Country of Origin: Kenya
Region: Nandi
Grade: TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
Attitude: Up to 2500 feet above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox.

Cup Characteristics: An inspiring cup from the Tuscany of Tea! Loaded with regional nuance, tends malt, exceptionally fresh – like drinking tea on the estate.
Infusion: Very bright and golden coppery
Ingredients: Luxury black tea.
 
Interestingly, the story of Kosabei estate tea TGFOP, perhaps one of the finest teas produced in Kenya, actually begins in Assam, far up in the Himalayan foothills in North Eastern India.  During the 19th century, long before tea was ever plated in Kenya, (rumored to have been in 1903), British planters had been clearing jungle and producing teas for the London auction up in Assam.  The early planters lived in extreme isolation, often weeks upriver from the nearest town.  Subsequently, they had a lot of time on their hands. 

What time they did not devote to hanging about the local “club” playing backgammon was spent experimenting with new ways to manufacture finished tea.  At the time, most of the world’s teas were produced in China, a country known for keeping a tight lid on production secrets.  Initially, the early Assam planters attempted to mimic the better-known Chinese tea grades – i.e. Assam Hyson, Assam Congou, etc.  Over the years, as the result of all their experimentation, the Assam planters developed many new grades and styles of finished leaf leading to the classification system we know today - OP, FBOP, GBOP, TGFOP, etc.   

Now, where does the Kenyan connection come into play? One of Assam’s early planters was a man by the name of George Williamson.  Williamson’s excellent business acumen and knack for growing and manufacturing exceptional teas soon caught the attention of the London auction houses and his company grew into one of the largest and best-run private tea companies in the world.  During their many years growing tea in Assam, George Williamson’s perfected the art of the tea world’s finer grades, among them, TGFOP – Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe.  During the early part of the new millennium, George Williamson’s moved their business from Assam to Kenya, bringing their tea expertise with them and ushering in a new era of Kenyan production.
Until the arrival of Williamson’s in Kenya, most Kenyan teas produced for the export market were CTC production, the result of the fact that Kenya’s industry came of age during the 20th century, a decidedly more mechanized age than the 19th.  Recognizing the exceptional quality of seasonal Kenyan leaf, Williamson’s decided to experiment with some of the more traditional Orthodox leaf styles they had manufactured back in Assam. The result is some of the finest, most flavory teas to be found anywhere on Earth.  One of these, Kosabei TGFOP is quite simply an outstanding tea, at once light and profound, gentle and astringent with notes of malt, currant and moist earth.  Like all good Kenyan’s this tea makes an excellent self-drinker but also takes milk extremely well.    

Hot tea brewing method:  Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 teaspoon of tea for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-5 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Even though milk and a dash of sugar help enhance the character o this tea, it is perfectly acceptable consume d ‘straight-up’  

Buy this tea - satisfaction guaranteed !

The Kenya Tea industry has registered a record improvement in production and sales for the month of March 2010.

In the results released by Tea Board of Kenya, tea production in March stood at 39.1 million Kgs, an increase of 108% compared to 18.7 million Kgs recorded in March 2009. Production increase was registered in all tea growing regions with East of Rift recording the highest increase of 202% to stand at 16.7 million Kgs compared to 5.5 million Kgs for the same month last year, as the West of Rift recorded a 69.3 % increase for the month from 13.2 million Kgs to 22.4 million Kgs.

In sub-sector performance, smallholder producers registered 118% increase in production from 10.6 million Kgs for March 2009 to 23.2 million Kgs. There was a 95.5% improvement for the plantation producers from 8.1 million Kgs to 15. 9 million Kgs.

The improved production is attributable to wet weather conditions experienced in tea growing regions from the beginning of the year.

At the Mombasa Auction, 25.6 million Kgs of Kenya Tea was sold during the month, representing an increase of 13% from 22.6 million Kgs for the same period last year. The average price stood at 3.01 USD per Kg compared to 2.31 USD in the same month last year.

The higher auction prices were due to increased demand in Europe, North America and Middle East which had high consumption during the winter season. The export volume increased by 19% from 33.8 Million Kgs for March 2009 to 40.2 Million Kgs for March 2010. Kenya Tea was exported to 38 market destinations worldwide compared to 32 destinations for the same month last year.

UK took the lead at 8.7 million Kgs followed by Egypt (8.5 million Kgs). Afghanistan imported 5.7 million Kgs taking the 3rd position from Pakistan which imported 3.8 million Kgs. Sudan closed the top fivewith2.2million Kgs. The top five markets accounted for 72% of total export volume.Amongst the five traditional markets, Afghanistan recorded growth in export volume at 66% followed by UK at 38%. Others were; Pakistan (13%), Egypt (3%) and Sudan which registered a decline of 17% for March 2010 compared to the same month last year.