This series from World Tea News aims to shine light on the different roles and jobs in the tea industry. We’ll be asking questions like:
In each installment, we’ll take a deep dive into a different segment of the tea industry to learn more about the roles, responsibilities, and risks associated with the job. Miss an installment? Catch up here!
For this installment, we reached out to Lydia Kung, owner of Verileaf True Teas Corp. For over 40 years, VeriLeaf has been a direct importer and wholesaler of specialty teas, responsibly sourcing from origin gardens in producing countries.
Here's what Lydia had to say about a day in the life of a tea importer/wholesaler:
The first time I saw tea gardens was when I was doing dissertation fieldwork in Taiwan. I spent a year in the Sanhsia area, living in a small village where there were hills of tea gardens nearby. Many years later, after teaching anthropology for a few years and then establishing a tea business, I made an overdue trip back to Taiwan this past May, specifically for tea work.
My company Verileaf is an importer and wholesaler of specialty teas, so the first emails in the morning I need to sort are those related to import logistics. As prior notices come in from suppliers alerting us to shipments ready to leave port, these notices have to be sent to our import broker. Timing is important since these notifications must be submitted for entry before shipments depart from port in order to avoid penalties. Keeping tabs on shipments en route has become increasingly important due to recent uncertainty about tariffs. Having arrival dates and updates about when shipments clear Customs will affect our landed costs.
Then I review incoming orders from our customers, noting which items require special handling or if there are special requests. Today, I received an email from a customer asking for more information about the teas they recently ordered, so some time is spent on providing origin information and product knowledge. My monthly newsletters focus on such topics, highlighting specific teas as tea seasons progress. I enjoy the research behind this task, and as consumers gain more tea knowledge, they are likely to return to discover more teas.
My primary role is in purchasing, and I need to respond quickly about a forecast for Keemun teas and finalize our quantities for a contract. This being late June (25th), by now, Keemuns from Anhui have gone through secondary processing, so I plan for the months ahead and request samples.
Much of purchasing work, of course, is tied to tasting samples. I've been fortunate in having traveled extensively to tea regions to taste alongside those who process teas. But back at the office, my assistant and I must rely on our palate memories.
My recent trip to Taiwan was a useful reboot, and new sales contracts have just arrived. I need to refer to tasting notes jotted down hastily when I met with those suppliers and check the contracts against my notes.
One tasting I'm especially eager to prepare is comparing Taiwan's medium roast Tung Ting oolongs with Anxi's (Fujian) Tie Guan Yin teas. Oolongs are a personal favorite and as I pull out samples, I look forward to a very pleasurable tasting session. These are complex teas yielding layers of flavor.
I plan a first tasting using the standard of 3 grams of tea, and then will do a second round using 7 g of tea with much shorter steeping times. Both teas are processed with the objective to allow several flavoral infusions, and I am curious as to how well they hold up.
Being summer, jasmine tea samples are piling up near my desk. Scenting ends in September so it is urgent to make our selections as early in the season as possible. Come December or January, it will be hard to source good quality and good value jasmine teas since the stocks in China will have been mostly depleted.
First on our schedule today are jasmine pearls. There is a blind tasting first, then a second round identified by suppliers for these handcrafted teas.
We carry six standards, five of which are shown above. So there are six groups to be tasted accordingly, grade by grade.
Next come different grades of jasmine: by now, we have received several samples for each grade, ranging from a high grade such as Yin Hao to middle grades, and then to restaurant grades. Each grade is tasted as one group. The samples are prepared and set up to taste the following day.
For jasmine, I look for a good balance of flower and leaf. The tea should not be too bitter or astringent. The jasmine bouquet should be lively and fresh, and since we carry only flower-scented jasmine, there should not be any overly perfume-y notes. Relying on long histories with suppliers, I find that the export prices are as expected, without significant disparities within each grade. Then I review histories, plan forecasts, and write to ask for contracts and schedule shipments. Putting away samples with proper labeling is time consuming but important, so that we have them at hand when shipments arrive.
While tasting sets are still set up, I remember to cup samples from a new supplier offering Wuyi Rock teas. How samples come to us tells a lot about the supplier. Our longtime suppliers show item names and numbers, certifications, and batch numbers, making for easy traceability. However, this small group of samples from a potential supplier has very little info: only the tea name was handwritten on the packet. The company name, item number, and date are not shown. This paucity of info tells me that the shipper is probably not an experienced exporter, and chances are that they won't be able to provide even the basic certifications we need, ISO Management Certif, HACCP, and so on. Sending samples is costly and I am careful to request only those that I think have potential. This small group of Wuyi Rock teas proves disappointing in terms of taste and value.
It is mid-afternoon and time to review outgoing orders, and for a pallet order, I double check that the paperwork is ready for the transport company. I am also waiting for a shipment to be delivered from the port and contact our trucker about the timing. Then I review which teas in that shipment already have orders pending, and I notify those customers.
Finally, two orthodox Assams and two 2nd Flush Darjeelings remain to be tasted. These are pre-ship samples and it's good to end the day with these batches approved.
I will be meeting friends for dinner over the weekend, part of a monthly dining group, and if the restaurant chosen by the host happens to be Chinese, I will bring teas. I can only guess the size of the teapot and the water temperature provided by the restaurant, so I choose teas that are easy to brew, without precision needed. I decide to bring a Four Season Oolong from Taiwan, picked and processed in January, a prevernal tea. It was lightly oxidized and has a natural floral note that is friendly and approachable. Then I pack a Guava Strawberry fruit blend from Germany for those who don't want caffeine.
Back home around 6 pm, I check emails from China since their workday is just beginning. Some need only simple replies while others I save for the next day. My after dinner treat is a hot mug of Hong Kong style milk tea made with a Ceylon Pekoe.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at World Tea Expo, or to inquire about advertising and sponsorship opportunities at World Tea News, contact:
Ellainy Karaboitis-Christopoulos, Business Development Manager, Questex
Phone: +1-212-895-8493; Email: [email protected]
Looking for professional tea education, certifications, and more? Visit World Tea Academy and register for courses today!
Also, be sure to stay connected with World Tea Expo on social media for details and insights about the event. Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.