Black Tea Remains Dominant in Western Markets

It has many competitors, even from its origin bush – Camellia sinensis – but black tea is not just holding its own, it remains the dominant tea consumed in Western markets. But why?

Tea arrived in ‘the West’ from the Chinese Empire some novel cup from China’s port of Canton in the century, tea was at first available only to the wealthy. From the start it did compete with coffee, both cups being praised for their stimulating effects. For various reasons, the British and the Dutch immediately developed a taste for tea drinking, whilst the Southern European countries opted for coffee as the main hot cup, which had arrived from Arabia via the Ottoman Empire a few decades earlier. Precious tea cargos from China were shipped to the West through British and Dutch ports and tea was increasingly adopted as part of the daily diet.

When tea started to become popular and available for the working class, it replaced watered-down wine and ale, bringing along clean boiled water and often milk and sugar, which were healthy nutrients.

Certain historians hail the cup as having been instrumental in initiating the British industrial revolution, which started around  spreading to continental Europe and the United States in the early century. Of course, we cannot forget that the heavy tea tax levied by the British Parliament ultimately triggered acts of destruction in the American colonies like the Boston Tea Party in December  revolutionary movements that contributed to igniting the American War of Independence in April. 

Tea had become a daily necessity, making it subject to highly lucrative trade arrangements such as the monopoly granted to the East India Company. It was also a means to raise government money, but there were concerns that an appropriate supply of tea could lead to political turmoil. 

Black Tea’s ‘Staying Power’ 

The cargos of tea chests that were mentioned in the various trade documents refer to ‘Bohea tea’, which is commonly understood as a transcription for Wuyi Shan tea, grown in an area in Fujian, China that is known for Lapsang Souchong production, a highly reputed smoked premium black tea. In early times, sea travel from Canton via the Cape of Good Hope to the United Kingdom and the Dutch harbors took several months, hence the need for a long shelf life and fully stable quality, which only completely oxidized black teas could provide. The consumer’s palate and visual perception became attached to a black drink with a smoky taste that went well with milk and sugar.

Unsurprisingly, black tea’s traditional product profile has prevailed throughout the centuries, UK (percent), Poland (percent), USA (percent), and Germany.

For Russia, the biggest Western tea importing market, no detailed share out between green and black tea is on file, but Ramaz Chanturiya, the director general of Rus tea and coffee, confirmed that black tea is the largely prevailing cup. The same applies to Turkey, the world’s number one consumer of tea, for the annual average per Today Turkey is also the world’s fourth leading tea producer, after China, India, and Kenya, ranking before Sri Lanka for the second year in — the country’s home grown and main cup is black tea.

Data shows that global tea exports from producing countries have amounted to  million metric tonnes in  a mere export tonnage for the other approximate percent is from only five origin countries: Kenya (percent), Sri Lanka (black teas). 

Explain the Persistent & Overwhelming Dominance of Black Tea

Tracing back to its historical arrival, black tea travels better than green tea and is less affected by long storage in damp surroundings inside the cargo space of ocean vessels. It is also well understood that a satisfactory taste perception becomes traditional and fully accepted, so that consumers do not look for a change. Most of China’s tea creations for the export markets during the last century were premium quality black teas, namely the Anhui Qimen, aka Keemun, the various Dianhong cups from Yunnan, the more recently launched Jin Jun Mei from the Wuyi Shan district in Fujian, all exquisitely mellow premium spring pick whole leaf teas. Japan also selects premium black teas, such as the Wako cha from Sayama for knowledgeable Western customers.

It was the arrival in the West of large quantities of good quality green teas when China returned to the world tea market in the late from Fujian and several premium Sencha cups from Japan’s Shizuoka, that attracted considerable attention in Europe and North America, with their lovely colours and fresh taste supported by heavy promotion from the respective Ministries of Agriculture. Tea teaching became popular as these new and quite expensive green teas had to be explained properly, the brewing being more complex than the well-established methods for black tea pots and cups. And maybe here lies the crux: preparing quality green teas requires more complex brewing to ensure optimal cup quality.

The new executive director of the International Tea Committee, James Suranga Perera, who took office earlier this year, explained that black tea continues to hold its ground largely because of the easy and convenient ways to brew the cup — it requires simply boiling water. “Quite resilient, black tends to be forgiving if brewed incorrectly. Should the flavour turn out too strong, you can add more hot water or milk to mellow it down,” he said. “For green tea, you need more care and attention to get it right as respecting precise steeping time and temperature is key to prevent the over extraction of catechins. Many consumers are unaware of these requirements and a poor first experience puts them off.”

Perera added that there appears to be a lack of knowledge, hence a need for better consumer education about the proper brewing techniques and devices, to fully appreciate the delicate and nuanced flavours offered by green tea.

Furthermore, green tea has a shorter shelf life; hence, storage can be more delicate, which requires more care. Fine green teas are usually more expensive than similar quality grades black teas and the astringency of mainstream green teas is not yet familiar to Western palates.

Given the fact that green tea is by far the preferred cup in the Eastern origin countries, more tea training, tea teaching, and tea promoting will likely be needed to open Western consumers’ eyes to the goodness of green teas. Ultimately it may help to convince them to widen their choice of cups, but for now, black tea prevails.

• Barbara Dufrêne is the former Secretary General of the European Tea Committee and editor of La Nouvelle du Thé. She may be reached at: b-dufrê[email protected].