adventures in sourcing
By Tomislav Podreka
Photos courtesy of Serendipitea & Steven Taylor, Take Me 2 Tea Expo

Everybody I know in the teahouse business wants to, claims to or actually does import tea directly from the grower. It seems to be the single most important feather in the retailer's cap. In the industry, it's known as the Indiana Jones fantasy: trekking the jungles of the world, looking for 3000-year-old trees six feet in diameter that sprout little tufts of leaves still producing marvellous crops of phenomenal tea. Then, after enduring unspeakable dangers and privations, shipping the leaves home to amazed and grateful customers.
   The reality is that you can accomplish more by phone from your office in Topeka--or in my case, Queens, N.Y.--than by bushwhacking through South Asia. Sooner or later you will confront the stark truth that the ability to utilize the mail system of any given country to import a small amount of tea--or freight for a larger amount of tea--and the dubious distinction of importing tea directly, does not necessarily result in a better cup.
samples of reality
   The public seems to prefer the Indiana Jones approach, because it implies that you, the retailer, have an entrenched communication with the supplier, and therefore carry better tea. But I have had many mediocre cups of tea whilst getting to know the growers, and as much as I savored the company of these people, the quality of their product did not improve whilst we bonded.
   As a retailer, part of your job is to dispel myths while keeping alive the magic of tea. A key element in this mission is to know how to deal with your sources. When you buy tea, don't buy the personalities behind it. The transaction is about the tea. Everything else is secondary. Your relationship with the grower or broker will hinge on this. You don't need to like a person to buy his goods. Especially if his goods are the goods.
   Instead, decide what practices your business wants to support. Will you support organic culture? Is it a problem if the workers are not adequately provided for? Most of us have an opinion on these issues. If they are close to your heart, they will be important to the company that you are dealing with, if it has made them a prerequisite of operation. If you have nothing else in common with these people, at least you have a common philosophy. This is a good beginning.
   Most relationships are based on common interests. It would seem that tea is interest enough, but there is another one that is even more important: business. Don't ever forget that, in the end, you and your source are both in business. If you are not profitable, i.e. if your customers reject your offerings, you are no longer in business, and your relationship with the source will be irrelevant. Know exactly what you need to succeed, including prices, quality and amounts.
   It may come as a disappointment to those who have already purchased their Indiana Jones attire and sharpened their machete, but finding growers willing to sell smaller amounts to individual retailers and small wholesalers is as simple as calling the origin country's embassy. The embassy will usually be happy to provide a list of growers, societies, associations, and organizations that can help you fulfill your needs. This does not mean that you now possess a list of friendly, do-anything-to-service-you tea professionals. It means you have a list of tea professionals that service the industry at differing levels of need. Not all--in fact probably very few--might be willing to accommodate your level of purchasing power.
   After countless e-mails and endless attempts at reaching someone by telephone and then trying to find someone who speaks English, you will have hopefully conveyed to someone that you would like to see some samples, on the chance that you might like what you taste, and may wish to purchase a certain quantity of tea on a regular basis.

know your standards
Samples are fun, but as tempting as it might be, don't fall into the trap of ordering samples of everything. You only want the samples that are pertinent to your business, with maybe a half-dozen other interesting possibilities.
   Probably 99 percent of the people who consider themselves serious tea drinkers think they are qualified to pick a good offering. Probably 98 percent would be flattering themselves. Successful sampling is not as simple as understanding the nuances that distinguish a Dooars from a Darjeeling, or even a first-flush from a second-flush, or a muscatel from a non-muscatel. But at the most basic, how much per kilogram is a good Autumnal Darjeeling? Why is it typically less costly than a good second flush, and why is that first flush so steep (no pun intended)? What quality do you want to buy? What does your market want? Do you want to pander to your market or do you want to educate and upgrade your market?
   It is vital to know all these things before asking for samples. And learn to taste the difference between the grades. You do not want to be sent every possible grade that is offered. You won't taste them, and you will throw them away, unless your business requires nothing more of you than sitting around all day slurping and spitting out countless cups of tea. If your business sells OP (orange pekoe) and nothing less, do not accept BOP (broken orange pekoe). If BOP is the line, then don't bother with CTC (crushed, torn, curled). Know your standards and stand by them.
   Communication is also key. Do not assume that the grower understands your limitations, or your vision. If tea bags are not what you desire, this will not necessarily be understood by the grower, who will insist that tea bags are the way to go and that his CTC or PF (pekoe fannings) are the best. Insist upon what you need, and spell out very clearly what you do not want to see. Be descriptive about the futility of sending grades that are of no interest. Repeat and practice the phrase, "I will throw out any grades below OP," or whatever you don't want. It might seem harsh, but the grower is also in business. It is important to cultivate the perception that you are a serious businessperson whose time is valuable. This will be appreciated on the other end, and can help make everyone's position more defined. At least it should.
   At the same time, be on the lookout for unscrupulous merchants who peddle poor wares and old leaves. There is no such thing as a bad vendor, just a bad customer. As the old saying goes, there is a sucker born every minute, and the fertilizer for a sucker is ego and vanity. So cast aside what you think you are--a globetrotting adventurer--and become a good taster.

understanding the middleman
If what you have just read makes you reach for a glossary of terms, or you are beginning to realize that your time is better spent in your shop than hacking through the pampas, then working with a broker or an importer is a great option.
   A broker does all the hard work. Brokers specialize in dealing with particular origins, sometimes even regions. Frequently, they have established freight and customs arrangements, can assure regular deliveries and, best of all, provide very flexible purchase amounts for typically small margins above what you might think that you would be saving going direct.
   In fact, with small shipments it is highly doubtful that you would save anything at all by going it alone. You may even end up paying more! Why? Because volume is the primary influence over price. If you purchase two chests per season, as opposed to twenty-five, your ability to negotiate a better price is quite diminished.
   Best of all, the broker or importer is usually quite happy to make introductions between you and the growers, and even arrange garden trips. Basically, brokers are like staff that don't have to be factored into the payroll, because they take a commission on the volume of their work. The better their work, the better for everyone involved.
   Finding brokers and importers is as easy as picking up trade magazines and scouring the advertisements, calling and asking for pricelists and comparing qualities and pricing. Trade organizations like the Specialty Tea Institute (STI), www.sti.org, are another great resource. They feature a list not only of American concerns, like domestic importers and brokers, but also international companies and organizations, such as the India Tea Board. They also hold educational forums, and liaise between the tea industry and the specialty food and coffee industries.
   Another great resource is the Take Me 2 Tea trade show, the only tea show of its kind in North America. It now meets twice each year, the newest show debuting September 19-21, 2004 at the Providence Convention Center in Providence, R.I. This show not only affords you the opportunity of meeting many of the leading people in the industry, as well as national and regional trade representatives from around the world, but also features a comprehensive schedule of seminars and classes, with the best speakers available, along with cuppings. There are no distractions. Everything is focused on the business of selling tea. You can learn more at www.takeme2tea.com.

adventure in the cup
So where does all this leave Indiana Jones? Hopefully, in Hollywood.
   By now it's clear that tea adventuring is merely a euphemism for "romancing"--or fooling--the public. For one thing, it is almost physically impossible to make it work, and makes no sense from the tea point of view. The "Big Five" tea-producing nations--India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, and Taiwan--form a nice swath of territory, relatively closely arranged. And yet they comprise enormous distances. Consider what is involved just in trying to get across China or India, or merely between two regions of either. And we haven't even discussed venturing to Africa or Indonesia or Thailand! Logistical problems present themselves in swarms. For example, to my mind the best Darjeeling is second flush produced in the summer picking, as is the Taiwanese Bai Hao Oolong. Where do I go first? And what will be left in these origins after the visits of brokers and large tea entities that have far more cash than I do? Not much.
   If you still want the adventure buying expedition, be prepared for large doses of culture shock and the ever-present challenge of the unexpected. My own forays had me pondering survival on fifty cents a day as a tea picker, like the locals. All around, like in the photographs you often see, were waves of undulating tea plants, broken only by colorful saris and head scarves and sarongs and bamboo hats. What the photos never show is the ground beneath, where the workers squat and relieve themselves. How will you print that on your box? The popular image of sampling features colleagues tasting tea in a magnificent garden setting, with cupping sets lined up in spotless tasting labs overlooking picturesque landscapes and waterfalls. If they are true professionals they will choose according to the finesse of their taste buds and the tea's correlating value; if they romantically attach themselves to their surroundings, then they'll buy anything.
   The thing about tea is, if you buy it by the palate and not by the vista, there is still the promise of adventure in every cup.

Tomislav Podreka is president of Serendipitea, a tea wholesaler and importer in New York City. He is also the author of Serendipitea: A Guide to the Varieties, Origins, and Rituals of Tea. He can be reached at 888/TEA-LIFE.