Marten Verch works for food related books and is currently employed by a publishing house in Hamburg, Germany. He has work experience in tea trading companies in Hamburg and the German Tea Association. In recent years, Marten has started planting tea trees and has plans to expand tea gardens in the future. He expressed his expectations for the development of Hamburg tea culture, while sharing his understanding of the significance of the German Tea Association in the industry, as well as the opportunities and challenges that tea brands need to face in expanding overseas markets.
Marten has been interested in natural products since childhood, received training in wholesale and foreign trade after graduation. He chose to work at a tea trading company in Hamburg, Germany. When Marten first encountered the tea tasting room, he was certain that this industry was very suitable for him. The various aromas and flavors of tea fascinated him and ignited his passion for tea. Marten has worked for two tea trading companies and twice for the German Tea Association. Marten currently works three days a week at a publishing house in Hamburg, Germany, mainly for food related books.
Wasserschloss, a water castle that has turned into a café restaurant with a tea house in front. A few years ago, Marten often held tea tasting events there. Photographer Gebäude von Jonas
Marten’s grandparents used to work on a farm, which naturally made him passionate about growing agricultural products. He once made growing chili peppers a hobby. After visiting one local tea garden in Canada, he was very optimistic about the self-produced and self sold model of this tea garden and planned to grow tea himself. Marten bought some tea seedlings and tried planting tea trees. In 2024, Marten rented 15000 square meters of agricultural land to expand his tea garden and start his own rural life. Part of the land is used to build greenhouses for growing tea, while other land can be used for cultivating other crops and developing animal husbandry. He plans to transplant 1000 tea seedlings in the spring of 2025 and has full confidence in his tea cultivation.
Years of experience in the industry have enabled Marten to clearly understand the crucial role of Hamburg Port in European and global tea trade. He introduced that Hamburg has some historic tea related buildings and attractions that still make people feel this connection. Unfortunately, many locals and tourists are unaware of Hamburg’s tea heritage. Although Hamburg has an active tea club community, it is not as commonly seen in coffee shops and tea houses in the city as people imagine. Marten really wants to see more space to highlight the importance of Hamburg in the tea world. Perhaps there should be a tea museum like the traditional tea culture region of East Frisia in Germany, or the development of Hamburg’s unique tea tourism routes, with regular tea culture events held.
Photographer Julia Solonina
After working for the German Tea Association, Marten stated that the association can be seen as the central hub of the tea industry network, bringing together German companies involved in the tea business in various ways. The association represents tea importers, traders, and production processors, advocating for quality, food safety, and scientific research, while supporting the marketing of tea in Germany. In his work, Marten realized that the significance of the association is to support all participants along the entire value chain and be a truly inclusive organization. In today’s world, tea trade is facing many increasingly severe challenges, and the existence of the association is of great significance.
Traditional Warehouses and Trading Houses of the Speicherstadt, Photographer Roman Kraft
In recent years, Marten has observed an increasing number of brands from China and other tea growing countries entering the European market, especially high-quality tea, which has great potential. However, establishing a foothold in the European market is not an easy task. Having high-quality products and flexible business philosophy is just one part of success. Catering to the preferences of local consumers, positioning and reaching consumers, suitable promotional methods, etc., Marten mentioned that there are also regulatory and trade barriers, which may make market development extremely challenging. Especially food safety requirements can be very complex and vary by country. This is not only a challenge for Chinese brands, but also a similar obstacle for German tea traders seeking overseas expansion. However, today’s modern society provides more opportunities, and new brands always have many ways to address these challenges and establish their own brands.