Research into a tea culture said to have had its origins somewhere in the region of 2727 BC locates the practice in the traditions of the older civilizations of China, India, and Japan, prior to its more recent association with the Drawing Rooms of the European middle and upper classes. Perhaps not unexpectedly, over time, tea became an acquired taste in the colonies of Europe, Guyana being no exception to that rule.
If Guyana is by no means regarded as a tea-manufacturing mecca, the practice has emerged, albeit in a limited way here, enabled by the wide range of tea-related bushes some of which still grow ‘wild’ in open spaces across the country. This has been supported by the emergence locally of an expanded agro-processing sector which, over time, has demonstrated a flair for experimentation and innovation.
Great Tea Company is one of the many small, mostly family-owned businesses that have emerged in Guyana, particularly over the last decade, where the owners have demonstrated a taste for novelty pursuits. In a recent interview with the Stabroek Business, Carlton Washington, a one-time flight attendant and the latest tea manufacturer to cross our path, we learnt that his enterprise, The Great Tea Company, arose out of a personal search for healthier beverage choices. “I became intrigued with the mood-enhancing ability of teas and with the information that I picked up on the health benefits of some teas,” Carlton told Stabroek Business. Thereafter, he immersed himself in “extensive research on herbs and tea blending” a pursuit which he says has led him to where he is today.
Arriving at a point of some measure of expertise in the matter of manufacturing tea requires particular application to a host of disciplines. “I quickly realised the importance of testing ingredients to determine taste profiles, herb compatibility and nutrition synergy, tea lifespan, nutrient values, storage, preservation methods, and many other areas were critical to advancing my proficiency in an area that had become a passion,” Carlton says.
On the strategic side, the company had decided that it would seek to “break the mould of tea drinking as an early morning or evening indulgence,” mostly for the elderly. Part of that process of seeking to grow demand for tea consumption beyond the accustomed confines involved providing tea samples to friends and family members for sampling in order to secure feedback on issues such as “blend composition and taste.” Meanwhile, already determined to undertake a serious local marketing blitz, the company pursued, simultaneously, inquiries into the related considerations of pricing and packaging. It was these pursuits, Carlton says, that “led to more detailed research on truly knowing our product, customers, competition, and potential market share,” Carlton explained.
Few emerging Guyanese small businesses go forward without initial challenges and Great Tea Company is no exception. Some of the changes that had occurred in Guyana over time had led to a significant reduction in the range of ‘tea bushes’ to be found in pastures and other open spaces across the country. Accordingly, the successful creation of an establishment specialising in the manufacture of local teas was going to have to be supported by sustained supplies of raw materials, the local reliable availability of which could not be relied upon.
The Great Tea Company, thereafter, applied for the lease of farming land and, according to Carlton, has, over the past two years, encountered the customary ‘run around’ that has come to be associated with such pursuits in Guyana. “We have seen slow progress in the processing of our request, even after having paid for the inspection of farming lands almost two years ago,” he laments.
In order to keep production going, Carlton says, the company must import its raw materials from as far away as Africa where these can be sourced at cheaper prices than are available here.
Great Tea Company’s line of products include natural and organic teas “in premium packaging” designed “to preserve the amazing taste and freshness, while generating a sense of nostalgia which is uniquely Guyanese.
The benefits of tea, Carlton asserts, go beyond refreshment. Research shows tea drinking can vastly improve health, Carlton explains.
Local retail is done in what he says are “conveniently packaged tea bags… There are plans to begin a bottled tea line,” he adds.
Something of an environmental ‘buff,’ Carlton says that Great Tea Company has invested in the acquisition of organic raw materials that are sustainably grown both locally and internationally.
Growth, Carlton says, has been steady. The line of Teas that the establishment now offers began with the Slim Fit Energize blend, which he says, “features fourteen blended ingredients – Green Tea, Ginger, Lemon Grass, Guarana, Goji Berries, Pomegranate , Himalayan Sea Salt, Monk Fruit, Yorba Mate, Cinnamon, Peppermint, Ginseng, Hibiscus, and Rosehip. This product, he says, “was created as an affordable fitness and natural weight loss blend” which also has anti-oxidant and cholesterol-lowering properties. Other blends have since emerged.
Marketing has been one of the company’s key pursuits. This pursuit, Carlton said, is the responsibility of the company’s Marketing and Financial Manager, his wife, Shauna, who is also the co-owner of a sister company “Teal,” a female wellness brand that provides products and services to meet the needs of women facing fertility and pregnancy challenges.
Great Tea Company brand is available at the Bounty, Survival, Foodmaxx, and Massy retail outlets as well as Silk Wax Studio.
Going forward, Carlton says that the company wants to promote the large scale cultivation of tea leaves and bushes. “The farming of tea leaves and tea related agriculture will create and develop a local tea industry which can supply both domestic and international needs. This will create many jobs for farmers, skilled labourers, export workers and agro-processors,” Carlton says.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegreatteacompany/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegreatteacompany
