Kazi Yetu
Capturing the taste of
O TANZANIA IN TEA Social enterprise Kazi Yetu is creating tea and jobs to be proud of. Mark Edwards talks to its co-founder, Tahira Nizari, about its Tanzania Tea Collection, the advantages of its all-women team and scaling-up operations for the global market.
rganic brand Kazi Yetu is reshaping the tea industry in Tanzania one bag at a time. On a micro level it has introduced the country to the pyramid-shaped tea bag, which allows the carefully created blends of teas, herbs and spices of its Tanzania Tea Collection to unfurl as they brew for the perfect cuppa, while its decision to process, brand and package its high-quality products at its factory in Dar es Salaam adds a domestic value chain to one of the country’s main agricultural products, which has until now been almost exclusively exported in its raw form. Hendrik Buermann and Tahira Nizari – the husband-and-wife team behind Kazi Yetu – share backgrounds in agriculture development as well as a love of tea. After setting up home in Tanzania five years ago, the couple began plans for a range of single teas and infusions that reflected the country’s diverse tea-drinking culture that they had embraced. Ingredients were directly sourced only from smallholder farms and co-operatives that worked with nature, growing their teas, herbs or spices by chemical-free, sustainable practices. Such quality control ensured a supply of traceable, pure ingredients that were delicately paired in the signature blends of the Tanzanian Tea Collection such as Cinnamon Spice, Ginger Mint Fusion and Coco Choco.
Tea-drinking culture Nizari – Canada born, Dubai raised and with a mother who grew up in Moshi – says: “Tanzanian tea is known for its floral qualities, which is perfect to blend and infuse with herbs, spices, and other teas. The
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