The Women of Tea – Kangaita Tea Factory

The Women of Tea – Kangaita Tea Factory

I came to Kenya with one goal in mind—to find the women who are the true heartbeat of the tea industry. At Kangaita, I found them.

The factory itself is a cooperative of small farmers, many of them women whose hands have known the rhythm of plucking for generations. Their work is more than livelihood—it is legacy, etched into the fields that stretch like green oceans beneath the sky.

I spent time with a woman tea plucker, her basket steady on her back, her fingers moving with a grace that seemed almost ancestral. She plucked with rhythm, as if it were written into her DNA. Even as we spoke, her hands did not pause, her focus never wavered. Watching her was like watching music—each leaf a note, each motion a song of devotion to her land and her craft.

Inside the factory, I met another woman—this time, the one who blends the teas. She leaned over the tasting table with quiet authority, guiding us through the delicate art of balance: fragrance, body, finish. Her knowledge was vast, her presence commanding. She is proof that women stand not only in the fields, but also at the very heart of creation.

I hope I have done justice to the teas of Kenya. If I left anything out, it was not intentional. What I want you to know is this: when you drink these teas, you are not just sipping flavor—you are sharing in their story. You are supporting the women who pluck and blend, the women who carry Kenya’s tea industry forward with resilience and grace.

And at Desert Sage, your purchase goes even further. Fifteen percent supports our mission to save the lives of mothers and babies in Ghana by providing four-year scholarships for young women to study midwifery at Wisconsin International University.

So when you lift your cup, know this: it holds not just tea, but hope, courage, and the hands of women who refuse to be forgotten.

Drink deeply. Support boldly. Love wholly.