3 minute read
TEA-TIME with Tony
WITH ITS ABUNDANCE OF VINEYARDS, THE PENINSULA HAS ITS SHARE OF WINE SPECIALISTS, BUT DID YOU KNOW OUR REGION IS ALSO HOME TO AN INTERNATIONALLY ESTEEMED TEA EXPERT?
Tony Laurent’s first experience of a tea estate was in 1967 when he visited Darjeeling as a wide-eyed eight-year-old. His father captained ships transporting tea from Ceylon and India to Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Gulf States and Pakistan, and Tony would often accompany him between school terms. Well-travelled with a childhood steeped in global culture, Tony and his family were based by turns in Melbourne, Kobe, Mumbai, Hong Kong and London.
Given Tony’s background, a future in the tea business made sense, yet it wasn’t something he originally considered. “Actually, my entry into the global tea industry was more by chance,” he said. “After my time at Monash University, I was chilling in
West London, catching up with old school pals and focused more on beer than tea. After a couple of months, my mother turned up. I’d been offered a job at an investment bank but turned it down, as I hated the idea of being in one location for the next 40 years.
"On the plus side, she brought me tea and Weet-Bix in bed every morning. All good, until one morning she brought the newspaper and had circled a job opening as a trainee tea trader at Brooke Bond Commodities Ltd.”
Vowing he would head back to Melbourne if he didn’t get the job, Tony made a shortlist of three from 200 applicants. “And what do you know, the commodities division big boss was an Australian and had been in charge of the Bushells factory overlooking
Monash. So I started in tea in London, the capital of the global tea world.”
At the world’s biggest tea firm, he learnt every aspect of trading tea as well as selling to such companies as Tetley, Twinings, Lipton, Bushells, Barry’s, and Typhoo. “Trading tea became my favourite tea industry activity, especially when I was posted in Indonesia and Kenya – two countries where I spent a total of 20 years and really enjoyed.” Since returning to Melbourne in 2013, his main activity has been consulting on the supply chain for major global players – including Unilever, his employer of 27 years – as well as some smaller ones.
If Tony’s face looks familiar, it may be from his appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? When Delta Goodrem discovered her great-great-grandfather was a tea planter in Assam, Tony was the expert engaged by SBS to cover the history of tea in the region.
He’s now an adviser for the largest functional tea firm in China while simultaneously negotiating a project with a niche tea firm in Oregon.
Until recently, Tony held classes in Mornington and across Melbourne on all aspects of tea: its history, how it’s grown, and the art of brewing. While that’s no longer his focus, he is open to providing a bespoke experience for hospitality groups or consumers on request – if you can catch him between overseas trips, that is. To learn more about Tony and his wonderful world of tea, visit www.bespoketeacompany.com.au
