Tea

Took a 3 day trip up country and amongst other things saw the tea plantations and one of the many factories. Had no idea of the scale of the plantations or the number of people involved in it. The pickers were tiny wiry women who picked a minimum of 20 Kilos a day in two shifts. Each sack they carried therefore weighed a minimum of 10 kilos often more. The bags are carried by means of a rope loop over their foreheads. I could just pick up a bag by hand but certainly couldn't have carried it any distance. I tried it over my head but my neck could not support the weight. The Tamil women who do the picking didn't reach my shoulder and were half my weight. Respect! The shame is that they are paid a pittance and have awful working and living conditions so that we can enjoy a cheap cuppa in Britain. The tea takes only 24 hours to process in the factory but it is quite labour intensive and again, all the work is done by the women. It is dried, rolled, fermented, roasted and graded before being packaged and ultimately exported to our supermarkets. It was quite an illuminating visit for us and I'll certainly appreciate my cups of tea more in future.

Elvie