Indonesia was the world's eighth-largesttea producer in 2023, primarily producingblack tea with some production ofgreen tea for local consumption. Smallholder farmers control the largest bulk of tea plantations, and most national production came fromWest Java.

Tea was introduced toJava during theDutch East Indies period, and in the 19th century was part of the DutchCultivation System and became a major component of colonial exports. In the early 20th century, the Dutch East Indies was the largest exporter of tea outside India and Sri Lanka. Following theSecond World War andIndonesian independence, exports and production began to decline, first due to theJapanese occupation and later due to the shift to domestic consumption.

Tea plants were introduced to modern Indonesia during the colonial period, when German botanistAndreas Cleyer brought tea seeds fromJapan toBatavia in 1684.^[1][2] Small-scale cultivation in gardens were done in the 17th century, and unsuccessful efforts were made in the 18th century to establish commercial plantations. Efforts in the 1820s saw success in experimental plantations of Japanese tea seeds at theBogor Botanical Gardens, and tea was made part of theCultivation System by Governor-GeneralJohannes van den Bosch in 1828.^[1]Assam tea seeds fromCeylon were introduced in 1877. Plantations were initially established inJava, although they spread toNorth Sumatra in the early 20th century.^[1]

In the early 20th century, the Dutch East Indies was the third largest source of tea exports, afterBritish India and Ceylon, exporting more tea than China,^[3] and tea was the second-most valuable export from the colony behind rubber.^[4] An oversupply of tea led to acartel being formed by European producers in India, Ceylon and the Dutch East Indies in 1930, but the cartel initially failed to maintain high prices for 3 years due to production by small-scale farmers in Indonesia.^[3] Tea production declined precipitously during theJapanese occupation as tea plantations were converted to food crops.^[4]

After theIndonesian National Revolution, Dutch-owned tea plantations were nationalized by theIndonesian government, while plantations owned by non-Dutch firms were acquired by private companies.^[5] Tea remained a major export, but production began to shift from export plantations to smallholder farms for domestic consumption. Export volumes declined, with 1965 exports being just 53 percent of prewar volumes, although the country was still the world's fourth-largest exporter.^[4] Modern tea processing factories were established in the late 20th century.^[6] Primarily, the country producesblack tea, although small-scale production ofgreen tea for use in localjasmine tea is also popular.^[1] National tea production has seen gradual decline in the 21st century, from around 160 thousand tons in 2000 to around 120 thousand in the 2020s.^[1][7][8]

According toStatistics Indonesia, national tea production in 2022 was 124,662 tonnes, compared to 165,194 tonnes in 2002,^[9][10] produced from an area of 101,281 hectares. Around half of the plantation area were held by smallholders.^[11] Government-owned plantations and smallholders made up most of the production, with large private estates producing just under 20% of the total.^[9] Around two-thirds of national production originated inWest Java, withCentral Java andNorth Sumatra making up half the rest.^[12] 45 thousand tonnes of tea were exported in 2022, worth USD 90 million, predominantly black tea.^[13] In 2023, Indonesia was the eighth-largest producer of tea in the world, down from fifth in 2019.^[10] Productivity is relatively low due to aged tea plants, with Dutch-planted trees still being harvested in some cases.^[14] The Indonesian Tea Council claims that the tea industry employs over 200 thousand workers nationally.^[15]Canned and bottled tea made up 77 percent of national consumption in 2016, withSosro's Teh botol being the oldest brand.^[16] Domestic tea demand had increased from 0.23 kg per capita to 0.38 between 2008 and 2022, primarily due to popularity of ready-drink tea brands.^[10] The three largestbagged tea brands in Indonesia by volume in 2023 wereSariwangi (Unilever-owned),Sosro, andTong Tji [id].^[17]

• Agriculture in Indonesia
• Tea production

• CS1 Indonesian-language sources (id)
• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description