Top 10 Tea Producing Countries In The World

Tea is the second most-consumed drink in the world which has a history dating back thousands of years ago. It was believed to have originated from southwest China and northern Myanmar.

It was believed to have acted as a medicine for many types of diseases and in the 17th century, it quickly spread to the UK which is considered a favorite in that country. China produces more tea than any other country around the globe.

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With such high demands, the tea itself has to be produced on a large scale and you can find a variety of tea depending on the location of where it was grown. Here we would like to share with you the top 10 countries with the highest production of tea.

10. Bangladesh (81,000 Tons)

The hot and humid climate in Bangladesh has made it suitable for the plantation of tea in the country. Bangladesh has more than 150 tea farms, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

More than 300,000 people worked on these farms and the number of tea being produced has kept rising over the years. As the demand for tea increases, there is huge money to be made all over the world.

9. Iran (100,580 Tons)

Until the 15th century, the popular choice of hot drink in Iran has always been coffee. However, since the location of Iran is far apart from other main coffee producers, it has been quite difficult to obtain coffee beans.

Tea was more accessible due to the nation's partner trade with China through the Silk Route. Tea became very popular in Iran and in 1882, they managed to obtain seeds from India for the plantation of tea.

To this day, there are 32,000 hectares of land specifically for tea and most of them are planted on the hillside.

8. Myanmar (104,743 Tons)

Myanmar managed to top the list despite the controversy regarding a dangerous coloring agent found in the tea produced by them. But thanks to the new generation of organic plantation practices, tea from Myanmar has become very popular recently.

Most of the tea that is produced by this country comes from the Shan state bordering China.

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7. Indonesia (139,362 Tons)

The Indonesian start producing tea back in the 1700s after it was introduced into the country by the Dutch colonial. However, tea was not accepted at first as a sign of protest against the colonizer. But in 2017, Indonesia produced 139,362 tons of tea in which most of them are exported out of the country.

Most of the tea being made in Indonesia is black tea with some green tea being made. Aside from that, there are also many types of plantation going on here as most of the crops are mixed together with the tea.

6. Vietnam (260,000 Tons)

Tea production in Vietnam started back in the 1880s when the French developed the first plantation in Pho Tho. The tea industry quickly grew dramatically over the past 50 years with Vietnam exporting its tea to Europe and Africa.

In 2020, It is estimated that Vietnam produced as much as 260,000 tons of tea. There are many varieties of tea to choose from in Vietnam with 60% being black tea, 35% green tea, and 5% of assorted tea.

Vietnam is also unique to one of its special tea, Shan Tuyet which is made from a native tree found only in certain parts of this country.

5. Sri Lanka (349,000 Tons)

In 1867, a British farmer, James Taylor started a tea plantation in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. Back then it only comprises 19 acres of land which slowly expands to an industry level with the exports of Ceylon tea catching the eye of writers of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The numbers grew to more than 188,175 hectares of land today and the production of tea is one of the biggest industries of the island that employs more than 1 million Sri Lankans. The tea being planted here uses the contour method where they are planted based on the line following the earth's contour.

Sri Lanka mainly produces three types of tea; Black Ceylon, Green Ceylon, and White Ceylon.

4. Turkey (380,000 Tons)

In 2020, Turkey produced 380,000 tons of tea leaves. Strangely enough, almost all of the tea is planted in a small area close to the city of Rize. It is because of the climate, topography, and being close to the Black Sea have made it ideal for the crops to thrive.

Turkey is famous for producing its black tea which is sometimes known as Rize tea. Despite Turkish coffee being more popular around the world, the culture of tea is relatively strong and there are many ways to make the perfect tea.

Traditionally, Turkish tea will be put in samovar to produce a very strong tea essence which will later be mixed with water before being served. The government protects the local industry by imposing high import tariffs on all foreign teas.

3. Kenya (439,000 Tons)

Unlike other countries that plant tea on huge plots of land, 90% of the tea planted here is on small land of less than an acre. This is one achievement considering the merge project of the whole plantation producing 439,000 tons of tea.

To compete, Kenya has shifted its focus to innovation, research, and development in the industry. They have been the leader in developing new varieties that expands furthermore. On top of that, Kenya has also managed to sustain the state of the weather and artisan tea making.

2. India (1,325,000 Tons)

India is the second biggest tea producer in the world right behind China producing 1,325,000 tons of tea each year. The commercial industry of tea started when Britain introduced tea from China.

India produced them on a large scale comprising more than 1 billion premium tea with 70% of them being consumed right in the country.

One of the most well-known tea will be the spicy chai made in North India which is commonly mixed with milk. Other than that, India also exclusively produce Assam and Darjeeling tea.

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1. China (2,473,000 Tons)

China tops the list by producing the most tea in the world at 2,473,000 tons in 2020 which is around 30-35% of the global production.

China has a strong presence and history for tea as it was believed to have originated here thousands of years ago. It has been made as medicine and for special ceremonies even to this day.

There is an abundance of tea found in China such as green tea, oolong, and pu-erh to name a few.

Source:

• FAO

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