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| Sunday, 17 August 2003 |
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Sri Lankan tea impresses Harrods' tea buyer Tea must be the eighth wonder of the world, said H. Rahaman, Senior Buyer of Tea and Coffee of Harrods, UK, who was in Sri Lanka recently to "buy the best quality Sri Lankan Tea". During his stay, Rahaman visited about 12 tea estates owned by the Stassens Group and assured that Harrods is in a position to sell the best tea to the world at a premium price as "only the best is sold there". Mohammed Al Fayed, Chairman Harrods has created the best tea shop in the world, selling 160 varieties of tea and 60 varieties of coffee sourced from different countries around the globe. "After Mr Fayed became the owner, much time and energy have been spent in sourcing and selling exclusive speciality teas from all parts of the world. We can proudly proclaim that the world's finest store that possesses the world's greatest tea shop and sells the world's most perfected teas is operated by us," he said. "Today, we operate not only in London, but also through various airport satellite shops such as the 'Signature Shops' in Japan. Incidentally, Harrods is the biggest tea exporter to Japan. "Tea is a very important part of our business and I take pride in not only selling the largest selection, but also buying and producing only the best.Mr Fayed always motivates us to buy only the best quality tea and to pay a premium price to the customer. He is of the view that people are willing to pay extra money if we give them a good quality product." Rahaman said as a policy, they sell only pure tea and no blending is done, which gives the original taste of the estate. "We do tea bags, sourced from the best place possible." In the near future, tea from Sri Lanka will reach the shelves of Harrods as a finished product. All value additions such as packing and labelling will be done in Sri Lanka, earning the country more foreign exchange. Fifty to seventy tons of tea are presently exported to Harrods and there are plans to increase the quantity in the near future, said Rahaman. Sharing his thoughts on quality, he said Sri Lankan tea is of very good quality and the pesticide residue level very low, which is an added bonus. "But if you want to get a premium price, produce some special tea, as this is the factor which differentiates one from the other. For example, when boiling water is poured on the 'hand-rolled tea', you can see the whole leaf open up, which persuades the customer to pay an additional price. Differentiation is the secret for premium prices". On their interaction with the Stassens Group, Rahaman said the group is easy to deal with and the interaction will be bonded further in the near future. Speaking of future plans to promote Sri Lankan tea, he said a grand tea promotion has been planned for next year with the Stassens Group and Sri Lanka Tea Board. He said the Tea Board Chairman has had discussions with Harrods on opening a tea centre in London in partnership with Harrods. Harrods started operations in 1849 with Charles Harrod taking over a grocer's shop in Knightsbridge. However, his son, Charles Digby Harrod was the one who drove the business forward. In 1859, he wrote "We steadily advanced the tea trade and built a very nice counter trade". Harrods had developed from a small fledgling grocery shop into the "world's greatest emporium", as it described itself, around the time of its 60th anniversary in 1909. Rahaman said: "Upholding the tradition of our founder, we are still specialising in procuring the world's finest teas that can be appreciated by fine tea connoisseurs' worldwide. Since the arrival of our current owner, Mr Mohammed Al Fayed, the whole concept of tea has undergone a remarkable and almost revolutionary change". |
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