The world of tea will be showcased in the exhibition halls of Hamburg Messe und Congress from 10 to 12 October 2018 at. Leading tea trading companies, producers and service providers in the industry will present their new products and international trends at COTECA in Hamburg, covering all aspects of this popular hot beverage.
Production of tea (Camellia sinensis) at record level
Global production of tea (Camellia sinensis) was up 4% in 2017 to a new record high of 5.7 million tonnes. That makes tea the world’s most popular beverage, following water. In Germany, annual per capita consumption was 27.5 litres in 2017, and total worldwide consumption was about 4.5 trillion cups of tea.
Alongside classics such as green tea, black tea and white tea, specialities such as oolong, pu’erh, yellow tea and purple tea are becoming increasingly popular, as indicated in the latest annual report of the German Tea Association, Hamburg.
Herbal and fruit infusions moving ahead
In Germany alone, 16.4 billion cups of herbal and fruit infusions were consumed in 2017. That corresponds to consumption of a total of 39,484 tonnes. Sales have been growing continuously for years now, according to the current market data of the German Association of Herbal and Fruit Infusions (WKF).
Tea drinkers attach great importance to natural characteristics, sustainable ecological production, and transparency. This trend is also recognised by Gebrüder Wollenhaupt GmbH – “We purchase and process UTZ certified herbs and fruits”.
New technological processes such as aroma coating for pyramid tea bags and vitamin enrichment will also be shown at COTECA – for example, the CAPSO technology presented by FREY&LAU, with innovative solutions for aromatisation of tea.
The company specialises in customised tea aromas, and demonstrates its aroma granulates to the international trade visitors. “Organic aromas and organic ethereal oils are right on trend,” says Michael Ackermann, Sales Director D-A-CH.
Tea Lifestyle
Tea rooms, bars, lounges and restaurants boost the tea trend with innovative methods of preparation. Single Origins are celebrated by brewing up several times with the highest quality green teas in small teapots, so that flavour develops different profiles from one brew to the next.
High-concentration Tea Shots involve preparation of a tea blend with a hand-operated filter machine under high pressure, giving up to five intensive, caffeine-containing shots from one portion of tea. Friends of loose leaf tea prefer a French press, giving opportunities to experiment and savour different results.
Another flavoursome option is chai from a samovar, using the Russian or Turkish method. And not least important, cold teas are a mega trend. They are made by cooling concentrated, high-quality tea and mixing a tea cocktail to refine spirits, for example.
Tea cocktails use cold herbal or fruit teas such as hibiscus, lemon grass or spearmint in a longdrink glass. Beverages with tea such as ready-to-drink teas from a bottle are a good match to the lifestyles of young people.
“They can be enjoyed when out and about, at home, at sporting events or for chilling,” says Kyra Schaper, PR officer of the German Tea Association and the German Association of Herbal and Fruit Infusions.
Colourful tea trends
Different blends provide variations in tea colour and flavour, for classic black tea, green tea, white tea or herbal and fruit infusions. Golden yellow spice teas with cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric or saffron stimulate the circulation and are on a strong upward trend; also cacao shell tea, which is claimed to have a calming effect.
And those who want this year’s trend colour “ultraviolet” will go for Kenyan “purple tea”, which contains a high percentage of antioxidants and is counted among the new superfoods because of its health benefits.
Then there is “coffee cherry tea from Peru”, made from the dried fruity bits of the Arabica coffee cherry and comparable with espresso in terms of caffeine content. As a traditional beverage of the indigenous Peruvian peoples, it already enjoys great popularity in the United States. The exhibitor PachaMama highland coffee from Peru presents not only coffee, but also this directly traded, cold-milled, fruity “coffee cherry tea” for connoisseurs at COTECA.
Matcha in all its variants
The pulverised caffeine-containing leaves of green tea remain very popular. The trend to high-quality green teas continues, says Markus Hastenpflug, CEO of KEIKO Tea – “We are getting more and more demand for speciality teas from Japan, that is matcha and matcha products.
At COTECA in Hamburg, we are presenting a range of sugar-free matcha blends for brewing with water and/or foamed milk, such as Matcha Charming Chai and Matcha Roasty Rebel.” A world first is presented here by KEIKO Tee – a matcha espresso machine for making freshly foamed matcha teas, matcha lattes or matcha cocktails.
And the exhibitor AIYA Europe also shows matcha tea and Japanese green teas, together with innovative recipes for trendy matcha drinks, and sweet and savoury snacks.
The COTECA presentations are rounded off by workshops on preparation of matcha with husks and bamboo whisks, innovative accessories and a great deal of production technology know-how, demonstrations of tea ceremonies, and tea tastings.
