Julian doesn’t drink coffee, but most morning’s he starts his day with a coffee of homegrown rooibos tea and many South Africans do…however, we found this next story very interesting…
ROOIBOS IS BIG IN JAPAN…
Martin Bergh, Chairperson of the SA Rooibos Council, joined Suga on the line…
Rooibos is becoming a big deal in Japan – one of the largest tea-drinking nations in the world – with exports of our indigenous tea hitting record highs in 2018. More than 2 000 tons were shipped to its shores last year – the largest consignment since Rooibos was first introduced to the Japanese in the ‘80s. Martin Bergh, Chairperson of the SA Rooibos Council (SARC) says it hasn’t been easy breaking into the Japanese market, but that Rooibos is starting to make some serious inroads.
“The Japanese are spoilt for choice. They have more than 26 different types of tea to choose from, which range from their traditional green tea varieties to jasmine and barley tea or ‘mugicha’ as it is known among the locals, so Rooibos has been up against stiff competition. Even though Rooibos only makes up a tiny slice of the 200 000 tons of tea consumed in Japan per year, it is faring well above the annual 2.3% growth rate for the tea industry, clocking up a 7% increase in sales last year. And with a market as big as Japan’s 126 million-strong tea-loving population, always eager to experiment with new products, Rooibos offers endless possibilities.
Have a listen to the interview here:
