Tea the Hero Crop

September 2, 2016

Large government-supported tea estates are failing. Scarcity of labor, the cost of large-scale production and reliance on chemicals and pesticides unwanted by consumers make plantations unsustainable. A legacy of colonial days, the vertically integrated multi-nationals that still dominate the tea value chain are witnessing a dramatic change as smallholders become the main producers of tea in Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka and India. It is now apparent that cheap tea short-changes everyone. Tea f

Read this article for free!

Or, subscribe for full access.
Already a subscriber? Login here

Dan Bolton

Dan is publisher, podcast host, and blogger. He is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and conferences (virtual and in-person). Dan was the first editor and publisher at World Tea News, worked as editor and publisher of Tea Magazine and managing editor of STiR coffee and tea. His work appears online and in many magazines. In 2016 he organized the collaborative group of tea journalists and experts who founded Tea Journey magazine and in 2021 he launched the Tea Biz podcast. He began his publications career in 1974 as a newspaper reporter.