Local tea taster insures tongue for R5 million [VIDEO]
"People are very particular about their tea, so its my responsibility to ensure consistency so that tea tastes the same everyday," Jonathan Kelsey, one of the directors of Joekels Tea Packers in Pinetown.
KLOOF tea taster, Jonathan Kelsey, has a passion for tea, so it is no wonder why he insured his tongue for R5-million.
Kelsey immigrated with his parents from Sunderland in the UK to South Africa in 1980. From the age of two, his mother, Pauline Kelsey, would make a cup of tea for herself and pour a little into a saucer to cool down for Jonathan, and he would sip it like a cat – which is how it all began.
He grew up drinking lots of tea. After matriculating from Pinetown Boys’ High School he wanted to take a gap year, but had to serve in the SA Defence Force for two years. Then he worked at Sun Paving for a year before joining Umgeni Water Works as a operator doing water purification. Two years later, he searched through a newspaper and found an advert for a trainee tea taster at TW Becketts. He applied and got the position. He worked under a tea master, John Paulet, a second-generation Ceylon tea expert, for six years, learning everything about tea.
“When John retired, I decided to open my own business. My friend, Joe Swart (an accountant) and I opened a company called Joekels Tea Packers. We started with one brand, Phendula Tip Tea, and had five staff, three of whom are still with the company and the other two are deceased. We now have nine different brands and do 95 per cent of private label packed tea in SA,” said Kelsey.
In 2006, Tetley Tea (the biggest tea company in the UK) bought into Joekels as they wanted a presence here in SA. Kelsey said he launched Tetley in the country in 2011 by upgrading the packaging, and made it of international standard. Tetley then took out insurance for ?1.8-million on his counterpart in the UK, Sebastian Michalis, who had been tasting tea for five years, .
“When Tetley arrived in SA, Joekels Tea Packers then took out an insurance policy on my tongue and taste buds for R5-million to ensure consistency in premium quality products.
“People are very particular about their tea, so its my responsibility to ensure consistency so that tea tastes the same today as it would tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that, and so on,” said Kelsey.
He said his job as a tea taster is a whole-day affair which he really enjoys, but is also training others to do the same.
His favourite blend is Tetley, of course.
