A Life Well Lived in Tea

There were many career paths that the retiring president of the Tea Association of the USA, Peter F Goggi, could have taken, with strengths in both the sciences and the arts; however, it is serendipitous for the entire industry that he discovered the world of tea.

“I enjoyed science and math, so I began my education as an undeclared science major back then, leaning towards pre-med ,” said Goggi. His high school background in music led the head of the college choir to reach out to Goggi to join the College Singers , a well-known choir that performed internationally. He accepted the offer, catching the attention of the new choir
professor, who encouraged Goggi to add opera training and to pursue a formal education in music. He graduated with a major in chemistry and a minor in music with vocal performance. 

Shortly after graduation, Lipton Tea (which was owned by Unilever) was looking for a research chemist, and although Goggi had no knowledge of tea, the job perfectly aligned with his chemistry education. “I was doing work on the end of the brew and also processing chemistry in the manufacture of instant tea, powders, and decaffeinated tea, and with those different paths , I used to bring samples down to our tea tasters for their evaluation,” said Goggi. It was in this role that Goggi connected with Lipton’s tea tasters . However, he really wasn’t
happy with the world of chemistry, at least on a commercial level, so he began applying to a PhD program at New York University to teach.

When he s hared his plans with the British tea tasters , they asked Goggi whether he had ever considered becoming a tea taster. “‘Like you guys?’ I asked . They said yes . So, I said okay and asked what that would entail,” shared Goggi. They explained that he would need to taste 100 to 150 teas a day, and if they determined that he could differentiate between the teas , they would send him overseas to tea auctions . Intrigued, Goggi paused his academic plans to discover whether he had the necessary skills. He passed the initial evaluation and moved overseas to broaden his understanding of tea, beginning in London at various tea auctions and then he moved on to tea-growing regions , including Sri Lanka, Kenya, and India.

“While overseas , I would work in the offices in Sri Lanka where I would be tasting 1,200 teas a day, and then they would send me up country where I would live on tea estates and follow the manager around ,” said Goggi. “I was literally learning from the bush up, and so I got the full background of tea. ” He said that is when he really became a bona fide tea drinker. “My family were
Sanka drinkers , we had Entenmann’s cake and Sanka, and the only time we had tea was if we were sick, when we were given tea and toast,” Goggi remarked. He began drinking tea with the British tea tasters, and then, once overseas, he was either drinking tea or beer. Goggi eventually became the first American-born tea taster in the history of TJ Lipton/Unilever.

Upon his return to the United States, Goggi began reporting to Lipton’s supply chain vice president, Jim Reed, who he described as the best boss that he ever had. Reed immediately took an interest in Goggi, advising that he obtain three
to five years of plant experience at the packing facility in Santa Cruz, California, where Unilever produced herbs, herbal teas, and regular tea. Two years later, Goggi was pulled away from the factory to become the president of Royal Estates Tea Co and director of tea buying. “I managed that for a while, and then my boss, Reed, said that’s not enough for you, I want you to learn planning and forecasting,” shared Goggi, which resulted in him taking over planning and
forecasting for the entire food business.

Goggi invested 32 years of his career at Unilever, during a period of constant
reorganisation. His final position at Unilever was as director of procurement commodities, which involved purchasing for both North and South American operations and managing a USD $1.5 billion portfolio. However, when they approached him about a potential move to Switzerland, Goggi declined and decided to retire from Unilever.

The Next Career Chapter

Although he was retiring from Unilever with a full pension package, Goggi was only in his mid-fifties and still wanted to remain in the workforce. In 2011, he was approached by the soon-to-be-retiring chairman of the USA Tea Association, Joseph Simrany, regarding the upcoming vacancy for the presidency. Goggi was familiar with the Tea Association of the USA’s operations, having previously served on the board. So, he agreed to serve as the association’s vice president, with the plan to move up to president in about a year. Goggi officially became president of the association in 2014.

In 2011 the tea industry was thriving, with several companies operating and competing in the United States. “It was also in the early stages of tea and health for green tea, with a couple of symposiums, and so the tea and health message was becoming an important communication point,” said Goggi.

One of the most significant projects that Goggi worked on was obtaining compliance tolerances for the crop chemicals involved in tea. “We went along our merry way importing tea, and then somewhere around 2008, we had
several shipments stopped because there were crop chemicals detected,” Goggi explained. “The levels that were on the tea were equivalent to what would be on asparagus or broccoli, which actually are consumed, whereas with tea, you boil it. But the point was that there was no import tolerance established.” They connected with IR4,a group in which the primary role was
to help growers in the USA who were exporting small items, like flowers and herbs.

Because tea was grown in the USA, on Wadmalaw Island in South Carolina, they
were able to piggyback on a bunch of their registrations and establish several tolerances through them. Then Goggi approached several groups, meeting with chemical manufacturers, other agencies, and Crop Life in Washington,
DC, and they joined several committees to get their tolerances registered, moving from three to five tolerances in 2008 to the 53 tolerances established today. “It was an incredibly fast and effective process to be put in place, even to the point that the director of compliance for the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) used us as an example of partnerships between the government and the FDA,” said Goggi. “So, we have a tremendous track record and success story that we are literally fully in compliance now after 15 years of working hard on this.”

The tea industry has made a permanent positive impact on Goggi’s life, he said, sharing that he has seen some of the most beautiful places in the world and has met some of the kindest people. “One unique thing that I remember is
going to this tea factory, and you know how companies have plaques on the outside? This said established in 640, not 1640,” Goggi recalled. “So, this business has been in this family almost since the year 600? You can’t help but think, wait a minute, you’ve been in business for 1,500 years! It’s seeing stuff like that, which makes me think I’ve just been very blessed.”

The last few years have resulted in dramatic shifts in the tea industry, including downsizing, consolidations and closures, and one of the struggles has been communicating the value of maintaining membership with the Tea Association of the USA, especially during periods when there isn’t an imminent challenge to
address. “When things happen, I have to step in and take care of it and then hope that the brands do not get involved or hurt,” said Goggi. However, if everything runs smoothly, it is harder to market to potential members.

When asked whether he planned to stay involved in tea, Goggi responded that he had offered to serve as a consultant. Still, for now, he wants to focus on his interests, including spending time at the shore, playing golf, and returning to the theatre as an actor and singer. In fact, he has recently completed three shows – Jekyll and Hyde, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and Annie – has found an agent, was in a movie as a background player, and is currently up for a commercial.

“I’m going to be 70 in January. It is ridiculous that I have worked this long, but I’m just ready [to retire],” admitted Goggi. He plans to retire with his family at their recently renovated 100- year-old craftsman in Bradley Beach, which is on the [New] Jersey shore. “Our town is probably 70 to 80 percent full-time residents. I want to spend time there,” he said happily. “We have a great house, a great backyard, decks, a front porch, and a four-block walk to the beach. I can ride my bike and play golf. I just want to wake up and not have anything to do that I do not want to do.”

Even if Goggi no longer officially works in tea, it will remain a constant in his life, including ensuring that there are always Lions’ Gold tea bags in his cupboard. “I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have been in the tea business. I have made such good friendships over the years, and I have travelled the world,” said Goggi. “I’ve been to six of the seven continents – the only place I haven’t been
is Antarctica – and I have been treated very well.”

• Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and
  speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached
  at: [email protected].