The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea
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| The Teas of Indonesia - A Small But Growing Tea Industry |
| Indonesia is a country of diversity, made up of more than 14,000 islands spread over 3,100 miles, together with numerous ethnicities, and diverse languages, customs, and cultures. Even the island itself has a diverse collection of flora and fauna. Today Indonesia also supports a growing and thriving tea industry. |
| Indonesia was once known as the Dutch East Indies, with the islands of Java, Sumatra, and Sula- wesi forming what is part of the Malay Archipelago. In 1513 Portugese traders on a quest to find priz- ed exotic pepper from the Malabar Coast in India, sailed instead around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, uncovering a new, secret route to Indonesia's Molucca Islands (also known as the Spice Islands). The uncovering of this once secret sea route chang ed the history of merchant trade in the East Indies from one of being dominated by the Arabs, to Eur- opean dominance in just a few years. By 1602 the Dutch, operating as the Dutch East Indies Com- pany (also called VOC or Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie in Dutch) had formed a collection depot at Batavia on Java where shipments of Oriental goods were collected and packed for shipment back home. |
The Dutch East Indies Company was essentially a group of ruthless merchants who would eventually become the leader of East Indies trade in Indonesia, remaining in control for the next 300 years. Even though the Portugese were the first European traders to bring tea to Europe, it was the Dutch who would ultimately dominate tea imported there. From their prime collection point in the Indonesian islands the Dutch began trading with China, Japan, and Macao. Purchasing tea from both China and Japan they then sent it to their collection point in Java, and from there it was forwarded to Amsterdam and distributed. By 1610 regular tea shipments were being sent by the Dutch from Amsterdam to France, Holland, and the Baltic Coast. The Dutch would retain fierce control of tea imports to Europe until 1669 when the British overcame them and took control. Records show that in 1684 the first tea was planted on Java by the Dutch using seeds obtained from Japan for the China tea bush cultivar (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis). These first government established tea gardens lived, but barely, and didn't flourish, bringing Java's tea cultivation to a near stand still until about 1835. Spurred by the success of the British and their thriving Assam gardens, the Dutch began to explore tea cultivation with renewed interest. Realizing the potential profit to be made from successful tea production, the Dutch planters convinced the Dutch government to give up sole control of the tea industry. Following the trial and error of the British in India, the Dutch planters realized that the China tea bush was the wrong cultivar to plant for the type of soil and steamy tropical climate of Java. They obtained seeds from India's Assam bushes (Camellia sinensis var. assamica), and before long the tea bushes were healthy and flourishing in the hot and humid climate. By 1878 they were successfully cultivating tea in Java. The Dutch planters then continued to expand with tea pro- duction beginning on Sumatra in the early 1900s. By using modern tea withering and production techniques, the Dutch pro- duced quality, flavorful teas and received a thumb's up from Europeans who grouped Java tea in the same class as quality Ceylon and British Indian teas. Today Java is still Indonesia's top tea producing island followed by Sumatra and Sulawesi. By 1942, before the Japanese invasion, Indonesia was the world's fourth lar- gest tea producer. But the favorable position of the Indonesian archipelago during WWII had a negative effect on their tea industry and for many dec- ades after, both their tea industry and production suffered. Eventually the tea factories began to decline and the tea gardens became wild and overgrown due to neglect. In the late 1980s the Tea Board of Indonesia introduced new programs to help revive and refurbish the tea gardens and rebuild the lagging infrastructure. This has brought renewed interest to Indonesia's tea industry and today they export and produce 168,000 metric tons of tea yearly, grown in 13 provinces on Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi. Tea makes up around 17% of Indonesia's total agricultural production. Java boasts one of the richest and most complex regions in the world, dominated by interior mountains forming a near continuous chain down the middle of the island, west to east, with high peaks and live smoking volcanoes, which are flanked by forests and fertile terraced fields. The mountains contain 38 peaks that were once or are currently active volcanoes including Bromo, Kelut, Merap, and Papandayan. |
| Some of the principal areas of tea production are in the western highlands outside the cities of Bogar and Bandung. There the tea gardens benefit from the higher elevations, closer to the rain forest and rich volcanic soil. Southwest of Bandung lies the Pangalengen district, home to the Chakra Group, one of Indonesia's largest tea producers who operates four tea estates: Dewata, Gunung Kencana, Megawati, and Negara Kanaan. Located near the Gungung Tilu Rain Forest Preserve and the Perhutani Forest, the Dewata Estate is typical of the tea plantation communities developed by the Europeans during the 19th century. Indonesia has a dry climate encouraging year round growth but the best tea is harvested in July to September at elevations of 2,500 to 5,000 plus feet. Indonesia's finest teas are orthodox manufacture but they also produce a large quantity of CTC tea (cut-tea-curl) for tea bag packers. They also produce small amounts of very average green tea. The best Indonesia teas are comparable in flavor to Sri Lanka's high-grown teas. Indonesia teas aren't easy to find but if you're determined look for black orthodox leaf from these Java estates: Cibuna, Cisaruni, Kertasarie, Santosa, Taloon, Tjidadap, and Tjuburi. And from Sumatra: Bah Butong, Gunong Dempo, and Gunong Rosa. Enjoy. |
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| For a great selection of quality teas, gifts, and accessories, visit: The Tea Detective's Gift of Tea Store |
| For more information or to learn more about tea, visit our other pages: What new changes were made to tea and tea drinking during the Yuan and Ming dynasties? Explore the Yuan and Ming dynasties and learn what important new changes were made to China's tea culture, customs, and processing methods from 1271 to 1644 AD). (Try Almond Tea from Silver Leaf Tea Co., - A delicious full bodied black tea w/almonds and rich, earthy almond flavor). How old is Malawi's tea industry? Learn about Malawi's early tea history, when, where, and by whom the first tea was planted, and what the tea industry of Africa's 2nd largest tea producer looks like today. What should I know when shopping for black tea? A guide to shopping for black tea-what to look for and questions to ask. Also brewing tips, steeping times and how much black tea to use for 8 oz. mugs, 24 oz. travel mugs, and a full teapot. What is "terroir" and how does it relate to tea? Learn about terroir and its importance to the growth of tea. (Try Caramel Tea from Silver Leaf Tea-A full bodied black tea w/the rich creamy flavor of caramel-makes a great dessert tea). |
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