A two-day tea carnival is all set to raise awareness about the varieties and modes of having tea. Shalini Saksena speaks with experts to tell you more
Considering that drinking tea was not native to India, we’ve come a long way since the East India Company days of the 18th century when tea was for the very first time introduced to the sub-continent. In 2013, the country produced 1,200 million kg tea. With over 425 member gardens, the India Tea Association (ITA) and its branches represent over 60 per cent of India’s total tea production and to take tea drinking to the next level, a carnival is being held at Gurgaon.
This first-of-its-kind tea carnival will be open to the public from 1 pm onwards with an aim to making drinking tea a fashionable activity. Arun Narain Singh, chairman, ITA, says, “through this carnival, we are trying to connect directly with the consumer. In India, the consumer is unaware of the variety of teas available. Not many know about Darjeeling tea, or what orthodox tea is. So, to educate consumers, we are holding this carnival,” Singh explains.
“The target audience for this carnival are college growing children and young women and mothers. This segment is moving away from tea drinking and to get them back, we want to tell them about the health benefits and various varieties of tea. We want to make tea an aspirational drink,” Singh says.
This is a statement is corroborated by almost all industry players. “First, we have to accept that tea drinking is going through a transition. As an industry, we must take advantage of this change and ensure that it becomes a trend to have a cup of tea, be it green tea, black tea with milk and sugar, or ice tea or even a tea mocktail. We want to tell people that there are plenty of options for them; That just having a nukkadwali chai or brewed tea is not the only option,” Vikram Singh Gulia, senior general manager, head-branded tea division of Goodricke, says.
The industry is facing a huge challenge. The biggest is that of climate change and its after effects. “This is a big worry for the industry. The tea plant is very sensitive. Already there is a shortage of 10 million kg of tea due to bad weather. So while, the reports that some teas have pesticides is a cause of concern, the ITA makes sure that the teas that are exported go through the strictest guidelines to contain the situation,” Sumit Shah, executive director of Madhu Jayanti International, says.
Coming back to the two-day carnival, Shah tells you that the focus is to build the image of tea as a youthful drink; to bring back tea to the consumers and to increase its consumption. “One has to keep in mind that the traditional way of drinking tea is no longer feasible. People don’t have the time or the inclination. So one has to look for a middle path. It has been noticed that tea bags have become popular and more and more household are buying them.
“In fact, the tea bag consumption has seen a growth of 25 per cent in the last three to four years. This is the market that needs to be tapped. The habit of drinking tea at night is also gaining ground. That is another area where the industry can push for sales. In other words, there is need to change the nature of tea demand in the country,” Shah says.