Part 2 of 5: Jem McDowall explains how tea is priced and traded through physical auction systems around the world, why tea has no futures market, and how buyers take ownership of the tea they purchase. The conversation also compares payment and financing structures in tea and coffee, raising important questions about where financial risk should sit in an agricultural supply chain.

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Part 1 of 5: Jem McDowall of Universal Commodities explains how tea moves from fresh leaf through withering, oxidation, rolling or CTC processing, and drying. He also breaks down how tea is graded by leaf size, why those systems vary around the world, and how tea grading differs from the more standardized systems used in coffee.

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