Kenya’s tea industry, long celebrated for its rich flavors and aromatic blends, is undergoing a transformative shift aimed at elevating its global standing. The Strategic Tea Quality Improvement Program (STQIP), a comprehensive five-year initiative launched in 2020, represents a concerted effort to address declining tea quality and reinforce the country’s reputation as a leading tea producer.
A Collaborative Approach
The STQIP is a product of collaborative efforts among a diverse group of stakeholders, including tea growers, manufacturers, researchers, buyers, and brokers. By pooling resources and expertise, the program seeks to enhance every facet of tea production and processing, ensuring that Kenya’s tea not only meets but exceeds international quality standards.
Key Objectives
The program’s objectives are multifaceted, reflecting the complexity of the tea value chain. At its core, STQIP aims to:
- Develop and Implement Quality Strategies: The program focuses on crafting strategies to improve and maintain tea quality throughout the value chain, from cultivation to processing.
- Enhance Knowledge and Skills: Training tea producers and processors in best practices for cultivation, harvesting, processing, and quality control is essential. The program emphasizes the importance of skill development to achieve consistent quality.
- Promote Modern Technologies: STQIP encourages the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices to modernize tea production and processing, thereby improving efficiency and quality.
- Facilitate Research and Development: Research is pivotal for advancing tea quality. The program supports activities related to varietal selection, pest and disease management, and refining processing techniques.
- Establish Quality Standards: The program aims to set and enforce robust quality standards and regulations, ensuring that all tea produced under its purview meets high standards.
- Improve Market Access and Consumer Confidence: By guaranteeing consistent, high-quality tea products, STQIP seeks to enhance market access and build consumer trust in Kenyan tea.
Components of the Program
Central to the STQIP is the Tea Classes Competition (TCC), an annual blind tasting event organized by the Tea Board of Kenya. This competitive process involves a panel of professional tea tasters from brokers and buyers who evaluate tea samples through a rigorous sensory analysis.
The TCC categorizes teas into three groups:
- Black CTC Commercial: These teas are sourced through brokers in Mombasa from licensed CTC producers.
- Black CTC Special: These teas are directly procured from licensed CTC producers.
- Specialty and Orthodox Teas: These include various grades sourced from licensed cottage and specialty tea producers.
The TCC results provide a benchmark for tea quality, allowing the Tea Board to identify outstanding factories and those in need of improvement.
Awards and Recognition
The Tea Industry Awards, a notable component of STQIP, celebrate and reward excellence in tea production. Factories that excel in the TCC are honored during an annual industry event, the Tea Industry Gala Awards Dinner. This celebration not only recognizes the best performers but also motivates other factories to strive for higher standards.
Conversely, factories with identified quality gaps receive targeted support through on-site coaching. This hands-on approach aims to address deficiencies and help factories improve their processes and products.
Looking Ahead
The culmination of STQIP will be highlighted during the Kenyan Tea Industry Centenary celebrations in November 2024. The program’s impact will be showcased as the top-performing factories are celebrated for their contributions to improving tea quality and fetching better prices. This milestone event will underscore the progress made in enhancing Kenyan tea’s global standing and reaffirm the industry’s commitment to excellence.
In essence, the Strategic Tea Quality Improvement Program embodies Kenya’s resolve to revitalize its tea industry. Through collaboration, innovation, and rigorous quality control, STQIP is set to restore and elevate the pride of Kenyan tea, ensuring its continued success on the global stage.
