Tea Harvest Times - Chart
Desiree Nelson
Desiree Nelson
Showing posts with label commercial tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commercial tea. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Munson Blenders, featuring Harney Teas and how to blend tea
So you have created a monster. Your tea blends and masterful concoctions of herbs or tea are huge sellers, or have an opportunity to mass market. But you only have two hands, require sleep, and you are already re-defining the term 'carpel tunnel syndrome'.
What is a passionate hands-on person like you to do? GIVE UP CONTROL! Keep the Artisan Teas for a premium price, but go big with a commercial type modification and borrow money from you Grandpa Louie to buy a warehouse with one of these bad boys!
Of course, you will need a QA team, and certifications galore, but hey - do your homework. Either get a warehouse and go for it, using locally farmed and herbs - or find someone (ahem!) that has this type of capability to do it for you.
Happy viewing...tea blending...thought of the day!
http://www.munsonmachinery.com/casehistories/article.asp?ArtID=842&playID=true&utm_source=Email+Created+2012%2F04%2F03%2C+4%3A11+PM&utm_campaign=Z-1106+EMailBlast&utm_medium=ema
What is a passionate hands-on person like you to do? GIVE UP CONTROL! Keep the Artisan Teas for a premium price, but go big with a commercial type modification and borrow money from you Grandpa Louie to buy a warehouse with one of these bad boys!
Of course, you will need a QA team, and certifications galore, but hey - do your homework. Either get a warehouse and go for it, using locally farmed and herbs - or find someone (ahem!) that has this type of capability to do it for you.
Happy viewing...tea blending...thought of the day!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Martin Bauer Group Announces Acquisition of Beverage House Inc.
Martin Bauer Group Announces Acquisition of Beverage House Inc.
Martin Bauer Group is excited to announce the acquisition of Beverage House Inc. in Cartersville Georgia.
“This acquisition brings together Martin Bauer Group’s Expertise in Teas, Extracts and Botanicals and Beverage House’s expertise in the formulation, processing and packaging of premium beverage concentrates in order to expand the scope of our product offerings in the North American Market.” stated Albert Ferstl, Managing Director of the Martin Bauer Group in Germany.
Martin Bauer Group is an international manufacturer and distributor of an extensive range of innovative, natural, botanical ingredients and services to the food and beverage, dietary supplement, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Martin Bauer Group is a Business Division of the nature network® which employs over 3,000 people in fifteen countries worldwide and gives clients direct access to one of the most valuable sources of knowledge and expertise within the world of fruits, herbs, and teas.
"We are very excited about the future following the acquisition of Beverage House, Inc. by Martin Bauer Group” commented Jim Gollhofer, President and CEO of Beverage House, Inc., “this represents a significant move forward for us and most especially for our customers. Martin Bauer Group is a family owned international company with a long history as a manufacturer and supplier of tea, extracts and botanical products going back more than 135 years. The core business of Beverage House in liquid tea and other specialty beverage concentrates fits perfectly with Martin Bauer Group's position. Beverage House will now have access to the global resources of Martin Bauer Group in the areas of raw materials sourcing, processing technology and research and development. With BHI part of Martin Bauer Group our customers can be even more confident in our long term commitment to quality, service and innovation".
Beverage House Inc. has pioneered the development and production of authentic tasting tea concentrates since 1984 and today produces a wide range of premium beverage concentrates in a variety of packaging configurations for regional and national brands in food service and retail. Beverage House products are found in virtually every foodservice and retail segment where tea is served. Expertise in product development coupled with a deep knowledge of product application and multiple delivery systems makes Beverage House the ideal partner for any company looking to take advantage of the rapidly expanding concentrate market.
“Having a production base in the US, local product development, and application expertise in liquid as well as dry formats will allow us to incorporate our vast assortment of tea and botanical ingredients into new and innovative beverage concepts for the US customer base” stated Richard Enticott, President & CEO of Martin Bauer Inc, the Group’s US subsidiary.
For further information email/contact:
Richard Enticott: richard.enticott@martin-bauer-
group.us Jim Gollhofer: jgollhofer@beveragehouse.com
___________________________
Riley Richman
Executive Communications
Tea Association of Canada
133 Richmond St.W (suite 602)
Toronto, Ontario
M5H-2L3
(416)510-8647 ext #2
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Nepalese Teas
By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 8/7/2011
Nepal's Himalayan tea growers turn a new leaf
After decades spent in the shadow of their neighbours across the border in Darjeeling, Nepalese tea growers are finally laying out their own stalls in the lucrative global market for premium leaves.
Grown at high altitude in lush, emerald gardens among the foothills of the Himalayas, "orthodox" Nepalese teas are now finding their way onto the books of speciality buyers from Europe and the United States.
The orthodox method of production oxidises and prepares teas with a focus on the top-quality, whole leaves and buds that produce a nuanced and slightly fruity flavour and can be used for multiple infusions.
It is a niche but profitable market, supplying high-end tea shops and retailers around the world who cater to an affluent, health-conscious clientele.
"Nepalese tea is increasingly visible in the western world where the demand for high-quality tea has grown in recent years," said Dilli Baskota, manager of Kanchanjangha Tea, a garden based in the hills of eastern Nepal.
Germany and United States are the primary markets, but Baskota said that buyers from France, Britain, Russia and Canada, as well as consumer giants China and Japan, had recently placed sizeable orders.
Premium Nepalese teas can fetch prices as high as $85 per kilo on the international market, and according to the National Tea Board production has almost doubled in the past five years to 2.6 million kilos, of which 90 percent is exported.
The global market for orthodox teas is currently estimated by the US Tea Association at around 45 million kilos.
The hill gardens of eastern Nepal are at an equivalent altitude -- and share a similar climate -- to those just across the Indian border in Darjeeling, which produce some of the world's most sought-after and highest-priced premium black tea.
The Darjeeling brand enjoys international renown, but experts say complacency, price-gouging and a low-level but persistent separatist insurgency in the Indian region have given the Nepalese teas a foothold in the market.
"Around five years ago, some European buyers became frustrated with the Darjeeling growers, feeling they were using their monopoly on the brand to push prices far too high," said Vikram Mittal, a New Delhi-based trader in speciality teas.
"So they started looking more closely at similar-tasting but cheaper Nepali teas as a sourcing option," Mittal said.
Nepal growers cannot compete with the top-grade Darjeeling premium teas -- such as the "Silver Tip" leaves which are traditionally hand-picked under a full moon and retail at up to $500 a kilo.
But their medium-grade orthodox teas are competitive and quality is improving as owners lure Darjeeling planters to manage their gardens.
"Quite a few have moved to Nepal, where they are given more responsibility and better salaries," said P.K. Ganguly, a retired Darjeeling grower.
"They take with them decades of accumulated expertise in growing and processing and that makes a huge difference quality-wise," he said.
Nonetheless, as an impoverished, landlocked country, Nepal poses particular challenges to tea growers who have to struggle with a woeful transport infrastructure, power and labour shortages and a lack of government support.
"The government hasn't provided any real incentives," said garden owner Bachan Gyawali.
"Labour shortages and regular strikes enforced by one group or another have, at times, crippled the business," Gyawali said.
Around 8,000 small farmers are involved in orthodox tea cultivation and employ some 27,000 people -- the vast majority of them women.
In an effort to promote their brands, Nepal's private tea producers launched the Himalayan Tea Producers Cooperative (HIMCOOP) in 2003, and have started to take part in global trade fairs, such as the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas.
HIMCOOP has hired a Darjeeling native, John Taylor, to oversee its marketing side, and has created a "Nepal Tea" brand endorsed by the legendary Italian mountaineer, Reinhold Messner.
While branding is crucial, Taylor said a long-term effort was also needed to woo major overseas buyers.
"Tea is a very personal business. You have to build up a personal relationship with the buyers who often visit the gardens themselves," he said.
HIMCOOP president Sushil Rijal acknowledged: "There is huge potential for orthodox tea in European countries and North America but, up till now, we haven't been able to market our products that well.
"Honestly, we are very new in this trade," he admitted.
Nepal's Himalayan tea growers turn a new leaf
After decades spent in the shadow of their neighbours across the border in Darjeeling, Nepalese tea growers are finally laying out their own stalls in the lucrative global market for premium leaves.
Grown at high altitude in lush, emerald gardens among the foothills of the Himalayas, "orthodox" Nepalese teas are now finding their way onto the books of speciality buyers from Europe and the United States.
The orthodox method of production oxidises and prepares teas with a focus on the top-quality, whole leaves and buds that produce a nuanced and slightly fruity flavour and can be used for multiple infusions.
It is a niche but profitable market, supplying high-end tea shops and retailers around the world who cater to an affluent, health-conscious clientele.
"Nepalese tea is increasingly visible in the western world where the demand for high-quality tea has grown in recent years," said Dilli Baskota, manager of Kanchanjangha Tea, a garden based in the hills of eastern Nepal.
Germany and United States are the primary markets, but Baskota said that buyers from France, Britain, Russia and Canada, as well as consumer giants China and Japan, had recently placed sizeable orders.
Premium Nepalese teas can fetch prices as high as $85 per kilo on the international market, and according to the National Tea Board production has almost doubled in the past five years to 2.6 million kilos, of which 90 percent is exported.
The global market for orthodox teas is currently estimated by the US Tea Association at around 45 million kilos.
The hill gardens of eastern Nepal are at an equivalent altitude -- and share a similar climate -- to those just across the Indian border in Darjeeling, which produce some of the world's most sought-after and highest-priced premium black tea.
The Darjeeling brand enjoys international renown, but experts say complacency, price-gouging and a low-level but persistent separatist insurgency in the Indian region have given the Nepalese teas a foothold in the market.
"Around five years ago, some European buyers became frustrated with the Darjeeling growers, feeling they were using their monopoly on the brand to push prices far too high," said Vikram Mittal, a New Delhi-based trader in speciality teas.
"So they started looking more closely at similar-tasting but cheaper Nepali teas as a sourcing option," Mittal said.
Nepal growers cannot compete with the top-grade Darjeeling premium teas -- such as the "Silver Tip" leaves which are traditionally hand-picked under a full moon and retail at up to $500 a kilo.
But their medium-grade orthodox teas are competitive and quality is improving as owners lure Darjeeling planters to manage their gardens.
"Quite a few have moved to Nepal, where they are given more responsibility and better salaries," said P.K. Ganguly, a retired Darjeeling grower.
"They take with them decades of accumulated expertise in growing and processing and that makes a huge difference quality-wise," he said.
Nonetheless, as an impoverished, landlocked country, Nepal poses particular challenges to tea growers who have to struggle with a woeful transport infrastructure, power and labour shortages and a lack of government support.
"The government hasn't provided any real incentives," said garden owner Bachan Gyawali.
"Labour shortages and regular strikes enforced by one group or another have, at times, crippled the business," Gyawali said.
Around 8,000 small farmers are involved in orthodox tea cultivation and employ some 27,000 people -- the vast majority of them women.
In an effort to promote their brands, Nepal's private tea producers launched the Himalayan Tea Producers Cooperative (HIMCOOP) in 2003, and have started to take part in global trade fairs, such as the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas.
HIMCOOP has hired a Darjeeling native, John Taylor, to oversee its marketing side, and has created a "Nepal Tea" brand endorsed by the legendary Italian mountaineer, Reinhold Messner.
While branding is crucial, Taylor said a long-term effort was also needed to woo major overseas buyers.
"Tea is a very personal business. You have to build up a personal relationship with the buyers who often visit the gardens themselves," he said.
HIMCOOP president Sushil Rijal acknowledged: "There is huge potential for orthodox tea in European countries and North America but, up till now, we haven't been able to market our products that well.
"Honestly, we are very new in this trade," he admitted.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
North American Tea Champions - Iced Tea Class
30 May 2011
By World Tea News
First Place Winners
• Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Snapple Green Tea (www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com); Ready-to-Drink-Flavored Green Tea
• ITO EN, LTD, TEA'S TEA Low Calorie-Mango Oolong (www.ITOEN.com); Ready-to-Drink-Flavored Oolong Tea
• Milo's Tea Company, Milo's No Calorie Tea Gallon (www.milostea.com); Ready-to-Drink-Sweetened Black Tea
• Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, Classic Southern Iced Tea Concentrate, Sweetened (www.motherparkers.com); Foodservice-BIB Unflavored / Sweetened Black Tea
• Numi Organic Tea, Earl Grey Pu-erh Tea (www.numitea.com); Ready-to-Drink-Flavored Black Tea
• QTrade Teas & Herbs, Summer Classic, Organic & Fair Trade (www.qtradeteas.com); Foodservice-Unflavored Black Tea
• QTrade Teas & Herbs, Imperial Green, Organic (www.qtradeteas.com); Foodservice-Unflavored Green Tea
• Rare Tea Cellar, Lemon Berry Meritage-Organic (www.rareteacellar.com); Foodservice-Flavored Herbal
• The Republic of Tea, Calorie-Free Sweet Green Tea (www.republicoftea.com); Ready-to-Drink-Sweetened Green Tea
• Revolution Tea, LLC, Revolution Iced, Classic (www.revolutiontea.com); Foodservice-BIB Unflavored / Unsweetened Black Tea
• Rooibee Red Tea, Herbal RRT Watermelon Mint (www.rooibeeredtea.com); Ready-to-Drink-Flavored / Sweetened
• Teas Etc., Meyer Lemon Black (www.teasetc.com); Foodservice-Flavored Black Tea
• Tejava, Tejava (www.tejava.com); Ready-to-Drink-Unflavored Black Tea
• Walters Bay Bogawantalawa Estates, Tropical Green Iced Tea (www.waltersbay.com); Foodservice-Flavored Green Tea
A Winners’ Tasting Circle will be held at 2011 World Tea Expo, June 24 -26, for all attendees. The next North American Tea Championship is in July 2012 in Las Vegas for an evaluation of hot teas – spring. Entries will be accepted in June. To inquire about entering the competition, e-mail liz@teachampionship.com.
LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Specialty iced teas are gathering steam in popularity and quality, according to organizers of the North American Tea Championship www.teachampionship.com, which named 14 first-place winners in various categories in the annual Iced Tea Class evaluation.
The event took place May 24 in Montebello, Calif. The Championship is the only independent competition, judged by professional cuppers, to distinguish the highest quality and best tasting teas that are commercially available in the North American marketplace.
Tea companies that took a prestigious first-place title at the Championship include:
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group; ITO EN LTD.; Milo's Tea Company; Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee; Numi Organic Tea; QTrade Teas & Herbs (which won two first-place titles); Rare Tea Cellar; Revolution Tea; Rooibee Red Tea; Teas Etc.; Tejava; The Republic of Tea; and Walters Bay Bogawantalawa Estates.
Tea experts who judged the North American Tea Championship include: Michael Cardenas, owner, Innovative Dining Group; David De Candia, senior manager and tea master/tea blender, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf; and Patrick Main, quality manager, Peet’s Coffee & Tea.
A total of 43 tea companies showcased an assortment of more than 130 premium iced teas – nearly double the entries in the 2010 competition. Entrants ranged from small, boutique tea manufacturers to mid-size tea companies and mass manufacturers, and there were winners to represent each.
Kim Jage, executive vice president of World Tea Media, the producers of the North American Tea Championship, said, “The competition was fierce. Across the board, the quality of these specialty iced teas was much more refined than years past.”
Wilbur Curtis, a leading manufacturer of tea brewers and accessories, was the host and equipment supplier of the competition. Cirqua Customized Water provided 300 gallons of water for the Championship.
The tea submissions were evaluated blind and through organoleptic analysis of the following characteristics: dry leaf, brewed color, brewed aroma, brewed flavor, brewed mouth-feel and brewed harmony. An overall numerical value on a 100-point scale was then calculated based on the ratings of each characteristic above. Winners were determined by rank.
A complete list of first, second and third-place winners of the North American Tea Champions is available at www.teachampionship.com.
Box Score
Multiple Winners
1st
2nd
3rd
QTradeTeas&Herbs
2
Walters Bay
1
1
1
Dr.Pepper/Snapple
1
1
Milo’s Tea Co.
1
1
Republic of Tea
1
2
Mother Parkers
1
1
California Teas
2
Shangri La Tea
2
S&D Coffee
1
1
Tao of Tea
1
1
First Place Winners
Category
Tea
Company
Foodservice
BIB Unflavored / Sweetened Black Tea
Classic Southern Iced Tea Concentrate
Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee
BIB Unflavored / Unsweetened Black Tea
Revolution Iced - Classic
Revolution Tea, LLC.
Flavored Black Tea
Meyer Lemon Black
Teas Etc
Flavored Green Tea
Tropical Green Iced Tea
Walters Bay Bogawantalawa Estates
Flavored Herbal
Lemon Berry Meritage-Organic
Rare Tea Cellar
Unflavored Black Tea
Summer Classic [Organic & Fair Trade]
QTrade Teas & Herbs
Unflavored Green Tea
Imperial Green
QTrade Teas & Herbs
Ready to Drink
Flavored / Sweetened Herbal
RRT Watermelon Mint
Rooibee Red Tea
Flavored Black Tea
Earl Grey Pu-erh Tea
Numi Organic Tea
Flavored Green Tea
Snapple Green Tea
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group
Flavored Oolong Tea
TEA'S TEA Low Calorie-Mango Oolong
ITO EN, LTD.
Sweetened Black Tea
Milo's No Calorie Tea Gallon
Milo's Tea Company
Sweetened Green Tea
Calorie-Free Sweet Green Tea
The Republic of Tea
Unflavored Black Tea
Tejava
Tejava
Second Place Winners
Category
Tea
Company
Foodservice
BIB Unflavored / Sweetened Black Tea
True Leaves Sweet
CHINA MIST BRANDS
BIB Unflavored / Unsweetened Black Tea
B.W. Cooper's Organic Iced Brew Tea
Cooper Tea Company
Flavored Black Tea
Mango Black Iced Tea
Walters Bay Bogawantalawa Estates
Flavored Green Tea
Lavender Fields Green Tea
Shangri La Tea Company
Flavored Herbal
TROPICAL CRIMSON
Rishi Tea
Unflavored Black Tea
Quality Blend 1oz. Filter Pack
S&D Coffee, Inc.
Unflavored Green Tea
Serene Green Organic Iced Tea
Shangri La Tea Company
Ready to Drink
Flavored / Sweetened Herbal
Mango Organic Rooibos
Templar Food Products
Flavored Black Tea
Lemon Twist Iced Tea
California Teas
Flavored Green Tea
CHAITEA PASSION FRUIT
GOURMETTI BRANDS
Flavored Oolong Tea
Osmanthus Oolong
The Tao of Tea
Sweetened Black Tea
Snapple Sweet Tea
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group
Sweetened Green Tea
Original Sunshine Green Tea
California Teas
Unflavored Black Tea
Milo's Unsweet Tea Gallon
Milo's Tea Company
Third Place Winners
Category
Tea
Company
Foodservice
BIB Unflavored / Sweetened Black Tea
Teafinity Sweet
S&D Coffee, Inc.
BIB Unflavored / Unsweetened Black Tea
Classic Southern Iced Tea Concentrate
Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee
Flavored Black Tea
Peaches Coconut
MarketSpice
Flavored Green Tea
Pomegranate Crisp
Silver Service Refreshment
Flavored Herbal
Petal Petal
Art of Tea
Unflavored Black Tea
Special ITI Iced Tea Blend 609
International Tea Importers Inc
Unflavored Green Tea
Traditional Green Iced Tea
Walters Bay
Bogawantalawa Estates
Ready to Drink
Flavored / Sweetened Herbal
Natural Hibiscus Tea - Superflower Tea
The Republic of Tea
Flavored Black Tea
Caddy Shack - Half Tea Half Lemonade
Peace Tea Beverage Company
Flavored Green Tea
Peach Sencha
Templar Food Products
Flavored Oolong Tea
Oooli Passion Mango
Oooli Beverages Inc.
Sweetened Black Tea
Calorie-Free Sweet Black Tea
The Republic of Tea
Sweetened Green Tea
Honest Tea Honey Green Tea
Honest Tea
Unflavored Black Tea
Darjeeling
The Tao of Tea
About the North American Tea Championship
North American Tea Championship is produced by World Tea Media, which also produces World Tea Expo, World Tea East and World Tea News. Until 2010, the North American Tea Championship was called World Tea Championship and it was held in-conjunction with the Expo. Today, it is an independent event, judged by professional cuppers, that evaluates premium teas from around the world that are sold in North America. The annual Championship is made up of two classes: Hot Tea and Iced Tea. Each class consists of its own categories and judging panel. The Hot Tea Class is evaluated twice a year: February for fall teas and July for spring teas. The Iced Tea Class is evaluated once a year in May. Winners of the Tea Championship are announced after each respective evaluation. For more information, visit www.teachampionship.com
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tea in 2010, My Inside Industry View
Growth in Segments
2010 was predicted successfully by yours truly to be one of continued growth, opportunity, and success. Glad to be right.
I see even more opportunity for growth and continued growth in 2011, especially in the coffee roaster and coffee business segments, as their b2b and direct consumers demand more quality, education, and diversity in tea selections - as well as a call offer something to the ever growing -non caffeine crowd.
I have heard that "non caffeinated crowd" or herbal tea growth to be anywhere between 30 and 40 % of the tea market. That is good size. I had always thought it to be ironic, when I owned my tea chain and wholesale line, that Rooibos and Herbal (non-caffeinated) teas were always outselling the camellia sinensis leaves in bulk and hot teas, just not in the iced -although the iced herbals were growing and catching up too.
I see the caffeinated herbal - Yerba Mate - to continue to grow in blend selections in 2011. While Green and White teas continue to be of solid interest as well as Organic in these and all segments as well. Black Tea continues to take the cake, especially in the RTD and iced tea sales of course in the U.S.
Tea Blends continue to grow and be a great opportunity for Coffee Companies to step up their game. Fruits, flowers, and value additions- the key anything that will help you spin your marketing chant is all good. Be it super fruit teas with flavor and function, energy or sleepy time. Chai's continue to be solid and strong - although uniquely signature to each company most times. Peach, tropical, and chocolate dominate - as does a bit of coconut as well. These fancy ingredients and enhancements are found in all of the teas - herbal, regular, and often even in Organic - and progressively so. These influences are usually kept up on by walking a Fancy Food show. Speaking of Organics - QTrade made a huge leap to go with mostly all natural flavors in 2010 - to keep with and push for as natural as possible.
I continue to see Coffee Roasters seek new blends and to further the growth of better tea's and specialty blends. In hot tea, fuso or pyramids, and/or iced as well.
My prediction in 2011 for growth in the tea realm? More and more tea powders and mixes. You name it, they will mix it and offer it in more and more stick packs, bulk, and cans. Iced teas will continue to get better, and healthier - fresh brews, more selection, higher quality at a higher price point, and diversity - AMEN.
More later this week...Iced Teas and options, Fuso and pyramid, consultants, classes, container sourcing of tea and key ingredients such as Goji Berries, reported increase in pricing in all teas and herbs.
Cheers!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Commercial Tea Blending
Here is an article back sometime ago in Fresh Cup Magazine...
Blending is the key for a cup of fine tea
MILLERTON, NY — Harney & Sons' teashop and tasting room, in this small town two hours' drive from New York City, is a tea drinker's delight. Located behind its own garden just off Main Street, it is a pleasant, cheerful place to enjoy a cup of fine tea, along with a sandwich or a sweetmeat. More than that, it is a place where customers can sample the company's gourmet tea varieties, which number around 250.
John Harney, the founder of the company, has been in the tea business for 36 years. Today, he still runs the company, along with his sons, Michael and Paul. The company's products include black, green, white and oolong teas, herbals, floral and organic teas. Many are exclusive blends. The teas are offered in loose form, in bags or in sachets, and are distributed to gourmet stores and hotels.
Harney & Sons buys fine teas from all over the world. The teas are blended and packaged in the company's plant, which is located, just outside town, about a mile (1.5 km) from the teashop. Blending is an important part of the operation, as about 100 of the company's 250 varieties of tea are blends, notes Michael Harney. A blend typically consists of the basic tea and small quantities of up to four other ingredients, such as flowers and nuts, plus a fruit flavor, such as blackcurrant, lemon or passion fruit, which is added in liquid form.
In recent years, the demand for Harney's teas had grown to the point where the plant's two blending machines were barely able to keep up with the increasing demand, so in 2004, the company installed a horizontal, rotary mixer that has proved more than adequate for its needs. "Our business is growing at a rate of 15-20% a year and the mixing operation was a bottleneck," says Michael Harney. "The new machine has increased our throughput dramatically and has allowed us to keep pace with the growth."
Manufactured by Munson Machinery Co., Inc., Utica, NY, the Model 700-TS-40-SS rotary batch mixer has a capacity of 40 ft³ (1.13 m³) which, at tea's bulk density of 19 lb/ft³ (304 kg/m³), equates to 760 lb (345 kg) per batch, versus 300 lb (136 kg) for each of the old blenders.
However, productivity is much higher, since the new machine has a batch cycle time of only about two hours, including cleaning, says Harney, whereas "We could do only two batches per day (in an 8 h shift) with each of the old blenders." He adds that the new machine is not only bigger and faster, but "We get a better mix of the flavors. It's important that we get a thorough mix, so that the flavor is consistent from batch to batch."
The Munson blender is a stainless steel, horizontal drum that is supported at either end by trunion rings. It has a stationary inlet at one end and a stationary outlet with a discharge gate at the other end. Harney receives tea in bags of various sizes, typically in the range of 85-100 lb (39-45 kg). The bags are manually loaded directly into the blender via a specially designed flared hopper that is attached to the inlet. Dry additives are weighed separately and added to the batch.
A typical batch consists of 600-700 lb (272-318 kg) of tea, plus 5-10 lb (2.3-4.5 kg) of solid additives and about 3 wt.% (roughly 20 lb or 9 kg) of a liquid flavor. Munson supplied a pressure-pot system to introduce liquid flavorings into a batch. Liquid is sprayed into the rotating batch during the mixing process via a spray nozzle located midway along the drum.
As the drum rotates, mixing flights or baffles tumble the batch in a multi-directional manner, so that the action is fast, yet gentle to avoid damaging the product. When mixing is completed, the operator opens the plug valve on the discharge gate while the machine continues to rotate. The baffles move the batch toward the outlet, so that essentially 100% of the product is discharged.
The mixing time is 5-7 min, versus up to 45 min for the 300 lb (136 kg) blenders, says Harney. He points out that one reason the older blenders take longer is that they have no flavor bar for liquids. Instead, liquid is added manually at the start of a mixing operation.
Since all of the product is discharged, the machine is easy to clean, says Harney. Also, he notes that the new machine was supplied with two additional access doors, one on each side of the drum. These allow operators to reach all parts of the interior easily.
Thorough cleaning is vital to the company's business, as it is important to avoid any carryover of a flavor from one batch to another. The company uses ethyl acetate to purge the flavor bar, then tumbles some left-over tea in the blender to absorb the vapors. After this tea is discharged, the machine is vacuumed to remove residual odors.
Cleaning the old blenders is more troublesome, says Harney. For a start, not all the product is discharged and the residue has to be removed by vacuum. Access to the interior of the machine is more difficult. As for the odor, "we just let it air out and this takes time," he says.
Blended batches are discharged from the blender into 50 lb capacity (27 kg) cardboard boxes for transfer to the packing lines. The company has several automated packing lines for teabags and one for loose tea, which is packed manually in 1 lb (0.5 kg) or ½ lb (0.25 kg) tins.
Harney & Sons first considered a 10 ft³ (0.28 m³) mixer but opted for the larger machine after discussions with Michael Sfugaras of Munson's local representative, PME Equipment, Flanders, NJ. Sfugaras points out that a 40 ft³ (1.13 m³) blender offers 400% greater blending capacity than a 10 ft³ (0.28 ³) machine at only 30-40% higher cost, and it can process batches down to 10 percent of rated capacity with no loss in efficiency.
Harney still uses one of the old mixers to meet demand. Says Mike Harney: "The way our business is growing, we will probably buy another rotary mixer within three years."
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