Make new Friends & Invite them for a Tea Party..!

The Tea Experience- Visit Sri lanka Tea Musium ....

Tea Museum at Hantane, Kandy - A joint project by the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Planters' Association of Sri Lanka

Location : Built in 1925, the spacious four storied Hantane Tea Factory, had been abondoned for more than a decade when it was earmarked for the Museum Project undertaken by the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Planters' Association of Ceylon. Today it stands as a proud monument to the success story taht is Ceylon Tea.

Opening Hours : Open on all days, except monday, from: 8.15 a.m. to 4.45 p.m

Introduction: The Hantane tea factory is located three miles from Kandy. It is served by a motorable road that circles the factory providing easy access. Kandy is a mandatory stop on virtually every tourist itinerary, and the location of Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane makes sound economic sense. It will also enhance the attraction of hill country to visitors. Additionally its proximity to the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and Loolecondra, where tea was grown commercially, make Hantane the perfect location. The factory building consists of four floors. The ground accommodate heavy machinery; the first floor occupies some examples in the withering process. Library and the Audio-visual presentations in the second floor whilst the sales outlets are found in the third floor. The fourth floor is to be converted to a deluxe restaurant.

Visitor's view through telescope found in the fourth floor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although exhibits are not abundant they do provide a valuable insight into how tea was manufactured in the early days. Old machinery, some dating back more than a century, has been lovingly restored to working order. The first exhibit that greets visitors in the Engine Room on the ground floor of the museum is the Ruston and Hornsby developed diesel and other liquid fuel engines, power for the estates were obtained by water driven turbines.

Museum's "Rolling Room" offers a glimpse into the development of manufacturing techniques with its fascinating collection of rollers. Here the showpiece is the manually operated ' Little Giant Tea Roller'. The first roller-cum-dryer which was believed to have been used by James Tayler

Dubai Tea Trading Centre registers 26 per cent growth in tea trade during first half of 2010

 
* Centre transacts 6.2 million kilos of tea in H1 2010

* Overall tea trade through Dubai rises to 64.2million kilos

* Dubai remains 2nd largest export destination for Indian and Sri Lankan teas



The Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC), an initiative of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), has announced a record 6.2 million kilos of tea transacted in the first six months of 2010.

The overall tea trade through Dubai for the first six months of the year increased to 64.2 million kilos, an increase of 11.3 per cent from 58 million kilos, primarily due to favourable growing conditions resulting in higher production in most tea producing countries.

With the recent trend of higher production and favourable climatic conditions in the major producing countries, tea prices have been extremely volatile in the past few months. However, the general trend still continues to remain buoyant as carry forward stocks are low and there is good demand.

“Last year, global tea production saw a deficit of nearly 60 million kilos of tea due to drought in major tea-producing countries,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC. “However, the favourable climatic conditions in the first half of this year have led to an increased tea production by more than 107 million kilos. At DMCC, we remain committed to increasing tea trade through Dubai and strengthening the emirate’s position as a major hub for global tea trade. Through our efforts, we are confident that Dubai will play a pivotal role in the supply chain for the industry.”

Sanjay Sethi, Director, DTTC, said: “Since its inception in 2005, the Centre has grown consistently, with increased transactions and global tea producers, merchant exporters and buyers establishing their base here. As we continue to enhance our services for the trade, we have witnessed an increased demand for our value-added services such as blending, packaging of tea bags as well as loose tea in retail formats, storage facilities and office space for tea companies.”

Dubai remains the second largest export destination for both Indian and Sri Lankan tea. The DTTC presently stocks teas from 13 producing countries, including Kenya, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Nepal, China and Iran. In keeping with its mandate to further increase the tea trade in and through Dubai, the DTTC also facilitates sales with buyers in the GCC countries, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan, UK and the CIS countries and has plans to expand its services to other Middle East and European markets.

Earlier this year, DTTC hosted the 3rd Global Tea Forum in Dubai, capitalising on Dubai’s longstanding position as a global trading hub. The only global event in the region specific to the tea industry, over 360 delegates participated at this event, representing the entire value chain of the tea industry.

Source- www.dubaichronicle.com

Trade News: QTrade Teas & Herbs Awarded Five First Place Winners at North America Tea Championship 2010

World Tea Media has awarded QTrade Teas & Herbs five first place awards from over 200 submissions at the North America Tea Championship - Hot Tea Class. An independent, expert panel of seasoned tea professionals granted top honors to QTrade across a wide range of tea categories and origins.


QTrade's first place finishers included:

Best Ceylon - New Vithanakande Supreme, Sri Lanka
Best Darjeeling - Jungpana 2nd Flush, India (3rd year as Best Darjeeling)
Best Blended White Tea - Organic & Fair Trade Silver Serenity
Best White Tea - Organic & Fair Trade Silver Needle Supreme
Best Pan-Fired Green Tea - Tunxi Green Tea, China


"We're quite pleased the panel selected not only five exceptional teas from QTrade, but that two of the entries originated from Certified Organic and Fair Trade tea gardens," explains Manik Jayakumar, President, QTrade. He adds, "QTrade continues to work at the forefront of socially responsible, sustainable agricultural methods. Organic Silver Serenity and Organic Silver Needle Supreme finished top in their class, signifying how organic methods can often lead to superior tasting teas."

"We wish to commend QTrade on their continued participation and success in these tasting competitions," exclaims Ronald Eng, President, Kopius Teas. "If you look at the thirteen first place awards and the twenty-eight total awards from the past three years, it's clear that QTrade not only has the global network to acquire some of the world's finest teas, but that they also have the expertise to consistently identify best-in-class entrants."

About QTrade Teas

QTrade Teas & Herbs (www.qtradeteas.com) is a direct from source importer of quality ingredients serving the middle to upper tier food and beverage industries for over fifteen years. QTrade is the largest importer of organic teas in the United States, and also offers a growing selection of organic herbs, spices, fruits and flowers. Augmenting the products is a complementary set of custom formulation, blending, and private label services.

About Kopius Teas

Kopius Teas (www.kopiusteas.com) specializes in providing premium teas, herbs, and accessories for the startup to middle tier wholesale markets. The website features a broad selection of over 400 teas and blending ingredients from QTrade Teas & Herbs and is designed for tea merchants, coffee roasters, cafes, and specialty retailers.

SOURCE QTrade Teas & Herbs; Kopius Teas

Tea made in Poland! Perish the thought

With Twinings moving production of its tea from North Shields to Poland, what would Rudyard Kipling's imperial pioneers think?

Sri Lanka acknowledges that it was a Briton who saved the day when coffee rust wiped out the island's previous staple crop in the 1860s Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian

Tea's addictively bitter aftertaste is one of many aspects of the British national drink which are given the credit for one of history's great cultural hijackings. Understandable soreness at the Twinings tea factory in North Shields, which closes in September next year, is a reminder of how possessive we are about the cup that cheers.

The closure is a tragedy but local unions say that staff – 263 are retiring or looking for work elsewhere – have resigned themselves to last November's news that production will be transferred to Poland to save money. The firm has given long notice, training support, other jobs within the group and enhanced redundancy. Britain has benefited many times from similar closures overseas and transfers here.

The bitterness, however, has come from the current scheme for Polish workers to visit the Tyne and learn its tea lore from the staff they are replacing. Not unusual, again; most of us will one day have to help someone to fill our shoes. But tea produced in Poland? No, no. That is against the laws of God and man.

In a sense it is. One of the buttresses of conviction that tea is our sacred drink is the fact that it so evidently is not the continental Europeans'. Generations of UK holidaymakers have been appalled at watery rubbish in the lands where coffee rules. The United States is every bit as bad. They crown the offence by a fetish with teabags of gaudy colour and maximum complication (which, alarmingly, through globalisation, are making some headway here).

Yet "British" tea is a sleight of hand, at its cheekiest in the marketing of Yorkshire Tea by Taylor's of Harrogate, whose adverts in distant places such as the London Underground subliminally suggest that the hills of the north are green with plantations of Camellia sinensis. When challenged, the reasoning goes that the blend is especially suited to Yorkshire water; but there are many variants of the latter, all deliciously different, and only a handful of bottled versions are available anywhere near the London Underground.

We do have a case, though, against complaints of brand-theft by the world's original tea drinkers, who start beyond what you might call the Milk and Sugar Curtain, a border which follows the line of the old Iron Curtain and then loops round the Arab world, with its venerable and many-flavoured infusions. Their ceremonies are even more courtly than ours, and have the same mystique about pot-warming, pouring sequence and to-strain-or-not-to-strain – but Britons have laid down many more lives for the drink.

"Follow on!" say the ghosts of Rudyard Kipling's imperial pioneers in Song of the Dead, "For we are waiting, by the trails that we lost." Many of those trails led to survey sites for the planting of tea, or investments which failed in factories for sorting and grading its leaves. Sri Lanka rightly claims some of the best tea in the world, especially high-grown; but its industry acknowledges that it was a Briton – actually a Scotsman, but that is not far from Tyneside – who saved the day when coffee rust wiped out the island's previous staple crop in the 1860s. James Taylor's initial 19 acres at Loolecondera met the demands of Kipling's ghosts, and prompted another grand old imperial saying when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle declaimed in 1892: "Not often is that men have the heart, when their one great industry is withered, to rear up another as rich to take its place. The tea fields of Ceylon [as Sri Lanka was then known in the UK] are as true a monument to courage as is the lion at Waterloo."

It is much easier to say than to do, but that is the way forward for Tyneside. And who knows, it may be helped by the goodwill which comes from helping the Poles to deal with tea. In the same story, De Profundis, Conan Doyle refers to the paradox that this island's history is cosmopolitan, while so much of the European continent's has been insular. That has been another recipe, like tea, for success.

Source-Guardian UK

Zhena's Gypsy Tea and Tully's Coffee Announce: 'Tea Expedition to Sri Lanka' Contest for Customers

Zhena's Gypsy Tea, known for its dedication to sustainability and innovative tea offerings, and Tully's Coffee, a leading specialty coffee retailer, have announced an unprecedented contest to engage and show appreciation for their vastly expanding tea customers at Tully's throughout the Western United States.

"This contest will give customers a chance to win a tea trek to the fair trade gardens in Sri Lanka, where I will guide them through the fields where we source a large variety of our Biodynamic(R) teas," says Zhena Muzyka, Founder and Master Blender of Zhena's. "Tully's customers have really responded to the new hot tea offerings since we began working together, and we wanted to show their customers how much we appreciate their support by taking this opportunity to take them to the source of their enjoyment."

Each Tully's Coffee will have displays where customers can sign up to win the free trip to Sri Lanka. Tully's will also feature a new Pumpkin Spice Tea Latte promotional drink, formulated especially for the Fall contest. Winners will be announced one month after the last entry is in. Contest runs from September 8th- 30th.

"We are thrilled to partner with Zhena's Gypsy Tea for this innovative idea to show our customers how much we care," said Scott Earle, Tully's Coffee Vice President of Marketing. "Our customers love our new tea offerings, and we want to push the envelope even further by engaging customers in a new and exciting way, with this being one of the biggest prizes we have ever offered at Tully's."

The winners of the tea expedition to Sri Lanka will be heading to Sri Lanka with Zhena, where she will take the winners to several organic tea gardens, beautiful Sri Lankan beaches and even an elephant orphanage in January 2011.

About Zhena's Gypsy Tea

Headquartered in Ojai, California, Zhena's Gypsy Tea is a pro-active purpose based brand, whose goal it is to make a difference in people's lives by offering only premium teas that benefit customers' health and the health of the planet. A socially responsible business with a commitment to improve the social and environmental well-being of the world, through its unique offerings of prized and exquisite Fair Trade(TM), organic and Biodynamic (R) teas and herbs, the company works toward social justice, humanitarian causes and earth-friendly, sustainable, ethical business that create opportunities to alleviate poverty. To learn more visit www.gypsytea.com.

ABOUT TC GLOBAL, INC.:

TC Global, Inc., dba Tully's Coffee, is a leading specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler. Through company owned, licensed and franchised specialty retail stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, throughout Asia with Tully's Coffee International, and with its global alliance partner Tully's Coffee Japan, Tully's premium coffees are available at nearly 600 branded retail locations globally, including more than 200 in the United States. TC Global also has the rights to distribute Tully's coffee through all wholesale channels internationally, outside of North America, the Caribbean and Japan. TC Global's corporate headquarters is located at 3100 Airport Way S, in Seattle, WA. For more information: (800) MY-TULLY or TullysCoffeeShops.com.

SOURCE Zhena's Gypsy Tea

Green tea sets weight-loss industry abuzz

Mega-T Green Tea Dietary Supplement is sold at drugstores.

(Ken Kwok / LA Times)

CCA Industries, MetaboLife and Mason Vitamins claim their supplements can help fight weight gain. But while green tea has been shown to speed metabolism, its effects on weight don't yet pan out.

Like all industries, the herbal weight-loss business moves in cycles. Less than a decade ago, the stimulant herb ephedra was one of the stars of the scene. It sped up metabolism and weight loss, but it also raised the heart rate and, in some cases, caused strokes and heart attacks.

The Food and Drug Administration banned ephedra supplements in 2004, setting off an industrywide scramble to find another herb that could take its place. For now, the winner seems to be green tea. Its reputation as a healthful, revitalizing beverage goes back thousands of years, and it has recently started showing up in a wide range of weight-loss supplements.

Green tea naturally contains caffeine, a common ingredient in all sorts of weight-loss products. It also contains EGCG, a strong antioxidant that seems to encourage cells throughout the body to burn extra calories. In other words, it seems to be "thermogenic," a term that tends to get people in the weight-loss business very excited.


The Mega-T Green Tea Dietary Supplement from CCA Industries is sold at drugstores everywhere. Each caplet contains enough green tea extract to provide 90 milligrams of EGCG and 50 mg. of caffeine. The caplets also contain chromium, calcium, Hoodia gordonii cactus and (in one version) acai fruit, among other things. Users are instructed to take one caplet twice a day with a meal and a glass of water. A package of 90 caplets costs about $16.

Metabolife — a former leader in the ephedra market that filed for bankruptcy in 2005 amid a series of legal problems — is back in the weight-loss game with Metabolife Green Tea. According to its label, the supplement contains a "proprietary blend" that includes green tea, garcinia (a source of hydroxycitric acid) and guarana (a source of extra caffeine). The label doesn't specify how much green tea, caffeine or EGCG is in each tablet. Users are told to take two or three capsules a day about an hour before meals. A bottle of 90 capsules costs about $25.

Each tablet of Green Tea Slim from Mason Vitamins contains 60 mg. of EGCG along with chromium and apple cider vinegar, among other ingredients. Users are instructed to take one tablet two or three times a day with meals. A bottle of 60 tablets costs about $6.

CCA Industries, MetaboLife and Mason Vitamins all declined the chance to comment on their products.

The claims

The label for Mega-T Green Tea Dietary Supplement says that users can "lose up to 20 pounds." The package clarifies with an asterisked note that such results would occur "over a period of time with diet and exercise plan." According to the site, the supplement is "formulated to help you achieve your weight loss goals."

The Metabolife website says that the supplement "helps boost the body's metabolism, making it easier to burn unwanted calories."

The label for Green Tea Slim says the supplement "fights cravings and enhances metabolism" while promoting "thermogenic action."

The bottom line

Green tea really does seem to speed up metabolism, but recent studies show that the resulting weight loss is modest, bordering on trivial, says Craig Coleman, associate professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. "It sounds like it should work, but when the rubber hits the road in clinical trials, it doesn't really pan out."

Coleman co-authored a 2009 review of 15 studies on green tea and weight loss. On average, subjects who consumed green tea products lost an extra 1 to 3 pounds compared with those who took a placebo. Study participants generally consumed 300 mg. or more of EGCG every day, and the length of the studies ranged from three to 24 weeks. Because of such meager results, Coleman says, he "would not recommend patients take green tea extract in any form for weight loss."

But even modest weight loss can be a positive step, says Arpita Basu, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Basu was the lead author of a 2010 study of 35 obese people who consumed either 4 cups of strong green tea, two capsules of green tea extract (totaling 460 mg. of EGCG) or two placebo pills every day for eight weeks.

Subjects drinking green tea or taking green tea supplements lost an extra 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) and 4.9 pounds (1.9 kg.), respectively, compared with the subjects who didn't consume any green tea. Reporting in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, the researchers speculated that the weight-reducing power of green tea might be especially strong in people who are already obese.

Nobody should count on green tea alone to help them reach a healthy weight, but it could be a helpful part of a more comprehensive weight-loss program that includes diet and exercise, Basu says. Even if it didn't help shed a single pound, the antioxidants in green tea might help lower the risk of heart disease, she adds.

Basu is leery of products that pack all sorts of other active ingredients along with green tea, though. Instead, she suggests that people just brew a cup of fresh tea at home. "It's cheaper and safer," she says.

-LA Times

HK expands Tea Fair to promote role as global tea trade hub

 A salesperson promotes her products in the 2010 Hong Kong Tea Fair in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 12, 2010. The 2010 Hong Kong Tea Fair kicked off Thursday in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center with the participation of over 300 participants from 15 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai)

The debut tea fair last year received strong support from major tea producing countries and regions, including the Chinese mainland, India, Kenya, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

According to a survey conducted at the fair, more than 90 percent of the buyers agreed that Hong Kong has the capability to host an international tea competition, which helps enhance tea trade and promote tea brands, a comprehensive system and regulations on beverage quality testing and assuring, as well as the potential to develop into Asia’s tea leaf auction center.

They also said that, because Hong Kong does not produce much tea of its own, it can develop into a fair and bias-free trading and marketing center.

The tea fair is combined with the 21st Food Expo, which is the city’s annual food extravaganza and veteran exhibition brand, featuring over 740 exhibitors from over 22 countries and regions, a 21 percent rise over last year.

-Xinhua News Agency

Russian Iced tea market to toughen up....

Competition in the Russian iced tea market is expected to get tougher with Lipton and Nestea likely to be facing competition from popular U.S. based brand, AriZona Iced Tea. The Moscow brewing company is negotiating about Russia based production with Evgeny Kashper, a co owner of Detroit Investment, which owns Moscow brewering company, telling Kommersant that they began supplying AriZona Iced Tea to Russia last month.

“Currently we are holding talks with the brand owners to start bottling in autumn using the capacities of Moscow brewing company.”

AriZona Iced Tea is the second most popular iced tea beverage in the U.S. and is aiming to attract about 3% of the Russian market next year if bottling commences locally. The Russian market is currently dominated by Lipton and Nestea, who together have 96% of market According to Kashper, local production will reduce the retail price of AriZona in Russia to about 30 Roubles a bottle, compared with the 50 it is currently retailing for.

PepsiCo director of communications, Aleksandre Kostikov, thinks that the iced tea market in Russia has already consolidated into the two major players, and that this will make it difficult for a new entrant. He forecasts it will take between $3-5 million of investment to promote such a product in Russia. However, Alexey Krivoshapko, a director at Prosperity Capital Management, says the market isn’t developed enough in terms of volumes and has room for growth, creating a good opportunity for the Moscow brewing company.

“Given that Moscow brewing company has good contacts with all big chains, I think, it’s quite a realistic goal to gain 3% of the market in the first year of operations.”  

-RT Russia

TYPES OF CEYLON TEA

 Tea from Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

Sri Lanka has over 188,000 hectares under tea cultivation yielding about 298,000 tonnes of "made" tea, and accounting for more than 19% of world exports. In 1972, the island then known as Ceylon reverted to the traditional name of Sri Lanka, but retained the brand name of Ceylon for the marketing of its teas.

Tea from Sri Lanka falls into three categories: low-grown (on estates up to an elevation of 2,000ft); medium grown (on elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 ft); and high grown (elevations above 4,000 ft). Each level produces teas of unique character. By blending teas from different areas of the island and at varied elevations, Sri Lanka can offer a very wide range of flavour and colour. Some are full-bodied, others light and delicate, but all Ceylon blends will have brisk, full flavours and bright golden colour.

Because of its geographical location, tea can be plucked in Sri Lanka all year round – the west and east of the island are separated by central mountains so that as each region's season ends, the other begins. Below are descriptions of the three high grown regions.


Dimbula Region

Probably the most famous of Ceylon teas, Dimbula is cultivated on estates first planted with tea when their coffee crops failed in 1870. Grown 5,000ft above sea level, all Dimbula teas are light and bright in colour with a crisp strong flavour that leaves the mouth feeling fresh and clean. Today, it forms part of the high-grown zone of central Sri Lanka which includes Dickoya and Nuwara Eliya.

Example - Kenilworth Estate This tea has long wiry beautiful leaves that give an exquisite, almost oaky taste with good body and strength.

Uva Region

Uva is a fine flavoured tea grown at altitudes between 2,000ft and 4,000ft above sea level onthe eastern slopes of the central mountains in Sri Lanka. It has a bright, deep amber colour when brewed, with thebrisk andcrisp, strong Ceylon flavour. These teas are also used in Ceylon blendand make an ideal morning drink or an after-lunch tea.

Example - St James Estate This is a copper-coloured infusion with a very smooth, pronounced taste and a wonderful aroma. It is a perfect breakfast or day time tea.

Nuwara Eliya Region

Nuwara Eliya teas are light and delicate in character, bright in colour and with a fragrant flavour. Their flavour is heightened when taken with lemon rather than milk.

Example - Nuwara Eliya Estate This tea has a bright brisk flavour and a wonderful perfume, good to drink at any time of day with just a dash of milk.


Ceylon Blend

Ceylon teas span the entire spectrum of tea production, from low to high grown teas. Ceylon Blends was a tradition established at the end of the 19th Century and some companies still market blended Ceylon tea as Ceylon Orange Pekoe or Ceylon BOP. A good blend will produce bright, rich, coppery liquors with a brisk fresh flavour. To ensure that a pre-packed tea is indeed 100% Pure Ceylon Tea, look for the Ceylon Tea Board Lion logo.


Grades of Tea

Ceylon tea is divided into various grades. These grade names are an indication of size or appearance of manufactured leaf and not of its quality.

BOP - Well-made, neat leaf of medium size without excessive stalk or fiber. There should not be any fine particles (fannings and dust) which are not true-to-grade.

BOP Sp - Larger in size than a BOP lack and clean in appearance. Note: BOP & BOP special be treated as two grades, but for cataloging purposes treat as one grade.

BOPF - Neat leaf, fairly clean. ….. but smaller than the BOP grade. There should not be any fine dust present.

BOP 1 - Should be wiry and twisted, but shorter than an OP1.

FBOP - Smaller/shorter than BOP1 with presence of tips, but larger than FBOPF1.

FBOP 1 - Long, twisted, wiry leaf. Fairly tippy. Longer than BOP1.

PEKOE - Shotty, curly or semi-cirly leaf of large size of any elevation.

PEKOW1 - Same as Pekoe, but smaller in size than Pekoe of any elevation. This replaces the Flowery Pekoe grade.Note: Pekoe and Fekoe 1 will be treated as two grades, but for cataloguing purposes treat as one grade.

FBOPF (FF) - Similar in size to BOP……… and must contain tips.

FBOPF 1 (FF1) - Larger than BOP. Smaller than a FBOP with a show of tips.

FBOPF - Similar in size to BOP with a fair presence of tips.

FBOPF Ex. Sp. - Small leaf and must have an attractive show of golden or silver tips with little black leaf.

FBOPF Ex. Sp1 - Leafy and must have an attractive show of golden or silver tips with little black leaf.

OP 1 - Long, wiry well or partly twisted.

OP - Less wiry than OP1, but much more twisted than OPA.

OPA - Long bold leaf tea with air twist.

BP - (Off Grades) – Should e choppy, hard leaf.

BOP 1A - (Off Grades) – Any flak leaf without stalk and fiber (Clean tea).

BM (BROKENS) - (Off Grades) Mixed flaky leaf tea. Can have more fiber and stalk than BOP 1A.

BT - (Off Grades) – All mixed teas of varying sizes, with or without stalk and fiber.

FNGS 1 (FGS1) - (Off Grades) – Flaky leaf of small size. Can contain more fiber than BOPF, but reasonably clean.

FNGS (FGS) - (Off Grades) – Same as Fannings 1. Can be more fiber and uneven and not as clean as Fannings1.

DUST1 - Smaller than BOPF. (Rainy even well-made and reasonably clean)

DUST - (Off Grades) ………… size to Dust 1. Could be flaky and contain some fiber.

SILVER TIPS - Long tippy leaf, silver in colour, with hardly any black leaf.

GOLDEN TIPS - Long tippy leaf, golden in colour, with hardly any black leaf. Note: Tips and Golden Tips are not catalogued, but sold only privately.

BP1 - Equivalent to size of a high grown BOP, but granular.

BP Special - Larger particle size than BP1.

PF 1 - Equivalent in size to grainy high grown BOPF, but granular.

OF - Smaller than the PF 1. Larger than PD.

PF - (Off Grades) – Similar or slightly larger than PF1 and may contain some fiber.

PD - Grainy Dust grade. Should be smaller than OF.

DUST 1 - Less grainy than PD. Clean.

DUST - (Off Grades) – Inferior to Dust 1. Could be powdery and fibry.

In addition, there are the various “Flowery” varieties of the main grades (e.g. FOP and FBOPF).This tea possesses extraordinary quality in liquor and is composed almost entirely of small golden tip which are the extreme ends of the small succulent shoots of the plant, and the preparation of such tea is course most costly, since it involves sorting out the tip by hand.

Only small quantities of the leafy and flowery grades are produced. The former finds their chief markets in South America, and to a lesser degree in North Africa and a few North African countries. The latter is mostly popular in the Middle East, particularly Iran. Few of the up-country estates make these grades at all. Their stable lines are BOP and BOPF such as are dominant in Britain, Australia and South Africa. The demand appears to be forever smaller and smaller leaf, and a great deal of cutting or milling is resorted today, both in countries of origin and by the packers.

Source: Forbes Tea Portal

Sri Lanka govt pledges more funds from tea export tax

Sri Lanka's new plantations industries minister has promised to give the tea industry more of the funds collected from a tax on tea exports.Mahinda Samarasinghe said his plantations industries ministry was having talks with the government treasury on ways to plough back into the tea industry a bigger share of the funds collected from the tax. 

 

The industry has repeatedly complained it is starved of funds raised from an export tax of four rupees a kilo on tea shipments.

The funds were meant to help with replanting, factory modernization and promotion of tea in export markets.
Sri Lanka exports about 300 million kilos of tea annually but in recent years the industry has received only a negligible amount of the total funds raised from the export tax known as a cess.Samarasinghe said the industry has received some of the funds but acknowledged that not enough had been given for capital expenditure.
"Some benefit has been given to the industry," he told a news conference. "But we have not been able to use 100 percent of the cess as capital expenditure. Recurrent expenditure has also been financed by the cess.
"Now we’re talking with the treasury on ploughing back more of the cess money as capital expenditure. We're also looking at alternative income generating avenues so these monies can be ploughed back for the development of the industry especially capital expenditure."

Sri Lanka tea exporters have warned that the government's failure to allocate cess funds collected from tea exports for brand building was eroding their competitiveness as rival origins step up marketing efforts. The funds were previously monitored and money disbursed by a committee of officials from government and the tea trade.

But in recent years the cash-strapped government changed the rules, dismantling the committee and sending the funds to the general government treasury.

Source: Apr 17, 2010 (LBO)

Sri Lanka tea market seen strengthening

 Sri Lankan tea prices seem to have bottomed out and are likely to gradually rise in future sales as crops come down and global demand remains strong, brokers said. Tea prices rose at this week's Colombo auction as volumes fell and quality improved. 

"With crop intakes from most plantation regions easing, and quality also showing an improvement, we believe that we have seen the bottom of the market and expect auction prices to keep moving up gradually as seen at the recent sales," brokers John Keells said.They reported crops as being "moderate" in all planting districts.
"After a run of depressed prices particularly in the month of May, the producers would welcome the ascending prices witnessed at the last two sales," the brokers said.

"The current demand seen at the Colombo auctions is a clear indication that global demand is sufficiently buoyant."Low grown teas cultivated in the south mainly by small farmers met with "excellent demand" at this week's sale, they said.
"In spite of the large volumes that we have seen in the recent past, prices for the best on offer appreciated in value, whilst the below best varieties in the leafy category too maintained last levels with the exception of the Pekoe1 grade."

Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers said crops seem to be easing in most 'high and mid-grown' elevation planting districts. "Consequently, auction quantities are likely to record a gradual decline in the ensuing sales, particularly in respect of the High and Mid-growns," they said."Therefore, with a more balanced availability commencing July and through until September, it would be reasonable to conclude that prices would slowly commence to strengthen from now on."

Source: June 17, 2010 (LBO)

What is Tea?

  What's Tea?


Tea as a brew is a luminous coloured liquid which possesses a pleasing aroma and is a delicious and fragrant beverage taken hot or cold. But what really lies behind this beverage which has managed to retain, and indeed, increase its popularity over millenniam.

The Tea Plant

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a species of tree related to the Camellia. Its flowers are yellow-white which bear small, hard-shelled fruits, similar to a hazelnut. The evergreen leaves are leathery, dark and slightly serrated. Given minimum annual temperatures of 18C, moderate and infrequent frosts, a uniform annual precipitation of 1,600mm and a good balance of sunshine, a tea plant can easily grow to become 100 years old. In fact, wild tea plants are reputed to reach an age of up to 1,700 years.

Two original tea plants that are known today

Thea sinensis (Chinese tea): A shrub-like plant which reaches a maximum height of 3 to 4m and can even survive frosts.

Thea assamica (Assam tea): A substantial tree reaching a height of 15-20m and growing exclusively in the tropics. The constant crossing of these two original plants forms the basis of all the tea cultures in the world today.

Active ingredients in Tea

The cheapest and most consumed beverage worldwide after water is also one of the most valuable in terms of its chemical composition – approximately 32% of its ingredients pass into the infusion.These ingredients include Polyphenols as the primary antioxidants present in tea, important amino acids like theanine, as well as fluorides.

Tea Auction News - The Mombasa Tea (Weekly) Auction - SALE OF - 07TH/08TH JUNE 2010

MOMBASA AUCTION - SALE OF - 07TH/08TH JUNE 2010

Improved demand for the 9,824,286.40 million kilos (151,692 packages) on offer but at irregular rates closely following quality and less teas remained unsold (8.75%).

Brighter BP1s were a weak feature declining by USC8 to 50 but a few improved lines gained upto USC8 while mediums were difficult of sale and were heavily discounted by USC3 to 59; lower mediums saw better absorption at about last week's levels but a few improved well made types gained upto USC30. Plainer descriptions were well absorbed at firm to USC30 dearer. Brighter PF1s met better competition at firm to USC35 dearer with improved mediums well competed for at USC7 to 22 above last week's prices but others lost upto USC10. Lower medium PF1s were well absorbed at USC10 to 26 dearer with improved plainer sorts gaining upto USC38 but poorer lines were upto USC8 easier. Brighter PDUSTs saw less interest and shed USC5 to 30 while mediums were irregular ranging between USC24 dearer for clean coloury lines to easier by a similar margin; lower mediums saw improved competition gaining upto USC36 but a few poorer invoices shed USC2 to 10. Plainer types were irregular varying between USC6 to 38 dearer to easier by upto USC15. Brighter DUST1s were rather irregular and varied between USC5 to 17 dearer for clean types but others eased by USC22 to 40 while mediums met an irregular enquiry ranging between fully firm prices to easier by USC2 to 27. Clean lower mediums were well competed for at firm to USC5 dearer but others were discounted by upto USC32. Plainer descriptions were firm to USC38 above last levels.

In the secondary catalogues BPs gained while PFs were dearer. Clean well sorted coloury Fannings were irregular but on balance easier while similar Dusts were dearer. Other Fannings were firm to dearer with Dusts appreciating. BMFs were well absorbed at dearer levels.

Pakistan Packers and Afghanistan lent strong support while Egyptian Packers re-entered the market and were quite active. There was more interest from UK, Yemen, other Middle Eastern countries and Bazaar. Iran showed some activity with less interest from Sudan, Kazakhstan(CIS) and Russia. Somalia was active at the lower end of the market.

Source : F & W Weekly Tea Market Report

Sri Lanka- January-April Tea earnings top 45.6 billion, highest ever

Tea export earning for the period of January-April reached Rs. 45.6 billion, or US$ 399 million in dollar terms, which is not that high when compared to US$ 410 million earnings in 2008. In 2008, FOB value in dollar terms was US$ 3.91 per kilo, this year it is US$ 4.39, therefore the rupee earnings this year is an all-time-high.

All indicators point to an exceptional year in foreign exchange earnings from tea and this trend is expected to continue well in to the future.

Information at hand from The Asia Siyaka Tea Brokers Weekly Tea market report pointedly suggested although crop was not as high as expected, tea earnings were rising. However 2010 to date, the ‘all time high’ tag was real and singularly outstanding.

Monthly exported quantity to date was however not quite that encouraging whereas April 2008 was exceptional with Sri Lanka shipping 105 million kilos which was a record. Sales destinations were that of Russia, or CIS countries, which continued to be highest buyers of Ceylon tea increasing their absorption by 21 percent. UAE too recorded higher import quantities, up some 5 percent. But there was no evidence on exports to new markets.

Meanwhile our export markets remain just about the same. Apart from Jordon, Chile, Japan, and Germany, most other destinations are based in the Middle East. Hong Kong has been tried, but apart from media hype about some sort of competition, there was nothing tangible emanating from that source. Not, that is, considering their draconian business and trade ethics, recorded in our Sunday edition about two weeks ago.

End April 2010, exports stood at 91.5 million kilos; of this quantity, bulk exports continued to dominate product quantities. Value additions although talked of ever so often, has not had significant impact on end user influences. Other exported forms were tea in packets at 25.5 million kilos, Tea bags, 5.4 million kilos, Instant tea 509, 000 kilos approximately, and green tea about 1.3 million kilos. There was also 2.6 million in re-exported tea, included in the export figure.

The Tea Board in their recent communication said low-growns continued to dominate production, 61.4 million kilos were produced at this elevation, where as high growns produced 24.2 million kilos, and mid growns 16.6 million kilos.

The market last week staged ‘come back’, returns. All elevations had good price resurgence. Eastern Brokers Tea report said westerns, Nuwara Eliyas, low growns, all recorded positive gains. Off grades, Dusts, and CTCs, too gained about Rs. 10 per kilo.

At this weeks sale, after quite a while, 8.2 million kilos will be on offer. Brokers said the market remains strong.

Source :The Island

Image: Jehad Nga for The New York Times