Rose tea frothing up for tea lovers

For the second time in the country, rose tea booked its berth among different blends of tea for sale in the local markets of the country.

Brindabanpur Tea Garden, the pioneer company to produce the special variety, sold its second lot of the tea variety for Tk2,000 per kilogramme (kg) on August 18 at an auction centre in Moulvibazar’s Sreemangal upazila.

Tea Brokers Limited has bought the lot costing Tk2,350 with VAT and sold it to Sreemangal’s Master Tea at Tk3000 wholesale price and Tk3500 retail price, confirmed Md Showkat Ali Khan, director of the company.

He said, “Along with other yellow and white tea blends, rose tea made its way into the Bangladeshi tea lovers very recently. Seeing its increased demand in the domestic and global markets, we got involved in the marketing of the tea, which is highly pricey than usual blends of teas.”

The rose tea, which bears a similar colour and fragrance as its name suggests, was sourced from Brindabanpur Tea Garden in Habiganj. Rich in antioxidants, the tea benefits human health and it is produced to be exported on a very limited scale.

Saiful Islam, the proprietor of Master Tea, a tea trading company, told The Business Post that the Brindabanpur Tea Garden first placed it on the market in May this year.

“Right after the tea hit the market, it was well-received by the tea lovers. Orders for the tea surged, but we could not deliver as much as the demand was. For this reason, we are happy that the special tea variety has hit the market for the second time,” said Saiful.

Jalalabad Tea Brokers Limited Managing Director Khairuzzaman Shyamal said that they sold a few other tea varieties, such as honey, black and herbal tea at the auction.

“We sold a kg of honey tea at Tk2100, a kg of black tea at Tk610 (Tk 713 with VAT).”

All of these tea varieties are of premium quality which he hoped would be acclaimed by local and international tea addicts.

Nasir Uddin Khan, manager of Brindabanpur Tea Garden, said the tea is made by infusing English BT-2 tea leaves with rose petals, similar to that of the ever-popular Earl Grey variety which is made combining the same leaves with bergamot orange.

“Rose tea is produced in many countries across the globe. However, a range of tea varieties are made mixing rose flavour with tea leaves, but we produce the tea by mixing rose leaves with high-quality black tea leaves, not by adding flavours,” he said.

Jahar Tarapdar, general secretary of Srimangal Tea Planters and Traders Association of Bangladesh, told The Business Post that it was the second time this new variety of tea was auctioned off in Bangladesh.

“There is a great demand for yellow tea at home and abroad. If this type of tea is produced commercially in the country, it will be possible to earn a lot of foreign exchange,” he added.