August 2026

Kenya – A Leader in Exports, A Strong Innovator

While China and India are clearly the leaders in tea production by volume, the largest tea exporter is a country most people wouldn’t expect: Kenya. With annual exports of more than 500,000 metric tons and a production volume of just under 560,000 metric tons, this East African nation ranks third among the world’s leading tea producers, with a 9.5% share of the global market.

Fine Specialties, Promising Alternatives

Tea cultivation is part of Kenya’s colonial history, during which the British Empire annexed large parts of the Great Rift Valley to bolster its own economy through foreign agriculture. The fact that the majority of the tea produced in Kenya leaves the country clearly shows that tea consumption is not a cultural tradition, as it is in China, for example, but rather a colonial legacy. Even today, tea accounts for a quarter of Kenya’s exports—the majority of which go to Europe.

But a new generation of smallholder farmers is now harnessing tea cultivation for their own benefit and reinventing it. While CTC accounts for the majority of Kenyan tea, they are producing exquisite leaf teas with golden leaf tips that rival teas from Assam. Experiments with green, white, and oolong teas have also proven successful and are paving the way for a promising future for Kenyan tea cultivation.

Innovations from Mount Kenya

However, the spirit of experimentation doesn’t stop at the manufacturing process. Kenyan tea cultivation also demonstrates its talent in breeding new cultivars. The best example is the “TRFK 306” cultivar, also known as “Purple Tea,” because it contains anthocyanins that protect against UV radiation and give the leaves a deep purple color. It is innovations like these that show that the future of global tea cultivation is subject to constant change and adaptation. And they inspire a desire for something new.