Lounge
Do you value that cup of tea?
Summary
With low prices affecting tea quality and producers' livelihoods, it's time to reconsider what a cup of tea truly represents—experience, sustainability, and connection to nature.
If you have felt the increase in tea prices recently, it has come about after a difficult year for tea producers. It’s not prohibitively high that it deters purchase. And the sad truth is, tea—much of it—is still priced lower than it ought to be because it is sold as a commodity, which is about price and volume.
At the Colombo International Tea Conference last July, there was a discussion on the value of tea and achieving the right price for quality. Dilhan Fernando, chairman of Dilmah Tea, talked about the “mistaken assumption that price and value are equal". Price, he said, is a market-driven construct, whereas value is the sum of so much more.
Also read: Why wines are so expensive in bars and restaurants
For too long, we have been sold tea almost entirely on price rather than flavours, experience, how it complements our lifestyle, or even as an agricultural product that supports the livelihood of several thousand—a hundred thousand in India alone—people. What if we begin to look at the more nuanced aspects of tea, the value of that cup we enjoy?
“When prices are low, quality is hard, challenging even for the most passionate amongst producers, innovation becomes nearly impossible," said Fernando. In the ideal world, supply wouldn’t outstrip demand, and the minimum bar for tea quality would be higher than it is now, and consumers would be able to afford it.
A 2021 study published in the Journal of Ethnic Foods analysed the cultural motives affecting tea purchase in China. It reported that when respondents bought tea as a gift, they choose brands or teas that were deemed suitable. For their own use, they were more pragmatic, choosing value for money but also more willing to explore novel teas, new experiences and even factors such as sustainably produced tea.
Somewhere between the low prices, discounts and deals of our tea trade, and the idea of tea as a prestige symbol in China, lies the true—and more relevant—value of tea. As consumers, what do we value in a cup—is it the experience it offers us, of harmony, provenance, or a connection to people and earth? Or a bit of everything?
When the price of tea is low, it’s the producer who bears that cost burden. It means that those at one end of the supply chain will find it impossible to have the quality of life they’d like. Speaking at the same session, UK-based Ahmad Tea’s managing director, Ebraham Afshar, spoke of the gap in the living wage (defined as the minimum wage earned by a worker per week for a decent standard of life for their family). He quoted a study that indicated the living wage gap for tea workers (Assam at 50% was the highest). There is a need to convince a consumer to pay a higher price so that it can meet the living wage criteria. When we pay more, we demand better. The demand for better tea can raise the quality standards, addressing so many concerns. Ultimately, the ripple effect can reach the woman tea plucker—women form the majority of the workforce—so symbolic of our tea industry, so that she and her family can live a little better.
Tea Nanny is a fortnightly series on the world of tea. Aravinda Anantharaman is a tea drinker, writer and editor. She posts @AravindaAnanth1 on Twitter.
