea partners. Sri Lanka is one of our most important tea producers, and we have a really strong relationship with many of the great tea estates over there. So I’m really excited that Mark will be coming.

I’ll be sure to bring back photos for the blog!

Papua New Guinea Landslide

There was a major landslide in Papua New Guinea during April which wiped out the road from the agricultural highlands to the main port. We have 3 containers stuck on the wrong side, which were already running late due to production issues. The road could take up to 2 months to replace, and I am expecting delays of at least 6-8 weeks in future shipments. However we are working hard on finding replacements for these teas.

Food Show in Christchurch

I’ve just returned from a very successful Food Show in Christchurch. I always love the opportunity to talk to consumers, take them through a tasting, and hear their feedback about the humble cup of tea. I am always so delighted to know that after the show, more people are aware of the golden “Great Tea Takes Three” rule so that people out there are having the best tea experience possible!

Being there, making thousands of cups of tea, is such valuable experience for me as a tea blender, and the feedback I get at these sorts of events is what helps me when I design new blends of tea. We got some great comments about our new green tea, Bell Zesty Green. I really felt like people understood what we are trying to do with this drink, with the natural, fresh and mellow flavours. Last year when we were there, we introduced people to Bell Kenya Bold, and it was extremely rewarding to see many of these people again, telling me that Kenya Bold is now their favourite tea blend!

Also I love going to the South Island, everyone is always so welcoming. And its nice to have a few days out of the office!

I’m looking forward to doing it all over again at the Wellington Food Show in May. But for now it’s back to the daily grind – actually for me it’s back to the daily blend!

Tea World

Although Kenya is still a long way from resolution, it is good to see the political trouble has settled down a little bit. We are delighted that all our tea estates are able to produce again, and the product is no longer stuck in Kenya, unable to be exported. I was also relieved to know that my friends and colleagues over there are safe.

It is another example of how political forces can have a massive influence on the tea industry, all over the world.

Horse of the Year

Bell Tea has supported equestrian events since 1978 - that's a whopping 30 years! This year, like so many others, was a brilliant event. For something different, we weren’t just serving tea this year; we also took down our own baristas from Burton Hollis, and served Burtons Coffee.

The event has such a community atmosphere, with all the riders, supporters and spectators, all visiting the stand for a tea or coffee. Great camaraderie – and I was delighted to be a part of it.

The highlight for me was to watch John Whitaker compete. John is a living legend, who I used to watch show jumping when I was a kid in England. It was amazing to see him still going strong, and I was thrilled to get to meet him afterwards as well.

Overall it was a great day – wonderful weather and lots of tea (and coffee!). In fact I believe we served over 10,000 hot beverages over the week. You’d think I’d be sick of tea by then, but at the end of the day all I wanted to do was sit down, put my feet up and have a cup!