All tea lovers will be pleased to know that 98% of Russians cannot imagine a day without this ancient invigorating drink. Especially love it in combination with lemon. Some have their favorites - favorite tea firms. Others experiment and try varieties of previously unknown brands, each time discovering a new taste and aroma.
The tea business has been extremely profitable for centuries. However, in conditions of fierce competition, not everyone managed to become the best brands. Let's find out which brands have earned the trust of consumers, and let's start with the main thing: where do modern manufacturers get raw materials for tea production?
The largest suppliers
If you like English tea, then you probably understand that in the damp climate of foggy Albion this plant cannot be grown. It simply does not take root there. Take, for example, the world famous Newby tea company. Their products are packaged in England from raw materials collected on the best plantations in the world.
Tea bush, demanding heat, light and moisture, is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics, mainly on mountain slopes. The largest plantations in the world are located in the following countries:
- The birthplace of tea - China, holds the leadership in product manufacturing and supply of raw materials in the world market. Most Chinese tea is whole leaf, black and green, although there are budget varieties of broken and cut leaves.
- The honorable second place is taken by India. From here mainly black tea is exported - cut and granulated. It is less aromatic compared to Chinese, but with a brighter flavor. The famous Assamese tea grows in the valley of the Brahmaputra River.
- About 10% of the global volume of black and green tea is grown in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). The most valuable leaves are collected on alpine plantations. All Sri Lanka Ceylon tea is used by all manufacturers as base materials for their best compositions.
- Among African countries, most of the product is grown in Kenya. Only black varieties are produced here, which are used in mixtures with Ceylon and Indian.
A small market share is accounted for by Japanese green tea, black Turkish, Indonesian and Vietnamese different varieties, as well as Iranian black. It is clear that tea companies value their reputation. Therefore, they choose the best suppliers for their products.
Below is a list with a description of the companies - manufacturers of tea, included in the top ten. Some brands are definitely known to you, but it makes sense to get to know each other better.
Tetley (England)
The company, founded in 1856, produces more than 60 types of tea, loved by gourmets around the world. For production, elite varieties from Kenya and Assam are used.
Today, Tetley is considered one of the most popular tea bags. Fans of brand products especially recommend trying the following types:
- Tetley With Masala natural flavor: This is an Indian large-leaf black tea with spices, oriental aroma and a very pleasant spicy taste.
- Tetley Blend of both: A blend of black and green tea, very healthy.
- Tetley English Classic: classic black tea, tart and fragrant, very popular in England.
The brand line includes tea with mint, pomegranate and other additives. All products are delivered in round sachets. Only 2 pieces are enough to brew 2 liters of refreshing iced green tea.
Yorkshire Tea (England)
This is the main competitor to Tetley, a company established in 1886 by the Taylor brothers. It is difficult to say which tea company is better, because both were founded during the reign of Queen Victoria. The famous royal lady was a big fan of this drink. She created the rules of tea etiquette that are still in use and turned tea drinking into one of the main court ceremonies.
Yorkshire tea is made from selected Ceylon, Kenyan and Assamese varieties of tea leaves. Consumers are offered 4 varieties:
- red;
- for hard water;
- decaffeinated;
- yorkshire gold.
In fairness, this tea company produces excellent coffee and a range of top-quality confectionery.
Lipton (England)
But Thomas Lipton, who opened his company in 1890, 8 years later was knighted by Queen Victoria. After all, he did not just buy tea, but was not too lazy to go to Ceylon, where he acquired land under his own plantations, so that even the cultivation of the tea bush was kept under strict control.
However, after 100 years, there were scandals, when in 2008 and 2011. various toxic substances were found in the brand’s products. But now Lipton is very carefully observing the certification of its products.
Today Lipton Ceylon tea is successfully sold in 110 countries. He is loved for his consistently excellent taste, affordability and a wide selection of product items: custard, in pyramid bags, blended, bottled and with various additives.
Bigelow (USA)
The tea company, founded in 1945, has grown from a small family business in Connecticut to the largest producer of a tonic drink with an annual turnover of about $ 90 million.
The brand line includes about 50 types of black, green and herbal tea, which are still made according to the recipes of the founder of the company Ruth K. Bigelow. Blended drinks are rich in taste and exquisite aroma, which is why they are appreciated by gourmets all over the world.
Dilmah (Sri Lanka)
God himself ordered a resident of Ceylon to establish his own tea production. Mr. Merrill Joseph Fernando did just that: he bought plantations and created a company, calling it the first letters of the names of his sons - Dilhan and Malik. So in 1988, a new tea company, Dilmah, appeared, which in 30 years has become famous in more than 100 countries of the world.
Today, there is hardly any lover of a tonic drink unfamiliar with the rich taste and marvelous aroma of the popular Dilma.
The Republic of Tea (USA)
The "Republic of Tea", unfortunately, is almost unknown in Russia and around the world. The tea company was founded in 1992 by three entrepreneurs, and after 2 years it was bought by Mr. Ron Rubin, who turned the family company into one of the most beloved and recognizable brands in North America.
Besides the fact that the company produces about 300 varieties of a premium quality tonic, The Republic of Tea was one of the first to launch the production of red and white tea, as well as tea seed oil.
The company is doing well and Mr. Rubin’s son, who has become the new president of the company, does not yet want to enter the world market. Therefore, you can buy the "Republic of Tea" only in American online stores, in particular, on Ebay.
Harney & Sons (USA)
Harney & Sons branded tea is literally elite. It is sold in expensive tea boutiques and is delivered specifically for the best hotel chains in America and Canada.
Selected high-quality varieties are available in bulk or in bags: plain and silk. Through the efforts of the founder John Harney and his mentor Stanley Mason, the new tea company made itself known in 1983 and has since been a stunning success with true connoisseurs of fine drinks.
Tazo (USA)
The famous and revered brand of tea appeared in 1994 thanks to the American entrepreneur Stephen Smith. However, in 1999, the company was bought by Starbucks, the coffee giant that brought world-class premium quality products.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz paid Steven Smith $ 8.1 million for his business, and after 18 years, he successfully sold Tazo for $ 384 million in 2017. Today, one of the best tea firms is owned by the British-Dutch multinational company Unilever.
The consumer, in fact, doesn’t care who owns the brand. The main thing is that, as before, Tazo fans can please themselves with the noble tastes of black, green and herbal tea.
Celestial Seasonings (USA)
The products of this company will surely appeal to lovers of herbal teas in all their diversity.
The company was founded in 1969 in the US state of Colorado by local grass gatherers. In 1984, the brand bought the Kraft food conglomerate, and after 2 years it was announced that Lipton was claiming the brand. However, Bigelow challenged the upcoming deal under competition law and acquired the company in 1988.
Celestial Seasonings teas are black, white and green teas on the market today, however, it is still positioned as a producer of herbal drinks. In addition to herbs, for example, hibiscus, chamomile, lavender, the composition of the fees includes spices, leaves and berries. According to the manufacturer’s official website, all raw materials are completely natural.
Twinings (England)
If you prefer Twinings tea, then you have an impeccable taste and hardly anyone will argue with that.
This tea company was created by Thomas Twining back in 1706. For over 300 years, the company logo has remained unchanged and is therefore considered the oldest continuously used brand in the world. It is interesting that the tea shop on Strand Street in London since 1706 and still regularly meets its customers.
In her first year of rule, in 1837, Queen Victoria honored Twinings with the Royal Order of Her Majesty's Permanent Tea Supplier, which became the brand’s best ad. And the famous company to this day fully justifies the trust placed in it.
On the Russian market, you can buy black and green tea from Twinings, flavored drinks, fruit and herbal.
It is important to consider that any ratings and lists of the best products are constantly shuffled and changed. This also applies to manufacturers of tonic drinks.
But one quantity remains constant: these are varieties of tea. The cultivation and manufacture of many of them is still kept in the strictest confidence, and the cost per kg is tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Let's find out what kind of companies produce these unique varieties.
The most expensive tea in the world
Are you ready to give $ 400 per kg of tea leaves? This amount must be paid for Silver Tips from the Indian black tea company Makaibari Tea Estate. Tea bush is grown on a plantation in the Himalayas, located at an altitude of 1600-2600 m above sea level, and the leaf is harvested only in the full moon. The raw materials undergo a special enzymatic treatment, and the leaves are laid with thin threads of silver foil.
Everyone who wants to try tea, the leaves of which are cut with golden scissors and processed with 24 carat gold, will have to part with $ 3,000 and get 1 kg of the famous Golden tea heads. So the Singapore tea company TWG Tea, founded in 2008, evaluates its product. It is believed in Asia, such a drink has a very beneficial effect on the human body.
In 2005, in honor of its 75th anniversary, the British tea maker PG Tips produced tea at a price of $ 15,000 per bag. The contents of the exclusive product were the aforementioned Indian Tea Silver Tips, and the bags themselves were decorated with Boodles diamonds. The proceeds from the sale were donated to charity.
And the most expensive tea in the world, according to various sources, costs from $ 700,000 to $ 1.2 million per kg. This is the legendary Da-Hong Pao, which grows in the Chinese province of Fujian in the Wuyi Mountains. Today, only 3 of the 4 tea bushes have been preserved and they are considered the national treasure of China. Real tea "big red mantle" is not produced by any manufacturer. It can be purchased at auction or tasted as an honored guest in a wealthy and influential Chinese family.
Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a drink from the best manufacturers, not to mention exotic varieties. Therefore, it makes sense to consider tea with the names of firms that produce products at the right price, approved by consumers.
Popular rating
Even the mass production of tea is a laborious, painstaking and extremely responsible process. Failure to comply with the technologies of drying, fermentation and drying leads to a loss in the quality of raw materials, tea molds, loses taste, becomes bitter, sour and musty. Sadly, there is also a lot of counterfeit on the market that does not correspond to the quality declared by the manufacturer.
Carrying each bag for examination is more expensive for yourself, so you should buy tea that has received high marks in the main categories: safety, naturalness, quality:
- black tea "Cheerfulness" Indian from LLC "Yakovlevskaya Tea Packing Factory";
- black tea "Maisky" Ceylon alpine from LLC "May";
- black tea Ahmad English Breakfast in bags, from the English company Ahmad Tea Ltd;
- green tea Akbar in bags produced by Yakovlevskaya Tea Packing Factory LLC;
- green tea Ramuk Chinese small leaf from LLC "Inter-trade-union";
- green tea Maitre packaged by Universal Food Technologies LLC.
Fans of natural drinks of excellent quality should pay attention to the products of the company "Ivan Tea". These are large-leaf, small-leaf, packaged fees, as well as gift options in wooden tueski. The Vologda Ivan Chai company appeared in 2007, gained a lot of admirers in Russia, and in 2016 entered the world market.
In conclusion
Today, the competition in the tea market is so great that most manufacturers jealously control the quality of their products, and even more so do not run the risk of mixing rusty metal filings with tea, as was done in England in the 19th century.
And also in relation to any food product the rule always applies: there is no companion for the taste and color. Do you know why the French practically do not produce tea? Because it is one of the most coffee-growing countries. And despite the fact that King Louis IV was treating his gout with this drink, his daughter-in-law Lizelotta von Palatinate believed that his taste was like hay with manure.
Therefore, if you like tea company, which is undeservedly ignored, be sure to tell about it. Perhaps many will discover a new brand and its wonderful drinks.