James Finlays goes into green tea production

James Finlays goes into green tea production
By Vincent Bartoo

James Finlays has commissioned a multi-million shillings green tea production plant, in a move that will position the firm in the lucrative tea industry.

The new venture makes Kenya the only country in Africa to produce instant green tea otherwise known as "miracle tea" owing to its medicinal value.

The Saosa factory at the heart of the James Finlays tea estates in Kericho will produce the green tea.

Green tea contains antioxidants that help the body guard against the mutation of cells, which weakens the immune system.

"Unlike black tea, green tea is not fermented during processing and therefore it does not lose the valuable antioxidants," said Joseph Mbugua, the plant’s manager.

The move marks the final phase of Finlays’ repositioning in the global tea market that has been hard hit by price fluctuations.

James Finlays (Kenya) Limited Company, popularly known as JFK in the Kenyan tea industry, is a wholly owned subsidiary company of John Swire & Sons Limited and has its headquarters in Glasgow, UK.

The company started growing tea in 1925. Its plantations were acquired from the British East African Disabled Officers Co-operative and covers some 10,972 hectares in Kericho and Bureti districts.

These districts are among the major tea growing areas in Kenya, and this is mainly due to their ideal climatic conditions.

With its latest product range in the market, James Finlays, market insiders say, promises to revolutionise the whole concept of tea taking.

The green tea is a popular brand in the Far East region, especially in China, Japan and Korea.

The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. It’s believed that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years. Today, scientific research is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea.

Demand for this new brand of tea, says Finlays Solutions sales and administration manager, John Cheruiyot, has increased since it hit the local market.

The Saosa plant receives green leaf from the tea fields owned by James Finlays, and thus the quality of leaf is tracked right from the field as the bush grows to plucking, through the transportation and up to delivery to the plant.

"Starting with the leaf, quality is therefore well monitored throughout the processing, packaging and dispatches to meet stringent international standards," said Mbugua.
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East African Standard