By MEI CHOO
CAROLINE RUSSELL has stepped comfortably into the shoes of her father, Datuk Tristan Russell, who retired this month. As executive chairman, she is continuing a family legacy that is 90 years’ strong today.
A proud Malaysian citizen, she, like her father before her, was born in this country.
In fact, her family roots are firmly planted in this land. Her great-grandfather first set foot here with his family in the 1890s and they have remained since.
Boh Plantations was started by her grandfather, J.A. Russell, in 1929 when he established the first tea garden in Cameron Highlands called Boh Tea Estate near Habu.
Her father, Tristan, expanded the holdings during his tenure as chairman, to include Fairlie Tea Garden and Sungei Palas Tea Garden in Cameron Highlands as well as Bukit Cheeding in Selangor.
Sharing the same family passion for creating well-loved teas, Caroline’s goal is to take the brand to the next level. In fact, Boh is among the few tea companies in the world today to plant, harvest, process, package and market their own teas.
This complete control of its operations ensures that the brand continues to maintain the high-quality highland teas that Boh is known for – true to its signature tagline: ‘Ada Boh, ada ummph!’
Over the years, she has pushed for brand and product development with new blends and tastes to suit every palate. Some of them include the popular Cameronian Gold Blend, Seri Songket range, macha green teas, herb and fruit spa infusions as well as Boh instant tea mixes.
New is a range of signature speciality teas called the Garden Teas, each comprising unblended tea leaves from a single Boh tea garden. They are the Palas Supreme, Palas Afternoon, Gunung Chantik, and the lowland Bukit Cheeding No.53.
Aside from this range, Boh also features a wellness range based on Malay herbs consisting of the Sirih Purut and Herba Ratus.
In addition, the brand is coming out with its own speciality green tea made at the factory in Sungei Palas centre itself where the tea leaves undergo a roasting process in a special machine.
Business aside, Caroline is also a great advocate of the arts lending support in the form of the Boh Cameronian Arts Awards since 2002.
She has also strengthened Boh’s commitment to environmental conservation and sustainability through the use of biodegradable products such as Boh’s pyramid teabags made from cornstarch.
Through the years, Boh has partnered with local and regional environmental NGO partners to drive public awareness on their respective focus areas.
This year, it is helping the Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Research Centre (TRCRC) in its quest to save Malaysia’s rare, indigenous plant species.
The proceeds from the 90th Birthday Fun Run on Sept 22 at the Sungei Palas Tea Centre will go to TRCRC to fund its projects.
For more, vist the Boh website.
