Governor of West Java Ridwan Kamil (white shirt, left) talking to foreign tourist while enjoying a cup of tea. (Tribun Jabar/Gani Kurniawan)

West Java Invites London-Based Tea Company to Promote Tea Abroad

West Java tea is ready to go global. To make this happen, Governor Ridwan Kamil has an innovative strategy for the industry by inviting a London-based multinational tea company, Finlay Tea Holdings (Finlays), to visit several tea plantations in West Java later this month.

At West Java Bandung Tea Festival 2019 on Friday (8/9), Kamil said he had invited Finlays to West Java since July during his visit to England.

Indonesia is the seventh-largest tea-producing country in the world, with an annual production of 139,362 tons. West Java contributed more than 75 percent in tea production and exports, especially the white tea—one of the province’s most superior commodities.

Finlays’ visit is also intended to learn more about the uniqueness of the province’s tea varieties, including white tea, which is becoming more popular overseas.

Kamil said white tea of West Java had actually gained more attraction in the international market, however, it only had a niche market due to the relatively expensive price at US$60 per kilogram.

The lack of marketing among local plantation companies also added up the factors why it had yet attracted a large foreign buyer, he added. As a part of the solution, West Java administration plans to teach tea farmers to digitalize the targeted market and learn about ‘market-oriented ethnography’. This means products should be adjusted to the market demand, for instance, adjusting to the habits of British people who like to drink a mixture of tea and milk.

The tea-drinking culture in Indonesia is also not yet comparable to coffee. Kamil suggested Indonesia optimize the opportunities by rebranding the tea products among millennials.

A cafe offering West Java’s specialty teas and coffees is also planned to open in Melbourne, Australia.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/08/10/west-java-invites-uk-s-finlays-promote-teas-abroad.html