Kenya’s Golden Jubilee and Foray into Purple Tea

Photo by Quadell

December 12, 2013 marked the Golden Jubilee of the Republic of Kenya, one of the world’s top tea exporting countries.  The Golden Jubilee and its celebrations commemorate Kenya’s 50^th anniversary of independence from British colonial rule.  Kenya has much to celebrate.  It is one of the more stable governments in Africa with not only a growing economy and solid credit rating [1], but with also a thriving tea industry.  According to a 2013 USDA Foreign Agriculture GAIN Report, Kenya is the world’s largest black tea exporter. [2]


Photo by Steve Connor

The tea plant Camellia Sinensis is not native to Kenya.  It was first introduced by the British when colonial settlers recognized the potential for tea farming in Kenya. Many regions there are perfect for growing tea due to high elevations, plenty of rainfall, good temperatures and great soil conditions.  In 1903, colonist C.W. Cain first planted tea in Kenya and commercial tea production began in the 1930’s.  Just 30 years later colonial rule ended, but tea farming remained and the Kenyans developed a successful tea industry from it.  Today, in black tea exportation, Kenya surpasses both China and India whose populations consume much of the tea they produce.  The Kenyan population doesn’t have a strong tea drinking culture and consequently about 95 percent of the tea produced in Kenya is exported. [3]

Photo by Ninara

Photo by Neil Palmer

Kenya continues to make strides in its tea industry.  Kenya has successfully developed resilient, high yield varietals of Camellia Sinensis.  Recently the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya released a purple tea variety, TRFK 306/1.  This purple tea is considered extra rich in flavonoids and anti-oxidants.[4]  The leaves of this variety actually look purple as they grow.  This tea, grown on Mt. Kenya, is prized and still quite rare.  It took Kenya 25 years to develop it and it is expected to earn farmers 3 to 4 times more than green tea plants.[5]

Kenya and its tea have come a long way in the last 50 years.  It will be exciting to see what new developments come from Kenya in the next 50.


Photo by Ceci

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[1] Business Daily, March 12, 2013, Nation MediaGroup of Nairobi, “Agency retains Kenya on stable outlook rating after poll”
[2] USDA Foreign Agriculture GAIN Report,10/31/2013
[3] Monitoring African Food and AgriculturalProject (MAFAP) Policy Brief #5, June 2013, by the Food and ArgricultureOrganization of the United Nations
[4] Tea Research Foundation of Kenya, Purple Tea
[5] New Agriculturalist