Tea auctions in Mombasa
A tea trader-taster samples the latest arrivals for the weekly tea auction in Mombasa
Nimrod Taabu of Unilever in Mombasa spits the tea into a wheely basin after four or five seconds, but in that time he can identify faults and assess the quality
The tea auction in Mombasa is the world's largest and serves as a benchmark for 35 per cent of global exports
The auctioneer patters, the bids fly, the banter sharpens, the tension rises. Just a few seconds have passed, then bang. The hammer strikes and the package is sold. On to the next one.
