Robert Wilson's Ceylon Teas

A number of important issues are discussed below and in greater detail within areas such as the 'Statistics' file accessed by clicking statistics in the home page. The latest wages agreement, only completed in January 2007, is now shown in the statistics file.

An article appeared in the Telegraph newspaper about the price of tea and asking why there is NO MINIMUM purchase price imposed by the FAIR TRADE ORGANISATIONS. I have commented on this below the details about the tour are also below.

I understand that there is some concern about the safety of travelling to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) at present with a number of reports that have been appearing in the press. I can only say that we have continued to travel to the island since 1991 and a large number of tourists who know the island keep returning to the island for their holidays. In all the years that this dispute has been going on to-date there has never been a direct threat to tourists and to date the Tamil attacks from the North & East have been directed at the forces, politicians and occasionally at public transport. On the tour that I have listed below we have our own transport in the form of private cars & the odd mini bus where it is required with drivers who are known to us.
It is my opinion that the island has no more of a threat level to tourists than there is in some European cities where the local population & tourists have been attacked.
Our own policy is to avoid any public meeting places, military, police or political rallies. The tour does not go anywhere near the A12 Puttalam - Trincomalee road which the Foreign office is concerned people should not venture above and we do not visit the Eastern area of the island or Yala. We are only in Colombo for a very short stay and then only to visit two buildings related to tea. Certainly it would be sensible to avoid travelling on the local public transport system as a precaution and that includes the trains. As I have already stated we shall be providing everybody with with vehicles and excellent drivers who know the areas to be avoided.
The rest of the tour is in the hills except for our visit to Polonnaruwa & Sigiriya which are both well below the A12 route in the North.
We are in close touch with our office in the island and we shall use that local ear on the ground to decide whether the tour goes ahead or not.
For those who have never visited the island it is a fascinating & very beautiful place with an extremely welcoming mixed ethnic population which includes Tamils.
I believe that the above is a balanced assessment based on our knowledge of the area and will help those wrestling with making a decision.

There have been some changes to our Organic certification and I am therefore taking the opportunity to clarify the complete picture for the business. Please note that our Biodynamically & Organically produced products will slowly have their packaging changed to carry the correct information as each present print run is exhausted and a new run started. In the meantime the existing print run will carry superimposed labels:

Our Colombo premises are certified by Skal international (CU) to ECC No:20092/91 and (NOP) USDA standards for all their exports & invoicing.

Our U.K. premises are certified by the Demeter certification scheme of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA) for all our imports and re-exports.

Within Sri Lanka (Ceylon) we operate with estates that are certified for Biodynamic production by Demeter International, for Organic production by the Institute for Marketcology (IMO) and also for Organic production Skal International (CU).

Our Demeter certification covers our imports of Biodynamically and Organically produced products.

Ceylon tea prices have recently shown a 30 % rise which has mainly been attributed to the present Kenyan problems and the difficulty of getting supplies from that area. The UK relies heavily on Kenyan tea production and not long ago we saw prices rising because of the severe drought in that country. World weather patterns are changing and there are likely to be greater pressures on prices in the coming years without the pressures that areas of conflict create. Unfortunately sea freight charges have also risen by some 50 % to add to these costs. These total costs are unlikely to come through at that level, however it seems likely that prices are going go have to rise by something between 10 & 15 % overall.

As I have explained in several areas on this site the Ceylon tea industry is bound by the government to meet with the union representatives every 2 years for a bi-annual negotiation and the results of that bi-annual negotiation are then made into a statute for all the estates to be bound by. When I took out a tour in February 2007, a long and difficult negotiation had just been complete and. The unions had demanded a hike in wages of over 60 % for their members plus significant rises in other benefits. The estates held out and refused to accept this high rise in one period, after some strikes which this system of negotiation is meant to avoid, the estates finally agreed a package which averaged a 44 % increase. There was huge concern in the industry at the time of our visit as to how this this was going to be funded by the estates especially as the fair trade organizations have refused to allow wage increases to be funded from their funds. On my return I decided to ask for details of the latest production costs to see how all this was being absorbed and I have kindly been supplied with some examples from the industry. I have set out a table below which I believe highlights the situation very clearly. The table shows the costs from a very efficient estate with a higher than average yield / hectare and compares 2005/6 to 2007/8 (the year of the latest bi-annual negotiation).

To explain the table further it is important to point out that the estates have a goal of re-planting every hectare of their estates over an average of 45 years (35 in the low country and 55 years in the high grown regions). In order achieve this aim the estates need to abide by a re-planting programme of 3 % of the total estate area per annum. The early tea estates did not have to rely on the high yields that estates need to achieve today in order just to survive and then they planted original hardy types of bushes. Today the industry relies on Vegetative propagation from highly selected strains or 'clones' as they are termed. Maintaining yield level is vital for the overall profitability of an estate and once re-planting is neglected yields start to fall dramatically.
In the table below will be seen an item called 'General' and this item contains an amount in the costs which is set to re-planting. It does not cover the whole cost but is a figure placed annually to generate funds towards re-planting costs. It is also important to understand that the estates do not fund the total costs of worker welfare, the most profitable estates fund up to 40 % of welfare provision whereas most estates are down to about 20 %. The balance is provided by a government provided trust which in the past was supported by Norway and the Netherlands and is now finding other partners such as UNESCO.

Taking an example of a 300 hectare estate the annual re-plant should be 9 hectares and the cost of re-planting at present is Rs.1,800,000 per hectare (£8,000.00 per hectare). However the recovery from re-planting is taken as 5 years to return of production. This is a huge cost that the estates have to carry on a regular basis and is completely separate to welfare provision.

Annual average price received for all Ceylon teas in 2007/08 = Rs. 261.19 cts

THE FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT - IS IT RELEVANT?:
We are coming up to the time of year when the Fair trade movement is discussed and articles in the media appear to the extent that we seem to be bombarded about it.

There has been a growing concern amongst consumers that the producers of the products that they consume should receive a fair return for their work and be looked after properly, that is certainly to be commended and encouraged. However as in all things in life where commercial interests are in the driving seat this emotional vulnerability is usually hijacked for commercial gain. It is my opinion that all forms of the media have a very heavy responsibility to investigate and ensure that such organizations are relevant in every area of production that they certify, this whole area needs to be monitored very closely and the claims tested. On the 25th. February the media highlighted a report by the Adam Smith Institute which stated that 'the booming Fairtrade industry is a hollow "marketing device" and does not promote long-term economic development. Recently an article in a national magazine made claims that such organizations could change the world on our behalf. Those whom have traveled extensively will know that there are very backward areas where small producers, often family units struggle to market their products and do not have a sophisticated auction system. Sometimes the only way to market their produce is to sell to a large international company at a price on a take it or leave it basis and organizations like Fairtrade can then possibly be a force for good. Certain core products, such as coffee (which has an international floor price), Bananas and chocolate seem to have benefited from structures introduced by several different fair trade organizations. Where these organizations make claims that they bring about benefits such as free schooling, medical care, free housing and drive up the wages in such producing countries as Sri Lanka (Ceylon) for tea (which does not have a floor price), then this in my opinion gives a very incorrect impression. I have taken Sri Lanka as I know it well and I know how the estates operate there for tea production. Since the 1950's the company estates have provided free schooling, free medical care, provision for burial, creches for worker's children, a nationally set wages structure, holiday pay, maternity benefits and pensions. Prior to the 1920's British family estate owners provided wage levels, free schools, medical care, creches for worker's children and pensions at levels that they could afford, therefore there was some variance from estate to estate. Since the 1950's these were negotiated with the unions which were becoming very strong organizations and those negotiations were then confirmed in a government Ordinance. Today worker welfare provision in all its forms is largely based on those early efforts but the range of facilities has now grown enormously. There is an underlying extreme pressure on the estates today which did not exist prior to the 1950's, to try and satisfy estate workers demands as far as is possible, the huge growth of the tourist industry in the low country has been a magnet, drawing away workers from the estates to higher wages in that sector. In the section labeled STATISTICS, I have endeavoured to set out information explaining the benefits that are provided for workers in the tea industry. The government ordinance covering wages, maternity benefit, holiday pay, pensions and minimum age for registration to work, apply to all estates. However some forward thinking estate managements have provided some excellent extra benefits and these are in areas of promoting appreciation of workers cultural roots, promoting dance and drama in facilities donated by and supported by the estate. Other managements have promoted instruction in computers, free internet access, inter estate sport and help in many other areas. I.S.O. (International Standards Organization) certification for safe and clean handling in the factories has covered some past concerns about unsafe conditions of working and prompted the government into setting out clear and enforceable statutes. In this area where there is clearly a very high level of appreciation for the skilled workers in the industry there is a frustration with the West in general but particularly with the fair trade organizations that they appear as a form of Colonial Commercialization, demanding further layers of certification over and above existing international bodies such as I.S.O, with the extra paperwork involved for the managements plus repetitive fees. Compared to the huge efforts by the estates and the Government trust fund to meet all these needs for investment, the funds that are invested by fair trade movements is but a drop in a very large ocean and even more important to the estates the release of funds due to them has been a nightmare. As I have explained above the estates have in place the many provisions that fair trade movements promote and if an estate asks for the release of the funds to an area that needs urgent support this is often outside the remit of the organizations and the funds have not been released. The critical requirement for future success is the proper marketing of tea to raise the price of the product and the appreciation of that product by consumers, rather than continually shouting from the roof tops how low organizations have been able to drive prices for the benefit of shoppers.
Even more important is the price paid by buyers rather than a small contribution on the top of that price. If one takes a simple example for this illustration, where a buying company buys teas for £1 to £1.50 a kilo and adds say £0.35 p on top as a contribution to help the workers in some area of need and another company purchases its teas at £3 to £15 per kilo without any supplementary contribution contribution on top, it becomes fairly clear which company the estates would prefer to deal with. I believe it is vital that the U.K. Tea Council and its members talk up the value of tea rather than playing it down. It is then incumbent upon consumers to understand and accept that tea prices at the bottom end of the market must rise by much more than £0.40 per kilo, on every kilo, for workers to benefit and estates to carry out their responsibilities to even greater levels than they already do.
Subsidies in the form of a charitable bonus to workers for every kilo bought can never really be the effective way forward. The responsible media groups have a hugely important part to play in helping consumers understand the needs of producing countries and education is the only way forward. In Europe we are only too aware of the distortions that subsidies have created in consumer minds and the damage by the supermarket culture to our own farmers in areas such as milk production and now pork production. There are some pressures at present pushing up the prices of produce and we may see a total turn around from the past concept of cheap food & drink. I have referred to this in the paragraph above on the international tea price trend with the impact of the Kenyan problems.

CLASS 1 SELECTED WHOLE NUTS:
A new batch of Natural whole first class cashew nuts have just arrived in 100g transparent pouches as in the picture to the right. These are the natural nut which have not been gassed with nitrogen for extra shelf life. These are always a popular item at this time of year. I have limited the quantity of packs this year so they may not last long.

Where newcomers to using loose leaf teas need convenience in brewing them and handling the leaf afterwards these are the next best thing to using just a teapot. The three capacities are listed in the shop site.

THE NE

W SEASON UVA LIGHT TEA IS NOW IN STOCK AS WELL AS THE LIMITED EDITION PACKS:

The Uva Light from the superb 2007 vintage year is now in stock whether in our normal 125 g & kilo packs.
Because this was such a wonderful season we have released a very small quantity of a special manufacture which the estate released exclusively to us and we have packed this into a small number of 125g cartons & also 50 g White wood boxes, in the picture to the left. Both packs carry the red rosette with the words Limited Edition.

The concept of a season which all my teas are made in, is similar to Vintage years in wine production. Whilst tea is harvested every 7 days of the year, when some very special weather conditions arrive in the district dry season, it is the combination of a cool wind together with the hot dry conditions of the season that combine to produce a classic character in the leaf cells which we can work with in changes to the manufacture programme at that time. Each season will vary according to the strength of the wind and also the amount of dry weather. Thus we get a variation in the intensity of the character in the finished leaf which is the complete opposite of the commercial concept to produce the exact same taste, notice we say taste and not flavour or character which is only reserved for seasonal teas. In producing the same repetitive taste, teas have to be blended and that always means to a lower band of quality so that the level can be attained all the year around even when the estates are producing poorer quality teas during monsoon conditions.

This superb green tea is also available in a small white box which makes an excellent gift pack and can be seen in the picture above.

We have just completed manufacture for this very important quality period that comes around each August and it is proving to be an excellent year for the Uva teas. In view of the quality of the teas we have sourced we have decided to pack a limited Edition tea from one particular estate with a light liquoring tea. We only release such a pack in years when the production really is exceptional and this equates to the good vintage years in wine growing areas. The teas will shortly be listed on this site. Our trade clients will already have received a notice about this. See entries above.

LATEST -- SPECIAL INDIVIDUAL TEA TOUR & HIGHLIGHTS OF SRI LANKA (CEYLON) 2009:

Below 5 * Taj Samudra Hotel
My colleague Manthi Delwita and I shall accompany the tour and be available at all times for any questions that you may wish to raise. We shall also provide a number of gifts for presentation at the various important stops at the estates and the Tea Research Institute (TRI) which we will ask a member of the group to present in appreciation of their visit. We will supply you with a number of information sheets relating to the tea industry, the history of the island and various places that you will be visiting. The TOUR IS A VERY COMPREHENSIVE BUT INDIVIDUAL LOOK AT TEA, SOME LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTS AND THE ISLAND WITH ITS LONG HISTORY AS THE CENTRE OF THERAVADA BUDDHISM.

The tour is scheduled to start on the 08th. February. 2009 from Heathrow, London for arrival in Colombo on Monday morning. Anybody traveling from another country who wishes to join the tour may do so so long as they are able to arrange to arrive in Colombo in time to book into the hotel where their reservation will be held and ready for a mid-day visit to the brokers on the Monday.
This particular time of year is ideal for the weather which should be dry and there are calmer seas. It is also the season for exceptional South/Western quality tea production which covers all the districts except Uva.

We have several people who have intimated that they wish to join us on tour but we shall be looking to achieve a group number of about 15 people in order to make this trip worthwhile for the estates and the TRI as these are all very busy people. Contact me direct if you wish to book places on the tour in order that I may supply you with a booking form, terms and conditions and sheets about the various hotels you will be staying at. We shall require a deposit on booking and the balance will be called for two months prior to leaving the U.K. We do not use a large coach for transport but provide the option of either a personal car or a mini bus with a driver where this is required. Both types of transport have air conditioning but the system can be turned off when required.

I must emphasize at this point that this is a very special opportunity to be allowed into three totally different types of estate where the management will show you all aspects of estate life, including the ability to see the excellent provision that all estates make for the welfare of their workers as well as the economics and production of tea. These estates are extremely busy places these days and therefore the visits have to be timed well ahead and we try to take in groups that make it worthwhile for the estates to give us so much of their time and effort as I have mentioned above. There are many roadside estates where you can call in off the roadside but these are mainly set up for tourist visits with shops on site to sell their tea. The estates we visit are more off track and do not advertise visits.

The invitation to meet with the Tea Research Institute (the largest in the world for tea) is again a wonderful opportunity for those who are interested to see the work that they do and to ask questions of the scientists. Each day of the tour is not just about tea but mixed up with the beautiful scenery in the mountains and other activities such as the opportunity to climb 'Adam's Peak' at night to observe the break of dawn on the East coast. later in the tour we take you to shops for silk, wood craft and a well known family who mine the gem stones in this island. Finally we also cover the cultural aspects and history of the island by visiting several World Heritage sites including the second most important city in the development of the Singhalese culture, which reaches back to at least 450 BC and now thought to reach back another 500 years before that. This is not meant to be a cheap tourist package but an informative and enjoyable experience with a specialized access to the tea industry. The hotels vary from Colonial to very modern 5 * and are all on half board. The cost includes your flight and all transfers.

The three tours undertaken so far have all been a huge success and the groups seem to flourish when we get together each evening and reflect on the days events. You have the use of personal cars or where required a luxury mini van so that you can be have some independence to do other things, the main visits in the programme are timed visits and we need to be at these visits on time for the enjoyment of all.

Day 1 (08th February): arrive Heathrow to board 10.25 a.m. flight.

Day 2:
Non stop flight to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Arrive early morning. You will be met by your drivers and transferred to your Colombo 5 * hotel - Taj Samudra. At about 1.30 p.m. your drivers will arrive at the hotel to take you to the Colombo Tea Brokers who will show you the teas received from the many estates and districts for the auction the following day. They will talk about the characters, marketing and general economics followed by a session of tea tasting & questions. Back to your hotel at leisure until dinner in the evening or you may tour the city. Meet in the lounge/bar before dinner to discuss the trip ahead. Your stay is on half board here and at all the hotels on the tour.

Day 3:
After an early breakfast your drivers will arrive to convey you to the Tea auction where we will silently observe the dealing for a short period before setting off on the drive across the Southern part of the island to reach the Uva hills where your hotel is situated. The drive will take us until late afternoon with several stops on the way. You are invited to visit a well managed rubber estate, those who wish to, may visit a gem mine en route and we shall stop for drinks at mid-day at a suitable restaurant. You will be travelling through a low lying area immediately below the central highlands.

Day 4:
After breakfast we shall drive a short distance down a road that on a fine day has amazing views out over the rolling Uva hills out to the Eastern coastline and visit an extremely interesting community owned estate which under a management structure practices Biodynamic cultivation certified by Demeter and also Organic cultivation certified by IMO. We always receive a very warm welcome here and the management are keen to show us as much of their operation as possible. The estate is run for the benefit of the community who have a committee which decides on investment projects. After this visit we shall drive on our way to Nuwara Eliya to our next invitation which is the Tea Research Institute (TRI) where the Director has very kindly laid aside time for us to meet some of the scientists who will explain some of the projects which have made Ceylon teas some of the most sought after teas in the world and some of the developments that are in the pipeline for the future. Then drive to book into your hotel which dates from the British period and still retains something of a Colonial atmosphere up at 6,000 feet in elevation at the far end of Nuwara Eliya town which is known as Little Scotland'.

Day 5:
After breakfast we shall drive to an extremely well managed estate in the famous Dimbula district where you be met by the Superintendent and given a comprehensive viewing of all the operations, including all aspects of worker welfare. You may visit the local Planters Club for a drinks break if you wish or else slowly return to your hotel in Nuwara Eliya for the night and take any photographs you wish travelling through some really beautiful scenery along the way.
Those who elect to climb Adam's Peak will remain in the area and be taken to a bungalow that the Directors have very kindly put at our disposal. You will be able to rest and eat there before being called at midnight to start the climb so that you arrive at the peak as dawn is about to break. This is an amazing experience that is only available at this time of year when the weather is suitable. You will need to discuss with me whether it would be advisable for you to undertake the climb as it will not suit everybody.

Day 6:
The Adam's peak climbers will return to their bungalow for breakfast and a rest before driving up to Nuwara Eliya town known as 'Little Scotland' where you will be able to visit the town and the surrounding sights or play golf if you can still swing a club! The other group will walk the Horton Plains. We shall hope to visit the Horton Plains National Park in the afternoon but the weather will determine the actual timing. Until 1988 this was just a wild area of grass plains and old jungle (rain forest) . Half way round there is a precipice (Worlds End) where the plain drops over 3,500 feet to tea estates below. The plains support a wide variety of Fauna with large Sambhur deer, leopard and many other species. This very high expanse of plains is an area that collects large quantities of water and then feeds various rivers flowing West, South, North and East. The largest river being the Mahaweli which sweeps down and around Kandy and then strikes North-East to Trincomalee where it reaches the sea. It was this major river that the early Singhalese culture some 2,500 to 3,000 years ago diverted inland with a series of canals to a huge complex of storage tanks or reservoirs all over the arid Northern area where they first settled. Notes on this will be provided on tour. We shall then make our way back down towards the hotel and you will be at leisure until dinner. The road crosses an amazing feat of British railway engineering where the railway runs to Badulla in Uva at a height of over 6,000 feet. Dinner at your hotel.

Day 7:
After breakfast leave the high mountains and drive down to Kandy (a World Heritage site) along a beautiful area via a winding road dropping fast from over 6,000 feet down to 1,700 feet to the town of Kandy which was the last capital of the King of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) when the British first arrived in 1796. Before entering Kandy we shall visit a family with a smallholding where they prepare a natural brown sugar called Jaggery obtained from the Kithul palm and you will be able to purchase this product if you wish. Next we will visit a small specialist estate which concentrates on green teas of various types. Kandy is a beautifully situated town with many facilities and places to visit. The tour also includes a visit to a silk store and a family business which mines, cuts and sells a large range of local gems. You will be staying at the 5 * Earl's Regency hotel which has an excellent swimming pool.

Day 8:
After breakfast visit the world famous Royal Botanical gardens which were once an early form of research station for tea and then the headquarters for the Far Eastern Command during the 2nd. World War. In the evening there will be a visit to the 'Maligawa' temple of the tooth and a cultural dancing programme in the cultural centre. During your spare time you may visit the town where the King's palace was situated behind the temple and later converted to the use of the Governor and his staff, there is a large British church and nearby a fountain built with proceeds from the British planters for the use of the temple's and other visiting elephants. The town has two very good book shops. Craft & Batik shops, an interesting market and refresh yourselves in the Queen's hotel where many of the old planting families held their wedding receptions. Dinner at Earl's Regency.

Day 09:
You will have a free day so that you can visit the town, the surrounding area or just relax by the swimming pool. Your vehicles will stand by for your use or you can release your driver for the day. We will be able to arrange a visit to two significant temples outside the town called Gadaldeniya ( Circa 1344 AD) and Ambekke ( of interest for it's architecture) for those who wish to see them. The famous Trinity boarding school in Kandy has recently erected a Church of England church for it's students using the architectural features seen at these two temples. Dinner at Earl's Regency Hotel.

Day 10:
After breakfast we shall leave Kandy and head for the cultural triangle in the North where there are several World Heritage sites including the ancient cities that were the cradle of the Singhalese culture and Buddhism. On the way along the route we will visit a 2nd. Cent B.C. Buddhist rock temple where some ancient scriptures were written by monks and preserved for posterity. The present day monks will show you how they prepared the special type of leaf to write on. A visit to a major spice growing area where we will stop and you can enter a local smallholding. Then to Dambulla and a world heritage complex of caves from 1st. Cent BC with profuse frescoes and a large number of statues where a Singhalese king retreated to and sought sanctuary. You will be staying at the Chaya Village Hotel Habarana which is situated in the surrounding arid jungle country with small cottages laid out in the surrounding trees. The hotel has an excellent swimming pool and the last tour group were most complimentary about their stay here.

Day 11:
After an early breakfast visit the World Heritage site of Sigiriya where you can climb to the top or half way up this fascinating rock palace, visit the frescoes. The runaway King Kasappa resided here with his army and created an extensive complex of
gardens below the rock with water fountains laid along a long pathway. We will stop for refreshments at a restaurant that is known to us for a break and then proceed in jeeps into the Minneriya National Park to observe wildlife and in particular wild elephants. Here you will also be able to observe the largest tank or reservoir (Minneriya) which is part of a huge complex that once encompassed some 400 + tanks to irrigate and provide drinking water. This system was mentioned in the section on the Horton plains visit.

Day 12:
After breakfast visit the World Heritage site of Polonnaruwa City which was the kings' capital from the 11th. C. This covers a huge area with audience halls, hospital, large baths, huge statues carved from rock, the palace with surrounding stupas, shrines, an excellent museum etc. Having lost the ancient city of Anuradhapura which was the original cradle of the Singhalese culture to invading Chola tribes, they retreated and built Polonnaruwa along the lines of the old city but as a larger city with an even more impressive form. After the visit you will be at leisure until the evening. The hotel has an excellent swimming pool laid out amongst the an area of what is termed arid jungle which is less dense than the rain forest type. nearby there is also a small tank (reservoir for irrigation) which attracts surrounding wildlife.
Your hotel will still be the Chaya Village Hotel.
The picture above is of the King's Audience hall at Polonnaruwa

Day 13 to 17:
After breakfast leave the area and drive down to the Pinnawela elephant orphanage where orphaned elephants, rescued elephants from gem pits or elephants damaged by land mines are cared for. We aim to arrive in time for the feeding and the bathing routines. After this your drivers will take you down to Galle to your superb beach hotel which is the 5 * Lighthouse. You will be booked in by your drivers and they will depart to leave you to rest before the tour ends. Any further transport you may require whilst at the hotel can be booked through the hotel. The hotel has two swimming pools and a spa. Nearby is the town of Galle believed to be named as Tarshish in the Old Testament of the Christian bible. Situated on one side of the town on a promontory is the Portuguese/Dutch fort extending to some 90 acres, a massively imposing structure that you can visit.
Whilst you are at the hotel we will arrange a special tea tasting session when you will be able to taste latest teas that we shall obtain from the different districts to show you how the special season quality develops at this time of year. Several of the hotels in the island now provide our special seasonal quality loose teas as part of your half board deal.
You will be collected on the morning of the 17th. day (24th. February) and transferred to the airport for your flight home at 1.30 p.m.

THE TOUR INCLUDES:
Your flight inclusive of all airport taxes and transfers from the airport in the island and back again.
Accommodation on half board basis at all hotels.
Transport in a private car or luxury mini van with the services of an English speaking driver/guide (Many of the drivers speak several languages).
Entrance fees to the places mentioned in the tour programme above including jeeps for the safari trip.

THE TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE:
Lunches on tour ( lunches and snacks during the day will be provided at the bungalows as part of your full board stay).
The visit to the Galadeniya & Embekke temples.
Camera & Video permits at the cultural sights.
Expenses of a personal nature including tipping.
Adam's Peak climb which has an optional £25 charge.

Please remember that is not a normal commercial tour but one with a very individual format to it. Both my colleague and myself will be touring with you and available to give you a very detailed insight to everything that you see and do. The accommodation has also been carefully selected to give you a variety of experiences in where you stay.
£2,125 per person in an air conditioned mini bus
£2,190 per person travelling in an air conditioned private car for 2 persons.

Please note that it very important to receive early decisions on numbers as booking a group into accommodation and keeping it together can present definite difficulties. We have found from experience that keeping the group together does increase the enjoyment for all.

Please note that there is an extra payment required for single people occupying a room details available on application

Booking form plus terms & conditions will be supplied on application.

The managing editor of 'TEA and tea room talk' magazine published by Whitehill Publishing (www.whitehillpublishing.org.uk) was on tour with me in February this year as part of a group. On her return she published a preliminary report in the magazine about her general impression and some comments from some in the group. I understand that she will be publishing further articles on different aspects of the tour with special reference to worker welfare provision and what effect fair trade connections may or may not have on the estates which have been running with a well developed model for resident families which was born in the 1760's. I believe all tea consumers should try and understand the trials and tribulations of those who struggle daily against the weather and low returns to satisfy their consumers but also as importantly the lives of the families who settled on the estates all those generations ago. Just before we arrived in the island this year the 2006 'collective agreement' had just been settled with the unions and made into a government statute. The settlement was a 40 % hike in wages from 2004, that is a huge burden to take on together with all the other provisions that are given to the workers. Tea prices recently rose by approximately 5 % at the Colombo auctions which highlights the overall problem especially when fair trade agreements do not fund wage agreements.
It is possible to subscribe to this specialist magazine devoted to reporting on 'Real Tea' at the website shown above.
There is a link to the Publishers of the 'Tea and Tea Room Talk' magazine in the Links section,

Telegraph Article of 25th. July. 2007 - Tea Price War Sees Cost of Cuppa Plunge.

For some time now I have questioned the relevance of some fair trade organisations to tea estates. This latest article in the daily Telegraph does at last seem to ask some relevant questions in support of producers. Tea estates are very different to small family units in that they support a huge infrastructure. In order to function the estates must retain and encourage their workers to stay on the estates for daily vital work. Since the 1900's estates developed worker welfare facilities within the estates for their workers and since the 1980's these facilities have become ever more sophisticated, even covering co-operative shops and banking facilities today.
However the biggest problem facing the estates today is not the welfare provision which is mainly provided by the Government/European/UN funded trust but the ever increasing wages required to match city rates in Colombo. The estates can provide endless facilities from whatever funding source but unless the wage hikes can be met the workers will leave the estates and abandon the facilities. What use are extensive worker welfare facilities when the estates are finally abandoned. When I was in the island in February the estates had just completed a not too friendly agreement with the unions for a 40 % rise in wages along with all the other payments such as Holiday pay, Maternity pay, Pensions, Bonuses etc. This last agreement is making every company consider very carefully indeed, how long they can continue to honour the agreement before they themselves collapse. Once estates are abandoned it would be almost impossible to re-instate them.
As I have understood the Fair Trade operation at the estates so far - estates have to pay a joining fee - they have to succumb to a certification programme that they pay for, bearing in mind that many are ISO certified, there has been strong union representation since the 1950's and there are comprehensive government statutes that define all the important issues that consumers are concerned about - The estates then receive a small payment for every kilo sold to a Fair trade approved buyer - That is collected as a fund and when a suitable project is identified on the estate the money can be released for that project - Until recently that money could only be released to very limited areas of worker welfare provision and machinery safety improvements. The take up of fair trade by the estates has been minimal and therefore the organizations are being forced to realize that unless they fund more and more areas that cause concern for the estates, the estates will not join them.
It has always been a part of our ethical policy that we should be involved in the top end of the market and therefore paying more than fair prices for our products. Our special seasonal quality teas cost the estates more to produce but carry greater profit margins as well. Any company estate will have all the basic welfare facilities these days and therefore it is the profitability of the estates that is the vital issue for consumers not worker welfare anymore.
The article in the Telegraph as with all media articles put the price of tea in very simple terms and does not go into exchange rates and other such issues that affect the market but to a consumer it must make fairly horrifying reading to not that the correspondent is saying, "that supermarkets are selling tea bags at £0.005p per bag up to £0.01p per bag", which by their calculation makes the tea bags 4 times cheaper than in 1977. Again the correspondent has quoted " that 30 years ago the average auction price per Kg of tea was £1.02p and in 2007 it is £0.79p - a 23p drop".
In the UK we have a Tea Council which is supposed to be for the interests of all participants in the industry, the problem is that it is funded very largely by the large commercial brands and therefore it does not speak up very effectively for the producers.
These days we have more countries producing tea and unfortunately in the rush to jump on the tea band wagon many areas are producing what is termed bulk filler tea quality used for cheapening the basis of blending and maintaining brand profitability.
The only solution to this downward spiral is to educate consumers that prices at the bottom end of the market cannot continue to go down whilst wages go up and that consumers must understand that by demanding high quality single estate teas, they will be benefiting the industry directly and then there would be no need for fair trade organizations. In supporting the basic concept that governments in the West have driven a cheap food policy, consumers in the lower end of the tea trade are supporting an immoral lifestyle. Over the past few years it has been reported that tea consumption has declined and that decline has been in the boring end of the market where consumers have changed to other more exciting products.

I have just returned from taking out another very successful tour to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Usually I receive some letters stating how interesting the tour was and what good value it was but on this occasion every single person wrote in, which made the whole trip most rewarding for me. I think that this was the most comprehensive tour that we have ever attempted, covering tea very fully, visiting a top quality rubber estate and an excellent visit to a smallholder family where they gave us a complete demonstration of the processes involved in collecting Jaggery from the a special variety of palm tree and converting it to either a sugar syrup or to a solid from of dark sugar. However I was disappointed with two of the options that we took. This was the first tour where nobody wished to undertake the climb up Adam's Peak at night to observe the breaking of dawn across the island and the the other disappointment was that visits to the ancient city of Anuradhapura has become very restrictive and requires endless numbers of tickets. In past years it has been possible to roam the site and visit any area you wish. Part of this is undoubtedly its proximity to the Tamil situation in the north with the attendant security. Another unfortunate development has been the building of modern houses and bungalows on the site which detract from overall effect of this very ancient site. In future we shall visit the 11th Century city of Polonnaruwa instead.
The unanimous comment made about the tea estate visits was that the group were overwhelmed with what they saw and never realized that growing tea was such a complicated job covering the field works, the harvesting every 7 days, careful manufacture of the product in modern facilities and the extensive welfare provision that is provided.

An area that was of great interest to me personally, was the evaluation of the project that we have undertaken with Jetwing hotels to offer our range of seasonal district teas to those people staying at their hotels with a well set out menu and to offer them for sale in the hotel shops. The reports that I received from the staff were most encouraging and it seems they have received many compliments from their guests which is rewarding for them, as well as for myself.
I already have applications for another such tour but I need to recover before I undertake the extensive planning that is needed for another one. Before I undertake the next tour I shall require to know that we have the full complement that we need to make it worthwhile for the estates well in advance of the start date. We are always very grateful to the estate managements and the estate superintendents for allowing us to visit and take so much of their valuable time. I can assure them that these visits are tremendously valuable in allowing both consumers and the trade to understand the diversity of production, the diversity and economics of such production plus the huge advances that have been made in worker welfare provision over the last 40 years.

It has been another great year for our teas - We have been awarded 2 GOLDS - 3 SILVERS - 1 BRONZE

Our special clone White Tea - Termed Silver Tips in Ceylon or Silver Needles was awarded a GOLD

HEALTH & TEA:
The very latest research is beginning to reinforce the concept that the best way to drink teas in order to utilize the full power of the antioxidants in tea, is to drink your without milk or other additives. This area of research requires larger trials before it can be fully accepted but we have always encouraged the drinking of quality teas with lower leaf inclusion and no milk.

Whilst some quarters in the U.K. are parrying this with a caution about the loss of the benefits of milk in peoples diet, the sensible reply would be that people should drink and indeed do drink whole milk in other ways. Ceylon teas particularly lend themselves to drinking without milk as they are lighter in character but high in flavour.

ANTI OXIDENT LEVELS IN GREEN & BLACK TEAS:
There has been great play over the past few years that only green teas have the required anti-oxidants for maintaining health. This misconception came about from the fact that green teas were the first to be experimented on and those results were released with a great fanfare of publicity at the time to the media. However over the past several years there has been deeper research into the qualities of black teas. The evidence now is that green teas contain catechins which have high levels of anti-oxidants and BLACK teas have theaflavins and thearubigins which contain antioxidants. It was known that black teas converted cathechins to the theaflavins and tharubigins and it was supposed that destroyed the value of the antioxidants. It is now well documented that black teas have slightly higher levels of antioxidants and their efficacy in human health are just as great as green teas.
Research also shows that it is high grown teas that contain the highest levels of theaflavins and flavour producing elements. Naturally a high grown tea that is badly made will not contain high levels but high grown teas that are well made and better still made in a good dry season will contain high levels of flavanols.
To complicate this picture it has now been proven, again something known for sometime at the manufacturing source, that if teas are packed at source and then exported in bulk to be stored and opened in packing stations elsewhere there is an effect on the tea that is deleterious. Excessive exposure of course leads to grey teas which are virtually undrinkable. However the more that teas are opened and handled the more that they deteriorate no matter what precautions are taken. This deterioration varies in intensity according to treatment and possibly the worst effect is where businesses open and packet teas in a shop atmosphere where there is no control on humidity or light levels. The practice of placing 1 kilo of tea in a 2 or 3 kilo tin is extremely degrading to tea. Not only is the tin opened constantly to measure and packet the tea but also new and increasing draughts of humid air are trapped and stored in the tin.
My opinion is that tea drinkers should enjoy all 'proper or traditional teas' this ranges from black to green and white teas. In the past few years we have seen almost anything that you add hot water to called 'TEA' . Whenever the term tea is used on this website, that term applies only to the product derived from the tea bush 'Camellia sinensis'. Therefore the comments on catechins and theaflavins only apply to Camellia sinensis - tea.

We have now received a new range of exceptional quality gift packs which can be seen on the website under gifts, please click on 'MORE INFORMATION' in the section headings to view photographs of the packs. These range from special hand beaten caddies by a traditional craftsman (not massed produced) to a variety of quality timber boxes (Licensed sustainable timber). Many tea compartment boxes these days are made of MDF board or MDF with a surface veneer applied. All our items are authentic and interesting items which can be used for a variety of uses in the home afterwards. None of these items are aimed at the cheap gift market but they would be treasured for the complexity of the work that has gone into them. The print work on the lids of the boxes has been redesigned to present a logo of the double swans in gold without any other printing to clutter the look of the boxes. Inside the boxes the foil pouches of tea carry a printed tag for the tea information and a further loose gold printed card to explain their procurement. The special Toona boxes are tightly lined with a material to add further to the quality of the items.

Further down this page there is a report on the 2005 Tea Tour and further down still is a heading 2003 Tour with a link in the bottom line to an album of photographs for that tour.

We are very pleased to have been approached by the President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka to see if we can help with a project to up grade the quality of tea served to tourists to the island. We are already working with the President to start the project this month in some four or five hotels, one of which will be the Lighthouse near Galle. We hope that people visiting the island will soon be able to enjoy some of the classic Ceylon teas served as loose teas, which will be a huge improvement on using tea bags. This island's teas are so diverse and naturally exhibit wonderful flavours especially if made at the right time of year. Virtually all of them can be drunk without milk, they are exceptionally clean as far as pesticide residues are concerned (declared the cleanest in the world by I.S.O in 1997) and if made at the right time of year very high in antioxidants for both black and green teas. It is hoped that this concept may be interesting to more and more hotels as it develops.

We are so pleased that 'HAZELMERE CAFE & BAKERY' in Cumbria have won the 2006 Top Tea Place award for the United Kingdom. We supply a large range of our Special Seasonal Quality Single Estate teas to Dorothy and Ian Stubley. They achieved the award of Excellence in 2004 and again in 2005 which confirmed that they head a really excellent team. We are very proud to be associated with them and we shall continue to try and be of help wherever possible.

I am pleased to announce that after a period of delay in the selection process we have undertaken to support 5 children from this disaster in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). We shall be supporting them through to the end of their schooling period, where required this can extend to University. Every month under the trust each child will receive a sum that covers the months expenses and then a supplementary sum of Rs.500/= (Approx £3) is placed in an account for that child to provide some savings for the future. This is an on going commitment that we have undertaken as a business in the area. I feel that it is a very direct support.

One is a very sad case where the brother is the only relation left and he is having to be the head of the family.

I am extremely pleased to announce that the business which includes our Colombo branch, was honored at the Great Taste Awards dinner in London on 5th. September with the award of 'Speciality Importer of the Year.' I wish to thank the sponsors of the award who were Fresh RM, most sincerely. I also congratulate Manthi Delwita and his family together with the estates in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) for their great support. Manthi Delwita and his family are vital to our success. We set out some ten years ago to try and lift the debate about real tea and raise its profile in the U.K. I believe that we have succeeded to some extent. However I also feel very strongly that tea (Camellia sinensis) is being lumped together with a strong marketing driven push for a mass of herbal, flavoured products and even so called tea extracts in liquid form which are proving confusing for consumers. Products that are called 'tea' now include plants that have no relationship to the original tea bush such as Mate, Rooibos or Red Bush. It is important that consumers do not believe that these are all 'Real' teas. I hope that 'real' tea drinkers will continue to experience the amazing natural flavours that are present in well made single estate teas and that the trade will continue to support us in our crusade.

If you want excitement from tea you have to specify 'seasonal manufacture and quality' not boring blended teas. Seasonal teas have such life and vitality to them with emphasized district flavours straight from the bush. Some suit your needs at breakfast and others are superb with or after a main meal of the day (Lover's Leap Seasonal) and are drunk in place of coffee at such times.

For any of my clients who do not know of the Awards, especially those who are abroad. The Awards were started some ten years ago by the Guild of Fine Food Retailers which was set-up to support the independent retailers against the supermarket food concept. The Guild initially helped to raise consumer awareness about cheese and now encompasses every form of food that is produced by traditional artisan methods. The Guild has now become a major force in the U.K. and includes most of the important specialist stores and specialist retailers. The awards have now become the definitive standard for Speciality food and drink in the U.K. There are some 178 different classes and tasting involves approximately 500 judges in various stages.
The website for the Guild is at: www.finefoodworld.co.uk

I am pleased to announce that we have again done very well at the Great Taste Awards 2005 in London. The following teas took a range of awards:

Elpitiya Green Gunpowder GP1 Spl Single Estate..........BRONZE
Indian Darjeeling Ceylon grading FBOP Single Estate....BRONZE
Western New Season BOP Single Estate......................BRONZE
Natural Bergamot Earl Grey FBOP ..............................BRONZE

I am aware from some comments that I have received that there can be some scepticism about awards in general. However we know from the work we do at source with the estates in these special seasons that all our teas are of really superb quality for their area of production. This coupled with consistency will I hope convince even the sceptics.
We present a copy of each certificate to the estates concerned and it is most satisfying to see their great pleasure at being promoted in this way and receiving recognition for all their efforts with both production and the enormous input into worker welfare on their estates.

I have just received three sizes of very high quality craftsman made boxes with removable compartments in to take tea bags lying flat all of these have two strong brass corner sliding hinges and are excellent boxes for other uses in the home besides the storage of tea bags.

I also have a small number of a small 10 tea bag size box which is excellent for use in a hotel bedroom situation where self service is teas are supplied or as a gift item or as a quality item for inclusion in hampers. It can be found in the section on tea bags or under the gifts section. Photographs of the items are available by clicking on more information in the heading area.

Health booklet on Green & Black teas now available
We also been able to obtain a supply of an excellent small booklet called 'Tea for Health' which summarizes all the research to-date on 'Tea' (Camellia Sinensis). For sometime Green tea has been held up as the 'Health Elixir' . This now includes the latter work on black teas and shows that both types of tea have huge benefits in a variety of ways. It shows that Green teas have catechins as their carrier of a high level of anti-oxidants whereas black teas have theaflavins with very high levels of anti-oxidants & large amounts of thearubigins with much lower levels of anti-oxidants but adding up to an overall equivalent at least as high as for green teas. This booklets explains the various constituents found in the two types of teas and how in many low quality teas these advantages are lost. If we take the teas marketed in the U.K. as English teas, these are teas that are kept in storage until they loose their vitality and freshness and the packaging is opened and reopened to pack and blend them. Special fresh seasonal manufacture packed straight from the factory and sealed will hold the highest levels of these health promoting substances. This latest work only relates to Camellia Sinensis and not other products named as teas such as Robibos, Mate etc.
This booklet is listed in the Webshop at Gifts near the bottom of the listing with books priced at £2. It is also listed at the top of Black Teas and at Earl Grey.

Recently I observed on a website the claim that their Ceylon teas were the latest first flush teas. India has first flush Darjeelings but Ceylon teas are unable to claim first flush status as we never have a break in production for the bush to rest. Even though we have periods in the island of frost, they never shut down production. It is unfortunate that companies marketing teas can claim such a status for their teas but I suppose it highlights the complete lack of knowledge about tea production areas and indeed teas by many consumers which allows these inaccuracies to be used as marketing stories to boost sales.

2003 Tour Photograph Album:
I have prepared an album of photographs that members of the tour have sent to me. I hope that this will create an area of interest and also an area that the tour members can visit to observe photographs taken of other members of the group or by other members.
Click here to see the Photo album from the 2003 Tour

TEA CONTAMINATION:        Every now and again there are reports in the press about the above. Usually in regard to chemical spray residues. Sometime ago a report appeared on the spray residues in Darjeeling tea and now we have a recent press report appearing about problems with the China teas. The report states that confidence in China teas has been lost and that certain legal cases have been taken out where excessive residue levels have been found..
    Ceylon Teas:    I highlight in the Health section of this website 4.1 Important Facts Regarding Ceylon Teas, stating that in 1997 the 17th. meeting of I.S.O. (International Standards Organization) was held and at that meeting Dr. Collier, chairman of the European Tea Technical Committee congratulated Ceylon teas on being the cleanest teas in the world.
    This has been a long process and was brought about by the T.R.I. (Tea Research Institute in Sri Lanka) when it was realized that heavy spraying only led to complications and imbalance in the insect colonies. From these imbalances infestation arose. From that early start in the 1970's insect populations have been monitored and beneficial insects encouraged by licensed spraying for heavy infestations only. Planting of plants that support these beneficial species and other aids such as the provision of shade has led to this non reliance on sprays as a cure all. The transition took some 10 to 20 years to achieve. There can be no short cuts to achieving this status and Sri Lanka has been in the forefront of this work.

Working Conditions on the Estates in Ceylon (Sri Lanka):
This information is accessed by clicking on the statistics button
I have recently come across some comments about the lack of care by the estates for their workers. Since I know this part of the world and the estates I know that is totally untrue. Furthermore I was very concerned to see an article in a Parish magazine where the author had stated that the pluckers here only received 70 p a day pay and most only half of that. Clearly this needed correction. When the author was asked where he obtained this information from he stated that he obtained all his information from the Fairtrade and Traidcraft organizations. I personally do not believe him because it would be really improper if those two organizations were circulating such information in the interests of drumming up members to their organization. However I have corrected the impression by supplying the author with a comprehensive document with the true details listed at the beginning of the section on statistics with a button leading to that section on the website front page area. I hope this makes interesting reading for those who are concerned about this matter. It should be noted that pay structures in all such countries must be measured against the local culture and cost of living structure rather than to Western standards. If this is done I suspect all consumers would be perfectly happy with the efforts of the Tea Industry in this island in spite of the problems they experience with low prices because of the low position that tea has been driven into by poor marketing in the West. Not only the price structure but also their deflating currency power against foreign exchange rates. We somehow have to face consumers with the fact that this is their problem and not that of the estates. If we spent a little more time trying to learn about the foods that we eat, the differences in quality that we could enjoy and demand, how they are produced, who is involved in that production and what that production costs we cannot salve our conscious by asking bureaucratic organizations to throw charity at these producers on our behalf. Setting up organizations to give charity or grants is always a very expensive way of solving a problem besides being a very distorting influence on the true market situation.

Statistics section of the Website:

I have received a large amount of information just recently that needs to be entered on the site to bring the tables up to-date and I will hope to get to this shortly. This will include the annual statistics for production and exports plus the new biannual agreement made between the estates and the unions on wages and benefits for workers. This biannual negotiation has now been made made into a staute which binds all estates to this agreement.

This is accessed by clicking on the Statistics button in the margin to the left of the Shop where there are a number of buttons to access information. This section has now had its tables and comments brought up to the year 2002.

Latest on White tea:
This product has become very popular in the last two or three years. Unfortunately with mass coverage products can be altered to meet commercial pressures. It is vital to understand there are various forms of White tea. One particular form from a province in China is not exclusively the fattest selected buds and has traditionally included some leaf from the first leaf below the bud. This should be less expensive as it is cheaper to harvest and does not have the same character as in the case of traditional Yin Zhen White tea or silver needles. Silver tips or White tea from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) is the same as the Yin Zhen quality. A special clone is grown in a special plucking area for this production and only the fattest and longest buds are taken by the skilled pluckers for this job. It is of interest that in 1998 the record price for this product at source was £140 per kilo. Lately that record has been broken several times. It is a very expensive product to pick and prices will always be high for the genuine article. It is important to know that there are various qualities from different areas.

Statistics on Welfare Trusts - New housing, water, Sewage disposal & maintenance of housing stock.
Our Ethical Policy is stated under this section and to reinforce the facts about welfare provision and maintenance some figures have placed below the policy. Hopefully this will allow consumers to understand the background to this area. Further statistics are provided under the Statistics section.

DEVELOPMENTS in INVESTMENT and the TEA OUTLOOK:
As stated above The Asian Development Bank has approved an investment package that will help the estates and the worker welfare side of the estates. From the tea aspect a significant area of replanting will take place and further in-filling of sparse areas will be undertaken.
The popularity of Ceylon teas due to the ever increasing emphasis on quality has improved the marketing situation. John keels have reported that recent surpluses of production have been absorbed and this area is looking to a firmer trend this year, no doubt helped by a big deal with Libya. Reliability of quality and supply is greatly helping marketing. Production this year may well overtake the record crop of 305 million Kilos. Whilst I was in the island two weeks ago I was informed that rubber prices have bounced back, probably due to the rising oil prices which are closely tied in with natural rubber prices.

TEA MARKET - CEYLON TEAS: Uva Success story
    We are hearing that the tea market may be heading for considerable over production with new areas of the world attempting to grow tea. Thailand is a new emerging area, South America another. Because these new areas are starting from scratch and therefore the fields will be new, with young vigorous plants, yields will be high. Some of these new area teas are contributing what might be termed bulk filler teas, in other words teas that do not have any great character but are cheap and useful in blending processes.
     The existing countries are fighting with higher prices but devaluing currency to renew their estate fields in order to raise yields and therefore profitability. However it will be as vital now as in the past to ensure that the very highest quality is attained at all times.
    Ceylon teas have for some years now been leading players in bringing in new developments in all areas of production and marketing. Many years of strict control on chemical spraying and bio culture has put their teas at the top of the table for clean teas, free from spray residues. Investment and quality have improved since Nationalization even if at a slower pace than the island would have liked. Hopefully if peace comes to the area on a long term basis then the economy will bounce back and allow the estates to push forward at a far greater pace and allow all those working in the industry to feel that their hard work is being rewarded.
    After a slow start to production in 2003 due to very heavy rains and floods in the area of Low tea production production rose to a satisfactory level later in the year. The island once again retained its No:1 position as the largest exporting country. Total production was at 303,254 Metric tons and exports were 291.891 Metric tons (does not include imports from other countries for re-export) with Kenya second at 268,801 Metric tons.
    Hopefully the upward curve in quality can be maintained and consumers who have been discovering Ceylon teas again will confirm that they are the very best in world once again.

'ETHNIC CRISIS': All who are close to this island are hoping that the present move to peace talks will bring to an end the war that has been going on in the North Eastern sector of this paradise island for so many years. Whilst we have enjoyed our visits there without any problems, the war has imposed huge financial burdens on it's people and delayed progress in so many fields.
There does now seem to be a real wish by both sides for a proper resolution of this matter and a wish by all the people to live in peace again. Certainly the agreed ceasefire has bolstered those hopes. We are longing to visit those wonderful Eastern beaches once again. Recently there has been something of a hiccup to the proceedings. It is hoped that this can be quickly resolved progress be made to a lasting settlement. This will again hold up the recovery in tourism and investment in the area.

I have found some concern by consumers regarding the large number of 'Organic' sources now available and some querying of the authenticity of some of these products. All our 'Organic' or 'Bio dynamic' products are backed by fully approved bodies for certification. Please refer to the 'Organic' section in the website.

ITEM:	COSTS PER KILO in SL Rs:
	2005/06	2007/08	VARIANCE	% VARIANCE
GENERAL	36.47	47.12	10.65	29 %
FIELD CULTIVATION	24.71	38.39	13.68	55 %
PLUCKING	69.41	118.66	49.25	71 %
MANUFACTURE	34.39	55.84	21.45	62 %
TRANSPORT TO AUCTION	2.56	3.49	0.93	36 %
TOTAL COSTS	167.54	263.50		51 % Average