Kenya Tea

Kenya is one of the main tea growing countries in East Africa. Agriculture is one of the main industries in Kenya and Tea and Coffee top the list. In recent years the consistency and quality of Kenya Teas are increasingly recognised. In Kenya tea is grown in the open as opposed to using shade trees, commonly found in Ceylon and India. This makes harvesting much more mechanised compared to the old tea growing countries where a lot of tea is still picked by hand.

Kenya Tea Bags

Most Kenyan tea production is tea bag grade pekoe fannings called CTC ( cut, tear and curl ). Quite often used in tea blends. This goes for East Africa in general and countries such as Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania produce similar grades but lower quality. They tend to be the basis of blends used in tea bags of household brand names in the UK.

Kenya Orthodox Tea. Leaf Tea

Orthodox tea production is picked by hand and uses only top quality leaves and buds, producing strong, robust flavours and much better quality than CTC teas. In the 2010 we are seeing some very good quality teas from the Milima Tea Estate and Tinderet Tea Estate

Quality Kenya Tea and the KTDA

Kenya Tea Development Authority.The KTDA overseas the production, processing and marketing of high quality Kenya Teas. With many fine tea estates one of our favourites currently is Makomboki in the Aberdare range close to Nairobi.

Tea Growing Areas in Kenya

Most Kenyan teas are grown in the highlands west of the Rift Valley, the tea estates are at high altitudes between 1500 to 2700 meters. The region of Kericho is where most of the larger tea plantations are found. Tea is also to the east of the Rift Valley and in central Kenya.