The Hindu Business Line : S. Indian teas make quality strides

Plagued by continuously falling prices, the southern tea industry is wielding every weapon in its armoury to emerge from the crisis enveloping it over the past five years.

The Golden Leaf India Awards (TGLIA) Southern Tea Competition, a recent initiative of the Tea Board and UPASI, is beginning to be taken seriously now. This year's competition was recently held in Dubai. The Chairman, Organising Committee, Mr N. Dharmaraj, spoke to Business Line on the event. Excerpts from the interview:

Why did UPASI and Tea Board hold another tea quality competition, barely five months after the last one?

We felt that the TGLIA should continue as a movement and not as a one-off event. Besides, we also wanted to capitalise on the winter season to showcase teas with winter character.

Why Dubai?

We wanted to take the competition to an international location and the Global Dubai Tea Forum was the next big world event. Besides, Dubai's emergence as a key hub for the tea trade also prompted us to select it. There has been an annual increase of 19 per cent in tea imports through Dubai during 1995-2004.

Where were the competitions held?

The final tasting and screening were done at the facilities of the Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC) and the award ceremony was held at the Indian Tea Board pavilion at the Global Dubai Tea Forum.

Who were the jury?

There was a seven-member international jury that evaluated the 51 teas, which were shortlisted from different regions of South India.

What was the feedback from the jury?

Many of them opined that had the identity not been mentioned they could well have considered many of these teas as coming out of Darjeeling.

Is this the first tea quality competition in the world?

Yes. Some awards are given in countries like Sri Lanka on the basis of auction prices, but this is the first time an objective methodology has been followed to assess the intrinsic merit of teas. In fact, the protocol that we have now adopted for the competition has come in for accolades from many in the world tea trade. The Tea Board India has solicited our help to conduct a similar exercise for the North Indian teas.

How is it different from the speciality tea auctions?

Here the teas represent tradable volumes, as opposed to speciality teas which are special and therefore in small quantities.

What are your plans?

We certainly want to continue this as an annual event, possibly in different world locations. We have also issued a winner logo for use by the award winners, recognising their merit. We are also working with the Tea Board on the possibility of showcasing these teas at all the international fairs where Tea Board India participates.

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