Four hours north of the city of Cusco, we arrive at the province of La Convención, known for its tropical fruit crops such as coffee and cacao; we also find plantations of Camellia sinensis, better known as tea. This beverage, with origins on the Asian continent, was introduced to our territory more than 100 years ago, arriving in the district of Huayopata via ships from Japan, and it is in this valley that, decades later, it would reach its peak, with its capital, Huyro, being designated as the capital of Peruvian tea.
Over time, this industry developed more abroad; industrial tea prices began to drop globally, and with the entry of Argentine tea into the national market, it became impossible to compete with such low prices.
From those days, a couple of factories that barely survived are still in operation, harvesting leaves manually and processing them for the production of tea bags; another way in which producers tried to rescue their tea plantations was by supplying florist shops with bouquets for floral arrangements. Unfortunately, for other families, it was not profitable to continue harvesting tea, which led them to abandon their plantations to dedicate themselves to other crops or activities.
However, in recent years, a shift has been seen regarding tea consumption, thanks to the collaboration of various agents interested in creating a culture around this plant, with the support of professionals in the field through training for producers, the holding of competitions as an incentive to improve tea quality and allow access to international markets; the documentation and dissemination of this work to reach more interested people; and providing spaces that serve as a showcase for Peruvian specialty tea, emphasizing traceability so that consumers have knowledge of the origin and the individuals who harvest it.
Undoubtedly, there is still a long way to go before we can speak of a Peruvian specialty tea culture, but today we can say that we are witnessing a new era in the Huayopata tea valley.
Author: Jennifer Rodriguez
