Karak Chai and the GCC Tea Market

The Gulf runs on tea

The GCC states are among the highest per-capita tea consumers in the world. Tea is the default gesture of hospitality, the accompaniment to business meetings, and the fuel of late-night majlis conversations. Almost all of it is imported — the Gulf grows no tea — making the region a cornerstone of global tea trade.

Within that market, one preparation dominates the everyday segment: karak chai.

What makes karak, karak

Karak — from the word for 'strong' — is black tea boiled hard with milk, sugar and usually cardamom, sometimes saffron or ginger. The boiling demands a tea that will not go stale or thin under heat: strong CTC dust and fannings, often with a cardamom note built in.

This is why the Gulf buys the grades other markets overlook. The humble dust that tops a karak glass is chosen as carefully as any whole-leaf speciality.

A market with two tiers

Alongside the karak economy runs a fast-growing premium tier: speciality tea rooms, green and white teas, and gift-grade Ceylon and Indian leaf for a cosmopolitan population. The same country that buys container-loads of dust also buys Silver Tips.

For suppliers, the GCC rewards range — the ability to serve the cafeteria and the connoisseur from one portfolio.

Supplying the Gulf from Oman

From Muscat, the GCC is our home market: short hauls, shared tastes and long relationships. Our cardamom teas and strong CTC blends are built specifically for the karak pot, while our high-grown leaf serves the region's premium segment.