Unprecedented boost for Ceylon Speciality Tea in Japan
Stemming from effects of the diverse agro-climatic conditions of Sri
Lanka, speciality Ceylon Tea has been synonymous with excellent quality
and taste for over a century.
As part of a program to specifically promote straight line Garden
Marks and Single Origin Estate teas of Sri Lanka, the 'Ceylon Speciality
Estate Teas of the Year' competition was launched in Japan by the Sri
Lanka Tea Board and the private sector tea trade in consultation with
the Japan Tea Association recently.
The event was well accepted by the Japanese tea connoisseurs and the
tea traders alike, which has given a tremendous momentum to Ceylon
Speciality Tea in Japan. This unique speciality tea promotion project
was launched for the first time by the Sri Lanka tea industry in USA
during the year 2000, and again in 2002 as well as in 2008.
This is the fourth occasion that the event has been carried out, and
it is the first of its kind to be held in Japan. 'The Ceylon Speciality
Estate Teas of the Year competition was launched with the objectives of
promoting speciality tea in international markets while recognising and
rewarding Sri Lankan tea factories for excellence in manufacturing and
to encourage them to continuously manufacture and market top quality
single origin unblended teas' said Hasitha De Alwis-Director Promotions,
Sri Lanka Tea Board.
'The main aim of scheduling the Ceylon estate tea of the year
competition in Japan was to take advantage of the tremendous popularity
of the tea houses concept in that country and since both straight line
Garden Marks and Single Origin Estate teas show a good potential of
marketing directly to end-consumers' he further said.
This event was considered extremely important to rekindle the
popularity of Ceylon tea among the Japanese consumers especially since
Japan is considered the most sophisticated tea market in the world with
great opportunities for expansion with expensive garden fresh speciality
teas.
It was intentionally scheduled just prior to the FOODEX 2010
exhibition in Japan in order to effectively utilise it as a platform to
promote the winning teas, as well as to advertise the sales
propositions. The Japan FOODEX Exhibition is undisputedly considered as
the largest food and trade exposition in the entire Pacific Rim where
approximately 100,000 business visitors gather once a year.
The competition was advertised to the trade through the tea brokering
community last year. A total of 441 entries were received for the 7
agro-climatic tea categories as well as the newly introduced innovative
speciality tea category - which added a new dimension to this year's
competition.
The entries selected for final judging were of a very high standard
and it was a tough task for the expert panel of independent tea-tasters
from the private sector - jointly with the Sri Lanka Tea Board- to go
through the samples in December 2009 and short-list the entries which
were then dispatched to Japan for the final competition. 40 entries
obtained eligibility to participate in the final contest in Japan.
All the winning speciality teas were displayed at the Sri Lanka Tea
Board booth within the Sri Lanka pavilion at FOODEX 2010.
The winning teas were canvassed to Japanese buyers and customers
during the entire exhibition period from March 2 to 5. The project
itself had also been publicised to members of the Japanese tea trade
several weeks before the competition.
An eminent panel of specialized tea-tasters from Japan supported by a
couple of members from Sri Lanka evaluated the finalists to select the
winners of the competition during March 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.
Each of the 7 agro-climatic regions as well as the innovative
category had a Gold winner (1st place), Silver winner (2nd place) and
Bronze winner (3rd place). All the winning teas and runners-up of the 40
entries which were sent to Japan were included in the sales offer that
was allocated to the highest bidders.
Due to the tireless dedication of the Sri Lanka team, the majority of
the winning teas were sold at record prices.
The highest bid went to Lovers' Leap, OP at Japanese yen 24,000 (Sri
Lankan Rupees 30,000) per kilo purchased by Musica Tea House in Osaka.
The gold winner of the Innovative category, 'Jayachakra' of Lumbini
Tea Gardens also received a record price of Japanese Yen 20,000 (Sri
Lankan Rupees 26,250) per kilo from F.T.I. Corporation in Kobe. The
sales bids of the Japanese buyers for the winning teas in each of the
categories were opened on March 5, and the proceeds amounting to 3.55
Million Yen (Rs. 4.6 Million) will be utilised for charitable projects
involving the welfare of families in the tea sector.
The winners of the competition were presented with Gold, Silver and
Bronze awards at the Awards Ceremony graced by Kunio Takahashi - the
Ambassador of Japan on May 5, 2010 at the Hotel Ceylon Continental in
Colombo amidst a gathering of eminent personalities from the tea
industry.
The competition provided immense promotional mileage for Ceylon Tea
in Japan while helping the popularisation of winning garden marks among
tea connoisseurs who patronise speciality tea houses/tea shops in 'the
land of the cherry blossoms'.
While the project re-emphasised the power of close partnership
between the public and private sector, it is hailed as a model case
study of sustainability for a Corporate Social Responsibility program in
the tea industry since the proceeds go towards funding several projects
relating to the welfare of tea plantations/estate workers.
The Tea Board is making arrangements to hold the next speciality tea
promotion event in the Russian Federation during 2011.
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