In these times of crisis and problems with the neighboring country, the promotion of consuming “only national products” has made me think about what this means for the world of tea.

It is well known that tea is originally from China and that although it is grown in more than 30 countries, Mexico is not one of them. This is not because tea cannot be grown in our country, since we have the ideal conditions for the growth of Camellia Sinensis (tea plant) which requires a humid and warm climate, fertile soil with 70 to 80% humidity, and which grows better in high altitude areas (between 600 and 1200 meters above sea level), so tea could be grown in the coffee growing areas of the country. However, it is unlikely that coffee growers will change to tea cultivation, since it is a product that is still consumed very little in Mexico and that requires a large specialized workforce to transform it into the 5 major categories of tea that we know: white, green, ulong, black and pu erh.

It is in this last point where I find the biggest inconvenience, because in Mexico we do not yet have the expertise or sufficient knowledge on how to manipulate tea to process the plant and produce each of these 5 categories, of which each one also has hundreds of variants that depend on the type of rolling, the degree of oxidation, how it is dried, among many other factors. All this is not something easy to learn or develop, it has taken China more than 5 thousand years to perfect it and its closest “competitors” such as India, only processed black tea until about 25 years ago, when they realized that there was also a market for green and white teas. India, for example, has been growing tea for more than 175 years and Sri Lanka, the largest exporter of tea, has 147 years of experience, both changed their cultivation from coffee to tea when the Hemileia Vastatrix pest destroyed their coffee plants in 1869.

So, where do we at EURO TE get all the other ingredients that we add to our teas and herbal teas, which make them so pleasing to the palate and the eye? The flower petals, the pieces of fruit, the spices and the flavourings are purchased by our supplier in the different places around the world where each ingredient grows best, from those producers who offer the highest quality raw materials. This supplier, who is German by the way, has more than 180 years of experience processing and blending tea, for which he purchases each ingredient with the best quality-price ratio in the different countries as appropriate.

So our supplier buys lavender in France, hibiscus in Sudan, raisins in Chile, apples in Turkey, vanilla in Mexico, sunflowers in India, mint in Morocco, cinnamon in Ceylon, cloves in Indonesia, and so on in each country where they are “experts” in each product and offer the required quality. It should be noted that this is not a question of malinchismo, they themselves would like to buy everything in their country (Germany), however this is not possible, either because some of the ingredients they require are not produced there or because the price and quality are not adequate.

What about flavourings? There are countless companies selling different qualities of flavourings, some natural, some identical to nature and others artificial; there is a huge range of prices and qualities of flavours to add to our Teas and Tisanes, most of these companies are foreign and their raw materials or even the finished product is imported.

All this leads us to the conclusion that at EURO TE we could not have the variety, quality, price and flavours that we manage, using only Mexican products. In fact, no supplier of Teas and Tisanes in Mexico can obtain all of their products or raw materials only in our country, necessarily some will be from other origins different from the national one. I do not think this is bad, on the contrary, if we want to have the best quality at the best price we have to use foreign trade. Centuries ago, when goods were carried from one side of the world to the other, the prices of spices, sugar, chocolate, coffee and tea were very high due to everything that this implied, which also restricted their consumption. Now, thanks to globalization, we no longer have to pay exorbitant prices for these products and more and more people can have access to them.

Of course I firmly believe in supporting Mexican brands and companies, but there is a huge gap between that and the whole product being made in Mexico, since it is undeniable that many of the raw materials for this and other industries come from other countries.

At EURO TE we specialize in creating blends for the Mexican palate. Our 20 years in the market have taught us what Mexicans like, and no matter where we get the ingredients and flavors that distinguish us, experience has given us the ability to serve our customers in the best possible way with added value, such as the certainty that what we promise them is what they get when they buy EURO TE: products without colorings, without artificial flavorings and without humidity that unnecessarily increases the weight of the Tisanes. At EURO TE we believe in constant innovation and training as tools to develop a market that did not exist in our country 20 years ago. We believe in the excellence of the work of the 50 people who collaborate with us day by day to bring to your table or business "The best Teas and Tisanes in the world", as our slogan says.

It is worth noting that only 2 grams of tea are required to prepare a cup that will give you a comforting moment of peace, health and well-being. Is it too much to pay $2 pesos to get a delicious cup of the best quality tea? I don't think so, and you?

Olivia Medina

Tea Master, EURO TEA