MALAWI BLACK

Had you heard of Malawian tea before picking up our catalogue or speaking to one of our knowledgeable, funny and may we say charming salespeople? (Hey, we like to promote our people, what can we say.) If the answer was “no”, don’t feel too badly, you aren’t alone. What most people know of African tea comes from Kenya, a country that over the years has developed a reputation as the “Tuscany of Tea”. The reputation is well deserved. Kenya’s tea country features rolling hills, spectacularly beautiful vistas and vast swaths of immaculately groomed tea estates producing some of the finest teas in the world – it’s truly spectacular. So it’s no surprise that travellers flock to Kenya’s estates to sip, slurp and sample garden fresh tea, nor is it surprising that Kenyans consistently fetch such high prices at auction - the country has a good name.

So why has nobody heard of Malawi’s teas? The short answer is…branding. Kenya didn’t develop its reputation overnight. It took years of branding and marketing on the part of the Tea Board of Kenya for the country’s teas to be looked at seriously in the tea-drinking world. Unfortunately, in Malawi such a marketing push has never taken place. So what gives? Well, there are a number of factors to consider. For one, Malawi is landlocked, meaning that it is much harder for teas to make it to market – so, there is simply less of it around. Another reason may be the history of political instability in the country. Over the years politics, sadly, have played a part in slowing down economic endeavors in the country.

The irony of the situation (the delicious irony you might say, since we’re talking tea,) is that Malawi is seen by many as the birthplace of African tea. Depending on whom you talk to, tea was planted in Malawi before Kenya.   As well, it isn’t as though Malawi doesn’t have the romance or history associated with Kenya. As a small example, the country’s first major European contact was with David Livingstone, of “Dr. Livingstone I presume,” fame on the north shore of Lake Malawi in 1859 – it’s a very historic place. Most importantly, it isn’t as though fabulous teas aren’t produced in Malawi. Take this Satemwa Zomba Estate Dryer Mouth Green for example. This unbelievably smooth green with its mellow notes of honey is on par with the finest greens made in Kenya, or China, or Japan for that matter. Buy Malawi tea! We’re happy to help get the word out there. Tell everyone you know.