Raise your cup on International Tea Day

Next Friday, 15 December, marks the 13th International Tea Day. Here's how you can support ethically produced tea while raising your cup.

For all the peace you find in your cuppa, it is respectful to remember that tea has had a contentious history, particularly outside its home country of China and especially in the last couple of centuries. International Tea Day brings to the fore ethical considerations with regard to workers' rights and their experience on tea plantations around the world. 

In 2004, at the World Social Forum, international organisations and trade unions from a number of countries proposed a conference "to frame a universal declaration on the rights of the tea workers and small growers in order to strengthen advocacy and campaign activities at various levels," according to the Centre for Education and Communication India (read the report here).

The following year, delegates representing the tea industries of Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam, participated in a two-day conference over 13-14 December, which culminated in celebrating International Tea Day at its conclusion on 15 December.

How can you celebrate?

Drink ethically. While your tea need not carry an official Fairtrade label, it is good to know where it comes from and how the plantation treats its workers.

Try a cuppa from a different country. If you usually drink Chinese tea, have a go at an Indonesian brew, or if you have a taste for Ceylon, get some Nepalese tea on your palate.

Support local growers. Australia's tea industry is tiny compared to other countries but it's good to know what home brew tastes like as your mouth seeks leaf abroad.

Drinking culture

Following the inaugural Australian Tea Cultural Seminar, Adeline Teoh reflects on how tea fits into Australian culture.

In his presentation comparing tea consumption around the world, ITO EN's Masashi Sato mentioned that in Japan, "tea means hospitality". I've thought about this a lot since, particularly as I also facilitated the Culture working group at the seminar.

In other countries tea has a cultural meaning that's far more apparent. In China, tea means 'welcome'. In England, tea means 'keep calm'. In India, tea means 'time out'.

If I were to say, "in Australia, tea means—", what would the next word be? Health? Community? Serenity? (And how's the serenity?) 

I don't know whether this is hard to answer because we can't see it or it's not fully formed yet. I'm tending towards the latter. Our (post-colonial) national identity is still in flux and it has taken industries with deeper pockets and/or greater marketing pull (like beer, lamb or bananas) decades to establish an identity inside of that.

Having a low-profile tea-growing industry is part of the issue, but so is losing celebrity icons like Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman to international giants Lipton and Twinings (below) respectively. (Check out how deep those pockets are!)

Reading the tealeaves, the answer is up to people like you, the ones who care deeply about tea and connect with the tea community in a variety of ways, to develop a tea culture. AUSTCS will be there to support and document it.

Me? I want tea in Australia to mean 'no worries'.

Below: Nicole Kidman's artwork adorned the Twinings Morning Tea box 

as part of a campaign to choose a pack design earlier this year.

Upcoming events

10 December: How long is oolong? Melbourne
15 December: INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY, everywhere
15 December: Around the world in 8 tea brews, Sydney

17 December: Deep dive into the origin of tea, Brisbane

23 December: White Christmas: a white tea tasting, Sydney

Do you have an event to promote? Let events liaison Kym Cooper know!