Sri Lanka Tea Board

Ms. Pavithri Peiris | Director (Promotion),
Sri Lanka Tea Board,
574, Galle Road Colombo 03, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 11 2587814, Fax: +94 11 2587341, Email: promotion@pureceylontea.com

Profile of Sri Lanka Tea Board

Sri Lanka Tea Board as the apex government organization of Sri Lanka Tea industry is responsible for regulating the activities of tea industry, viz. production, increase of cultivation, replanting, rehabilitating old gardens, establishment of factories and monitoring their operations. The whole process has been monitored and evaluated from factory to the shipment to maintain the “Quality of Ceylon tea” and many actions have been initiated to intensifying the monitoring of quality standards of tea at the point of sale, pre-shipment, warehouses of brokers, blenders and exporters and providing advisory services on hygienic blending and storing.

Under development functions, SLTB facilitates the subsidies for upgrading factories and replantation of Tea, awareness programs on minimizing post-harvest damage and productivity enhancement and Certification of quality of tea through sensory and chemical analysis.

Promotional activities are covered the marketing and promotion of Ceylon tea in globally & locally, collection & interpretation of tea statistics and delivering competency of the actual markets and ability to retain and expand Ceylon tea among leading markets.

Tea is serious business in Sri Lanka. Formerly a British colony known as Ceylon, this small Indian Ocean island is famed for producing the finest black tea in the world, grown and produced according to uncompromising, traditional methods and standards. Since the 1880s, Ceylon tea has been the country’s principal and most famous export; for generations, it formed the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy, and plays a major part, even today, in the country’s fortunes.

Today, Sri Lanka is the largest orthodox tea exporting nation in the world and the country exported its green gold to around 150 countries around the world to cater the discerning tea consumers around the world. The country offers Ceylon Tea to the world in types such as Orthodox Black Tea, CTC Tea, Green Tea, Organic Tea , Handmade Tea , Artisanal Tea, Instant Tea & RTD Tea in the forms of different packaging forms of Bulk Tea Sacks, Loose Tea Packs , Tea Bags (Envelope and Pyramid), Tins, Caddies, Ornamental Packaging etc.

The following Unique Selling Propositions of Ceylon Tea always attract the overseas tea buyers & importers to add Ceylon Tea in their product portfolio and the tea loving consumers around the world to be patronized with this unique beverage.

Hand Picked

Ceylon teas are hand picked to ensure a better selection of green leaf for the manufacture of tea – an expensive and labour intensive process, which greatly influences the final product quality.

Ethical

The Ceylon Tea Industry is well regulated with a unionized workforce that is governed by a collective labour agreement. Child labour is banned. Workers are provided a comprehensive selection of facilities from housing to healthcare.

Provenance

Ceylon Tea estates are in pristine environments and are of a small size of 200-400 ha generally with professional managers and a dedicated workforce living on the estate.

Diversity in Specialty

The teas grown in seven agro-climatic regions of Sri Lanka namely Nuwara Eliya, Uda Pussellawa, Dimbula, Uva, Kandy, Sabaragamuwa and Ruhuna is a key strength for Ceylon Tea in the global market place as the tea produced in each region has its own unique characters which are differs from others.

Artisanal

Sri Lanka is a bastion of the original Orthodox tea manufacturing process that results in small batch, labour intensive production of a wide variety of leaf style or grades and ensure the best flavour.

Passion

Growing and producing Ceylon tea is a tradition and a passion for more than 150 years. Each day about 1.5 million people all over Sri Lanka, from tea pluckers to tea producers, from tea tasters to tea packers commit themselves to produce some of the finest black teas on the earth. It is a way of life.

Ecological

Sri Lanka has implemented various measures to comply with environment related international conventions and agreements, including the Montreal Protocol. The usage of methyl bromide as a soil fumigant in the tea sector was halted to comply. Accordingly, Ceylon Tea has proclaimed as the first

Ozone Friendly Tea in the world.

Ceylon Tea & Lion Logo

Tea bearing the Lion Logo must also be packed in Sri Lanka. Overseas importers and distributors cannot use the logo on their packaging, though if the contents are 100% Sri Lankan, the name ‘Ceylon Tea’ may still legally be used. These strictures are needed to help consumers distinguish real Ceylon Tea from the thousands of products, including many with international brand names that are available around the world, which contain tea of mixed, non-specific origin.

These products are blended from whatever teas are available on the international markets. The skill of the blender ensures a consistent product regardless of origin, while the firm enjoys economies of scale and suffers no supply-side anxieties. However, the level of quality rarely equals that attained by single-origin teas, and such blends can never emulate the character, so prized by connoisseurs, of pure Ceylon Tea.