Tea

The most consumed beverage after water, auctioned in Mombasa, Kolkata, and Colombo with no terminal futures.

Overview

Types split black, green, oolong, and white from one plant, with grades and leaf styles running from whole leaf to the fannings and dust of tea bags. Auction centers set prices weekly in local currency per kilo, Mombasa the largest for black tea, and Kenya, China, India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam supply most of the world. China drinks green and increasingly premium leaf, the Middle East takes black, and crush tear curl grades dominate export volume. Kenyan and Sri Lankan droughts move prices, and fertilizer policy crises have cut crops. Consumption is recession proof, and quality spreads widen with income growth.