Tea is among Tanzania’s main agricultural products along with cloves, cashews, coffee and maize. Like all other African producers, the CTC method of processing tea is the dominant form of production in Tanzania – this is the method most commonly used for teabags. Tea is a generator of wealth and employment to rural areas and supports the wellbeing of over 50,000 families in Tanzania.

Tea was first cultivated by German settlers in 1902 on a very small scale. Commercial cultivation of tea began in the 1920s by the British. After Tanzania was granted independence from Britain, its new government nationalised most of the tea factories and some tea estates. This had very bad consequences for the tea industry in Tanzania.
The Tanzanian state gave no incentives to factory or plantation workers to become more productive. Government tea research programs were underfunded which hampered any progress in tea cultivation techniques, soil maintenance and clonal plant development. The tea industry was close to collapse when the government decided to privatise the tea estates and factories it had previously nationalised. Investments have been made in these factories to ensure their future success.


Much of Tanzania is too dry for tea and only 22,000 hectares of the total land area is under tea cultivation, around one tenth of the area under tea cultivation in Kenya. There are three main planting areas in Tanzania: those in the Southern Highlands around the Njombe and Mufindi districts of the Iringa region, the plantations of East Usambara in the Tanga region close to the coast, and the North West zone around the southern western shore of Lake Victoria.
Tanzanian tea is typically used to add strength and vigour to teabag blends for the UK, European and Pakistani markets. At Ahmad Tea we sometimes select some of the best teas from Tanzania that add freshness and brightness to our classic blends.

CONTINUE READING

Period Poverty – supporting Women in Malawi
Ahmad Tea's commitment to making a difference extends beyond providing quality tea products. In 2022 we started supporting Ufulu, a Malawi-based charity working to end…

Employee Spotlight – Tracey Wakelin
Tracey Wakelin leads the global marketing team at Ahmad Tea. She is responsible for driving the marketing agenda. We caught up with her over a…

Sleep: Are you getting enough?
Getting the right amount of good quality sleep can be critical to how we function during the day. If you've ever had a period of…

Employee Spotlight – Gary Winslade
This month we caught up with Gary Winslade, Ahmad Tea’s UK Sales Manager to understand more about the brand’s plans for the UK market.

Employee Spotlight – Hamideh Sarvmeily
We caught up with Hamideh over a cup of tea to get her views on what it is like to work at Ahmad Tea and…

Ahmad Tea in Harrods
We are excited to announce that our Beyond the Leaf caddies are available now in the world's most iconic department store Harrods. Our luxury sub-brand,…

High Tea: Musings of a Mountain Climber
Amir Bagheri, Head of Channel Strategy at Ahmad Tea explains his plans for the business and how an expedition to the Alps in the Summer…

Christmas Collection 2022
Ahmad Tea is delighted to unveil its new Christmas gift selection for 2022. with tea treats galore for everyone to enjoy.

Chocolate & Tea Pairings
Celebrating National Chocolate Week with our Chocolate & Tea Pairings. Pair our delicious teas with tasty chocolate treats.