Kenya’s young people are forcing tea-making companies to think outside the cup due to their preference for cold drinks.
Rather than rush for the piping-hot cup of tea that their parents and grandparents swore by, some youth are happier with something they can pull out of the refrigerator and shove into their lips.
According to Flora Mutahi, the CEO of Melvin Marsh International, the preferences of youth are presenting a new challenge.
“Tea was the most consumed beverage after water. I think we’ve been losing that positioning. The youth are preferring colder drinks,” says Ms Mutahi.
For a long time, the numbers showed that tea consumption per person per year stood at around 300 grams. This, Ms Mutahi notes, might be declining as a hot beverage is no longer everyone’s cup of tea.
“We do have a lot of work to do if we want to keep them on tea,” notes Ms Mutahi, whose company pioneered flavoured tea in Kenya.
Fresh cold drink.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
Today (Wednesday) is the International Tea Day, which was created by the United Nations to “foster collective actions to implement activities in favour of the sustainable production and consumption of tea and raise awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and poverty” according to a post on un.org.
Speaking of consumption, the CEO of the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), Mr Wilson Muthaura, says there is a growing awareness about flavoured and healthy beverages.
“Internationally, for example, in the UK, consumers are leaning towards flavoured herbal infusions,” Mr Muthaura says.
To tap into the changing tastes, KTDA-managed factories such as Kanyenyaini and Kiru are already producing and selling flavoured and tea-bag teas for the local market.
Mr Muthaura notes that while the agency has traditionally focused on black CTC (crush, tear, curl), this move towards diversification is “a gradual shift which is being managed”.
The transformation, however, is not only driven by the changing palates but also by the increasing demand for higher-quality and value-added tea products.
“KTDA has always produced premium teas, which means that buyers have no problem paying a premium for our teas,” Mr Muthaura says.
As part of their quality drive, 11 factories under KTDA’s management have ventured into producing black orthodox teas, which appeal to different global markets compared to the conventional CTC exports.
“We produce other specialty teas, although in smaller quantities. These include green tea, purple tea, white teas, silver tips, among others,” he added.
There was a time when a cup of tea meant one thing: a steaming serving of black goodness. However, according to Ms Mutahi, tea has taken on a whole new flavour.
“There is a whole shift towards more functional teas, healthy teas, as opposed to just plain black or green tea. People are out more for an experience than just a cup of tea,” she says.
Tea being served in an office on April 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
Melvins, founded by Ms Mutahi, introduced flavoured tea into the Kenyan market, starting with the common household staple — ginger.
“We started with tangawizi and that’s because it was very common in Kenyan homes. I’d always make tea with ginger, and I was like, ‘Why don’t we have this already mixed up?’” she recalls.
That personal habit sparked a national trend, and ginger tea became their flagship product, which was later joined by masala, cinnamon, vanilla, and a wide range of other infusions.
She notes that at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with consumers avoiding crowded spaces and looking for contactless solutions, the company came up with new innovations.
“We came out during Covid with instant tea vending machines. Then we came out with instant tea, like how you have instant coffee—so tea, milk, sugar. And this is more for the youth,” she explains. “Our instant tea has been such a hit with the younger consumer. You pop it in a bag, take it to school or anywhere. We’re starting to see hotels wanting to use it.”
Kenya’s young people are forcing tea-making companies to think outside the cup due to their preference for cold drinks.
However, with such innovations, Ms Muthai says, there is market education to be done.
“The challenge about being innovative is you have to create your demand as you go. It takes you to get to a certain tipping point for people, for the masses to follow.”
What consumers want today, she says, is quality.
“The consumer now is more sophisticated and is more interested in more premium,” she notes. “We have a gold tea, which is more premium. Even the packaging, our orthodox teas, we put them in triangular boxes to catch the attention.”
“We never use artificial spices or herbs, or flavours. Everything of ours is grown, milled and put in the teabag or in the loose tea,” Ms Mutahi says.
“When I started this business 29 years ago, everybody had to buy in the auction. But today it’s more liberal. You have better contact with the farmers and better relationships,” she adds.
Kenya’s smallholder tea farmers, who are managed by KTDA, have increased their production over the years. Between January and October 2024, they produced 260.6 million kilograms of tea, marking a 16.03 per cent rise from the previous year. This surge outpaced the marginal 0.25 per cent increase recorded by large estates, which produced 118.4 million kilograms during the same period.
The enhanced output from these smallholders is attributed to favourable weather conditions, especially in regions east of the Rift Valley where most KTDA-contracted farms are located.
On the export front, Kenya witnessed a boost in earnings. In the economic year ending June 2024, tea export revenues reached Sh203.71 billion, which is a 19.52 per cent increase from the previous year’s Sh170.43 billion.
This growth was driven by a rise in export volumes, totalling 608,296 tonnes compared to 547,690 tonnes the prior year. The key markets included Pakistan, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
However, despite the increased production and export volumes, tea farmers faced declining earnings due to falling prices at the Mombasa auction.
Between January and April 2024, the average price per kilogram of tea dropped to $2.18 (Sh283.4), down from $2.34 (Sh304.2) during the same period in 2023. This decline is attributed to weak demand from major buyers like Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, and Russia. It is also coupled with stiff competition from other top producers.
In the domestic market, tea remains Kenya’s most consumed beverage. However, to address the challenges facing the tea sector, the government has implemented several reforms. These include the introduction of a minimum price at the Mombasa auction, fertiliser subsidies, increased monthly payments to farmers and the promotion of value addition to tea products.
While the appetite for specialty teas rises, the KTDA boss says they are looking beyond the traditional export channels. He acknowledges that direct-to-consumer models in international markets are still in early development, but the agency is exploring foreign retail opportunities.
Ms Mutahi, on the other hand, observes that Kenya should work harder towards capturing the global market.
“We still need to continue to have Kenyan tea packed at source, consumed globally. Because we have countries that have no tea bush, and they have teas they call their own,” she said.
