Where does Kazi Yetu’s tea come from?

Our tea range encompasses a spectrum of pure teas, blended teas, and herbal infusions. The pure teas are Kilimanjaro Black Tea and Kilimanjaro Green Tea. Our black tea is an orthodox blend from a tea estate in the Usambara Mountains in Tanga, Tanzania. Our orthodox green tea is directly sourced from an organic tea estate in Rutsiro, Rwanda. Our black tea blends include Cinnamon Spice, Coco Choco, and Zanzibar Chai, and our green tea blend is Ginger Mint Fusion. The blended teas contain spices and herbs that are from a variety of farms around Tanzania. Our two herbal infusions are Hibiscus Star and Lemongrass Moringa. 

What is orthodox tea?

Orthodox tea refers to tea leaves that are rolled into twists or flat leaves. Only two leaves and a bud from the young branches of the tea plant can be used to obtain the best quality orthodox. While the quality is high, the price is high, and the efforts are much higher for the farmers and processors. In Tanzania, 99% of the tea is mass produced as ‘crush-tear-curl’ (CTC), which is the main processing method. Kazi Yetu is promoting the production of orthodox due to higher quality and improved livelihoods for all in the tea value chain. 

Do you have non-caffeinated/decaf tea?

We make two herbal infusions that do not contain caffeine: Hibiscus Star (hibiscus, ginger, and star anise) and Lemongrass Moringa (lemongrass, moringa leaves).

Do your tea blends contain additives?

We do not add any additives to our products, such as natural or artificial flavoring. All our teas, herbs, and spices are natural and come straight from the farms, which means that sometimes the flavor profiles of our blends can vary a little bit as the flavor of our ingredients also depends on factors such as weather conditions. Embrace the wild and natural flavors!

How long do I steep the tea for?

The brewing instructions are provided on each package. Tea steeping timing ranges from 2 to 5 minutes depending on the ingredients and your taste preference. The water temperature also varies between 80 and 100 degrees depending on the ingredients.

How many times can I steep the tea bag?

One pyramid tea bag or 3 grams of loose leaf tea is enough for one teapot (0.5 liters). Or you can reuse the tea bag twice in a tea mug.

What is the usual expiration date of the tea?

Tea does not expire but the best flavor can be tasted within 2 years.

How does the tea sector work in Tanzania?

In Tanzania green leaf tea is grown on privately owned estates, which are usually owned by processing companies, or smallholder farms. Once the green leaf is harvested, it must be processed within 24 hours, which means it must be transported to the processing unit on the same day. Every 6 months there is a stakeholder meeting with the processors and the government to set the price for green leaf for the smallholders. This practice ensures that the farmers are receiving a price that is transparent.

What happens in the processing unit?

Depending on the type of tea the leaves are processed through several steps: withering, rolling, drying, steaming, grading. In general, about 4 kg of fresh tea leaves make around 1 kg of dried tea leaves. Once the tea has been processed, it is packed into bulk bags to be either exported or sold to blending companies (including Kazi Yetu, which is a licensed blender and packer). 

What about the workers on tea farms?

For the workers on the tea farms, the daily wage is reported through the Ministry of Labor. In Tanzania each sector has a different minimum wage. Tea farms do employ workers that are generally working throughout the year; however, tea is a perennial crop with two flush seasons which requires more workers in the high seasons. 

What is the situation at Herkulu tea estate, where Kazi Yetu buys its orthodox black tea?

The Herkulu tea estate in the Usambara Mountains was originally established by the German settlers in the early 1900s. Today it is operated by Bombay Burmah Tea Company.  The tea leaves are plucked on the tea fields of the estate  and also in their out-grower scheme. That means the farm also procures fresh tea leaves from 8 surrounding villages (around 200 smallholder farmers). The tea estate supplies the farmers with input and then buys the produce. The tea estate employs around 110 people permanently and around 40 people seasonally. 

What type of packaging do you offer for your Africa Tea Collection tea blends?

Depending on where you are located we offer different packaging options.

• Beautifully designed kraft paper tubes containing 20 pyramid tea bags
• A refill option for the tubes: Kraft paper bags containing 50 pyramid tea bags
• For loose leaf enthusiasts: Kraft paper bags containing 100g of loose leaf tea
• For our serious tea lovers: Kraft paper bags containing 500g of loose leaf tea
• Starter pack: Kraft paper bag with 10 pyramid tea bags (TZ only)
• Reusable tins: Tins containing 20 pyramid tea bags (TZ only)

Why are there pictures of tea tins on your website and your social media channels but in the online shop I cannot see them?

The tea tins are only being sold in Tanzania. However, you can only place an order in our online shop if you are located in the EU, the US or Canada. If you are located somewhere else please write to us: hello@kazi-yetu.com.

What are your pyramid tea bags made of?

Our pyramid tea bags are made out of cornstarch. They are biodegradable.

Are your tea bags compostable?

In theory, yes. However, the tea bags require a certain temperature to compost, therefore they are only industrially compostable. Please always check in advance with your city council about their regulations.

What are the kraft paper tubes made of?

The tube is made out of cardboard. The outer layer is an extremely thin matte laminated material. On the inside they have an inner food lining to preserve the tea.

Where is your packaging from?

After doing a lot of research about packaging material available in Africa we have experienced a lack of locally made sustainable packaging solutions. Our labels are printed in Tanzania, while our other packaging comes from China. Together with other businesses it is our goal to create a higher demand for local packaging so that we eventually have all packaging done in Tanzania. This approach is part of Kazi Yetu’s efforts to contribute to trade transformation from Tanzania, increasing awareness of local packaging opportunities. 

How many farmers do you support/source from?

We currently source from 17 suppliers for the 15 ingredients that we purchase. Our suppliers are individual smallholder farmers and larger processors that source from smallholder farmers. Through our special projects, we are investing in the capacity of our suppliers including helping them procure climate-smart technologies to become more resilient to climate shocks and stresses. 

Can you name some of your suppliers?

Sakare Specialty Tea Company (Usambara), Rugathe Farm (Moshi), Zanj Spice Ltd. (Zanzibar), Elven Agri (Bagamoyo), Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (Morogoro).

How do your products get from Tanzania to Europe?

Our products are delivered by ship from Dar es Salaam to Hamburg. From Hamburg, the products are delivered by road to our small distribution warehouse in Stuttgart, from where our orders are sent by post or DHL. We are aware of the fact that by exporting our products we create CO2 emissions, that is why we are working towards becoming a climate-neutral company.

Why should I buy products that are transported a long way? Is it not possible to get them locally sourced in Europe?

Our Kazi Yetu product range focuses on products that cannot be sourced in Europe because of the different climate conditions. For instance, there are only a handful of tea farms in Europe (on the Azores and in the South of England) planting green and black tea.

If I order your products in your online shop, why does it sometimes take a few days until I receive the order?

Since we are in Germany still a very small business our orders are shipped 1-2 per week. Along with our growth (to which you contribute with your order) this will also change.

Where is your factory located? Can I visit you?

Our factory is located in Dar es Salaam. Visitors are always highly welcome – “karibuni sana” as we say in Swahili. In order to have time for you during our normally quite busy days, please contact us in advance!

How many people do you directly employ in Tanzania?

Currently, in our women-run factory, we employ around 20 factory workers and our management team consists of 9 people. Here you can find more information about our team members. 

How much do you pay your production workers?

To determine our production worker wages, we’ve completed research on comparable salaries at similar factories in Tanzania, minimum wage according to the Tanzania minimum wage order, and evolving standards on calculating global Living Wages including the Anker Living Wage index. We provide our production workers with double the nationally mandated minimum wage. In addition to their gross salary, we provide them with benefits including social security, health insurance, lunch each working day, paid time off, and no-interest loans. For health insurance, we subsidize 68% of their health insurance premium costs, reducing the amount that they need to pay per month

Kazi Yetu is a social enterprise – what does that mean?

We define a social enterprise as an organization that provides equal weighting to achieving measurable financial and social returns. For Kazi Yetu, our social impact is defined by three primary pillars: (1) high quality job creation for vulnerable women at the factory level; (2) market creation, linkages, and increased earnings at the farmer level; and (3) changing the way that goods are produced and traded from Africa. We work to ensure that our financial and social returns are in lock-step – for example, as we sell more products and make more of a financial return, we’re able to increase the amount that we source from farmers and increase our social impact. Our profit is also reinvested into the growth of the business.

Since 2022 Kazi Yetu is B Corp certified – what kind of certification is this?

As a social enterprise we selected B Corp as our flagship certification because it offers a holistic, trusted, reputable certification for businesses that meet rigorous social and environmental standards which represent their commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit. The B Corp certification is for the whole of the business and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. If you want to know more about the B Corp certification and why we have choosen it, have a look at our blog post! 

What does it mean that Kazi Yetu is an accredited supplier of World Shops in Germany (“anerkannter Weltladenlieferant”)?

In 2021, Kazi Yetu became an accredited supplier of World Shops in Germany. The German Weltladen-Dachverband (umbrella organisation of World Shops) has clear criteria for its members which are listed in the “Convention of the World Shops – Criteria for the Fair Trade of Worldshops”. The convention focuses on six key areas: Trade Practices, Working Conditions, Transparency, Education and Information Work, Public Relations and Advocacy and Environmental Protection.

What’s your organic certification status?

Achieving internationally recognized organic certification is our long-term goal. However, since we are “only” a processor of agricultural products, this means that our entire supply chain must be certified. While most of our producers are not internationally certified organic (because it is unaffordable for them or they hardly export), most of them use organic practices and have the Kilimo Hai certificate. Kilimo Hai certification is an organic certification recognized only in Tanzania, offered by the Tanzania Organic Cultural Movement (TOAM). Farmers are only recognized under Kilimo Hai if they use organic farming methods. In addition, inorganic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are not allowed.

How is Kazi Yetu different from other companies? What difference does it make if the whole product is produced in the country of origin? 

Goodbuy, one of our stockists in Germany, compared Kazi Yetu tea to conventional teas and they found that the value we create in the country of origin is 5 times higher! ⁠Calculations by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation on four conventional plantations show that farmers are paid poorly and when the tea is then exported in bulk, most of the value leaves the country of origin. With fair wages and value addition (blending & packaging) in Tanzania, a Kazi Yetu cup of tea supports genuine economic and sustainable development.