Tea Emperor

I wrote about how Sri Lanka wants to benefit from their internationally recognized brand of Ceylon tea. Like most things in life this is not without contradiction. You see, Sri Lanka Tea Exporters Association would like to have the right to import more tea to the island for blending and other processes that add value. Obviously

THE OTHER POINT OF VIEW – TEA PLANTERS

The other party would like to create a strong brand for Ceylon tea so that local tea plantations would have plenty of demand for their products. A big part of this brand is that the Ceylon tea is cultivated locally on the island and is not diluted with imported tea.

The case is about applying the right to use Geographical Indicators rule from the WTO. I’m sure that many of you tea enthusiasts also gulp down some bubbly every now and then so you might recall similar case done by France regarding the Champagne area. Now Sri Lanka Tea Board is on the job and we just have to sit back and wait… and possibly drink several hundred cups of tea while doing all that waiting.

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATOR – WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

It could mean that only tea with the right to be called Ceylon tea would have to be grown in the island of the Sri Lanka and especially on those traditional tea growing areas. Now that could seriously dent the business of other producers and companies that make some kind of tea mixes with a hint of Ceylon tea and masses of some other crap.

Naturally the positive side of this is that in the future the brand Ceylon would actually guarantee, to a degree, the quality of the product. I would like to see that because it is so tedious job to try and keep updated on good Ceylon tea. Oh by the way, Kenilworth Estate Ceylon Tea is possibly the best Ceylon tea, which is easily available on the market and you can get it with a push of a button from here.