UTZ is pleased to announce that Zhejiang Caiyunjian Tea Co. Ltd is the first Chinese tea producer to join the UTZ program for sustainable agricultural production. The company will export its steamed green tea to Europe from its base in Zhejiang province, one of China’s main tea producing regions.
This was achieved in close partnership with the German tea blender and packer Gebrüder Wollenhaupt GmbH.
China has long been the biggest tea producing and consuming country in the world, and legend has it that tea was first discovered there almost 5000 years ago. Today, the country is a key exporter of green and specialty teas to the global market.
“We applaud this great achievement in sustainable production of tea by Caiyunjian,” said Juliette Caulkins, Director of Business Development in China for UTZ. “We are proud to work with companies who are at the forefront of sustainable tea production in China and whose leaders like Mr. Pan (Chairman of Caiyunjian Tea) are paving the way to bring quality and sustainable production to the international tea market. We are committed to the Caiyunjian-UTZ partnership, on the journey, and look forward to the fruitful results our teams can achieve together in China.”
“Gebrüder Wollenhaupt is extremely happy to be associated with the UTZ certification of the first green tea producer in China, as this is going to cover a market requirement which could not be fulfilled until now,” said Marco Sinram from Gebrüder Wollenhaupt. “We are pleased to be in a position to offer these teas amongst UTZ certified buyers which strengthens even more the relationship we have built with the producer along the past years. This market opener will surely lead the way to even more interest in sustainable certified tea which we believe is the right step for a sustainable future.”
