Trading of Orthodox tea to debut at Mombasa Auction

Orthodox tea will now be offered at the Mombasa Tea Auction, Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) Chief Executive Willy Mutai has said.

He said yesterday the country now has enough volumes of pure orthodox tea to be sold at the auction, which has for years traded only black CTC tea from the region.

He said the government has licensed 34 factories dealing in pure orthodox tea. The East Africa Tea Traders Association (EATTA) has set up a line for the producers of orthodox tea at the auction.

Mutai spoke in Mombasa during a three-day tea industry stakeholders consultative meeting and tea testing exercise for 70 gardens from the tea produced by the small subsector and factories managed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).

He said the auction of orthodox teas has been in the pipeline, with the official launch set for September 17, 2025. Producers are required to catalogue their teas by August 28 (today).

"So those teas that will be auctioned have been given a chance up to August 28. They will have their own day because now we have enough volume. After all, the government has licensed over 34 factories, which are already producing," said Mutai.

He said among the companies producing pure orthodox tea are Siomo Tea, Choimim, Nndarawetta and Matunwa.

The CEO said the KTDA small-scale subsector has also built 34 factories that are dedicated to pure orthodox teas.

Mutai said that those factories that have a Continuous Direct Compression (CDC) line have put in a second or third line for orthodox tea. They include Tumaita, Kimunye, Githuki, Imenti, Chelal, and Besonik.