The Kenyan government through the Tea Research Institute (TRI) on January 18, 2023, launched yellow tea with a plethora of health benefits.
The tea was developed after Kenyans started shunning black tea to seek healthier alternatives.
Unlike common practice when it comes to taking black tea, yellow tea should be taken without sugar or milk according to the Institute.
“We were forced to come up with yellow tea to diversify to high-value tea varieties to address shrinking revenue from black tea.
“With many people shunning black tea for healthier alternatives, it has negatively affected small-scale farmers in Kenya,” TRI stated during the unveiling.
Eliab Wesonga a researcher at TRI commended the innovation indicating that it was timely and novel in Kenya.
“Most people in Kenya have never heard about yellow tea but we want to assure them we have done thorough research on the product.
“The tea will give them a lot of health benefits which ordinarily they could not get from a single product,” Wesonga remarked while unveiling the tea.
Wesonga advised Kenyans not to add any sugar or milk to the tea if they wanted to get the full benefits of the product.
“Just mix the tea with hot water and drink it, our research has shown that it will protect your body against diseases,” Wesonga added.
While it is the first time Kenya is making yellow tea, it is found in other parts of the world especially China where it is very popular.
It has health benefits such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-cancer properties.
Wesonga added that Kenya also produces purple tea which also has more health benefits than black tea.
“Purple tea has super-antioxidants called anthocyanins which are usually found in berries and help in reducing the risk of many diseases,” Wesonga explained.
