NAIROBI (Commodity Online) : Kenya, one of the world’s top tea producers, has launched two new clones that yield at least 50 per cent more leaf output than the varieties in the market.

The clones TRFK 430/90 and TRFK 371/3, are a product of 16 years of research by country’s Tea Research Foundation, could replace the widely grown TRFK 31/8 variety.

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In a statement, the Foundation said it will release a purple coloured tea clone - TRFK 306/1 - to the market soon.

It said the clone was rich in a pigment called anthocyanin that was widely found in berries such as grapes used for making red wine. It is currently in its final phases of evaluation and will soon be submitted to the ministry for release.

The foundation said the product is being marketed outside the country at a price of $30 per kg. The marketing will be propped up by a study on health benefits of Kenyan tea expected to unleash a scientific weapon in promoting tea drinking locally and selling the product abroad.

Kenyan tea has comparatively higher levels of anti oxidants than that from other parts of the world. The tea was also found to have anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic properties. It was also able to protect the liver from damage during disease.

Researchers say Kenyan tea has gained a reputation for distinct quality mainly because they are consistently bright, strong and brisk all year round, are rich in anti oxidants and are pesticide resistant.

Despite these qualities, existing marketing channels have failed to reap premium prices for tea which is grown up to 70 per cent by small scale farmers.

The clones which have been released for commercial exploitation produce better black tea quality than existing high black tea quality clones and may be used for processing of green tea.

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