‘Assamica tea variety has profound earthy and malty notes’

New Delhi: Globally, the US is the world’s third largest importer of tea, just behind Pakistan and Russia. However, when it comes to the country importing tea from the world’s second largest tea producer, India is way behind Canada, Argentina and China. In 2016, for instance, the world’s largest economy imported a mere 17.2 metric tonnes of tea from the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

So, why has Indian tea failed to get the right traction in the US? “Because the people who make them are good at making tea. But a product isn’t a business, it’s not a marketing plan, it’s simply a product,” explained Amy Dubin, promoter of the New York-based tea room, Janam Indian Tea, in an exclusive interaction with EastMojo.

“The US is an extremely complex gist of different cultural groups, different parts of the country, different habits and different cultural norms. The Indian tea growers shouldn’t be expected to know that and just march in and start competing,” she emphasised.