Latin Americans study tea manufacture

By Naalir Jamaldeen

A Latin American delegation arrived in Sri Lanka recently to study the manufacture of tea. The delegation comprised 31 members from Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay and Colombia, Managing Director, Lumbini Tea Factory, Chaminda Jayawardana told the Sunday Observer.

He said that the delegation, the first from Latin America, included business personnel in the tea industry.

The tour was organised by Argentine Tea School and its directors.

The tour follows the appointment of Director of Argentine Tea School, Diego Morlachetti as the Tea Commissioner of Sri Lanka for Latin America by the Tea Board and the Ministry of Plantations in 2013. The delegation attended a training session on tea production in Spanish at the Cinnamon Grand.

They visited Sri Lanka tea auctions and broker house. The delegation later met Plantation Industries Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at his Ministry. They visited the Tea Board and inspected the technology used in the tea industry and the steps taken before exporting tea.

After the conclusion of training they visited the Lumbini Tea Factory in Deniyaya to get practical knowledge on how Ceylon Tea is manufactured.

During the two-day training program they gained a vast knowledge of plucking, rolling and testing at the Lumbini tea factory and also participated in 'Make your own tea program' which is a new concept introduced by Lumbini Tea where tourists can manufacture their own tea and take it to their country as a souvenir, he said. The delegation also visited Nuwara-Eliya and the Tea Research Institute in Talawakele, Kandy Museum and Dambulla, Jayawardana said.