Big news headlines captured the tea industry in 2017. But many stories stand out as representing the cultivation, trends, health-related research and positive changes emerging in the tea industry. Here are five you might have missed.
Plantations are known for being homogeneous environments with the sole purpose of growing a crop. However, the University of Montana’s Broader Impacts Group and the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network have considered the impact of tea plantations on elephants and developed a certification process and incentives for those that want to become elephant friendly.
One role of journalism is to shed light on corners of the world that are ignored and to give voices to those who usually cannot express themselves. Assam, the world’s largest tea producing region, is severely lacking in medical care and some children suffer greatly as a result. This article brings attention to Assam’s multiple levels of healthcare shortages.
Who knew tea could be cultivated in Scotland? Nine Scottish tea growers united to form The Tea Gardens of Scotland company. Catherine Drummond-Herdman, one of the nine tea planters, spoke at the Kyoto Infused with Tea Expo in Japan where she and another grower offered samples of the group’s Kinnettles Gold tea. Perhaps they will inspire more people to form similar collectives.
Google records data and creates reports on users’ searches. This article reveals there has been strong interest in matcha and cold brew, as well as in bubble, boba, ginger and oolong. “Infusions” is also a commonly searched term. It will be interesting to see if these Google search trends continue into 2018, or if new tea terms take over Google searches.
Several studies into the health benefits of tea have been conducted. Though tea is not a “cure-all,” fascinating positive characteristics of this ancient beverage continue to surface in studies. Among this year’s findings, green tea’s polyphenol compound epigallocatechine-3-gallate (EGCG) was found to help bone marrow disorder patients.
