INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY - 1


TEA BOARD ANNOUNCES SPECIAL AUCTION TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY

by P S SUNDAR

Tea Board has announced that a special auction will be conducted in different auction centres in the country to celebrate the first International Tea Day (ITD) and some proceeds from this are likely to be contributed to relief funds, especially at this trying time when the nation is fighting against Covid-19.

This follows the United Nations General Assembly designating May 21 as ITD based on the proposal put forth by the Government of India at the session of the Intergovernmental Group on Tea.

“This being the first year of official celebration, Tea Board has planned a series of programmes through various platforms for observing this special day”, Tea Board’s Director of Tea Development (DTD) S Soundararajan said.

As part of this, Tea Board has announced a special auction of tea manufactured with high quality green leaf plucked on May 21.

Titled ‘limited edition endeavour’, the programme invites planters to pluck the highest quality tea of two leaves a bud in the fields across the country on May 21 and manufacture it in factories on May 22.

The DTD said that these teas will have to be packed in paper sacks for offering in special auction. The maximum number of packages in a lot has to be five and a factory can offer only five lots at the maximum for all categories of teas – orthodox or CTC.

He said that both estate and bought leaf factories can participate in this programme.

“A special auction will be conducted in all the auction centres in the country in June and a percentage of sale proceeds will be shared with relief funds or as decided by the Committee to be set up for this purpose”, Soundararajan said.

He asked all those desirous of participating to contact the auction centres by May 19.

He also asked the participants to follow the safety norms against COVID-19.

He said that this programme gains significance because quality is the prime factor which upholds India in the global tea market.

(Response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

FOR THE RECORD -- 75:

UPASI ON UNION BUDGET..

INDIAN TEA PRODUCTION IN 2019, A NEW RECORD..

GLOBAL BLACK TEA OUTPUT IN 2019 ROSE OVER 2018..

MORE TEA IN THE NILGIRIS..

LOWER EARNINGS AT CTTA AUCTIONS..

HOMEDALE CREATES NEW PRICE RECORDS..

TEA BOARD ANNOUNCES GREEN LEAF PRICES..

(Articles in The Assam Review & Tea News, Feb 2020)

BY P S SUNDAR

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

FOR THE RECORD -- 74:

INNOVATION & CERTIFICATION IN 2020 & BEYOND..

INDIA HEADING FOR RECORD TEA PRODUCTION..

GLOBAL BLACK TEA OUTPUT UP..

LESS TEA IN THE NILGIRIS..

2019 DISAPPOINTING YEAR FOR TEA TRADERS..

HOMEDALE & GLOBAL TEA BROKERS CREATE NEW PRICE RECORD IN 2020..

MORE EARNINGS FROM TEA EXPORTS..

TEA BOARD FIXES LOWEST PRICE FOR GREEN LEAF IN TWO YEARS..

(articles in The Assam Review & Tea News, Jan 2020)

BY P S SUNDAR

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

FOR THE RECORD -- 73:

DR KS POTHI HONOURED BY POOJA..

VIGNESHWAR FACTORY GETTING ALL 6 AWARDS IN GOLDEN LEAF CONTEST..

HOMEDALE / GLOBAL TEA BROKERS / OSWAL TEA HONOURED FOR FETCHING HIGHEST PRICE IN 2019..

AVATAA TEA FESTIVE COLLECTIONS..

TEA BOARD STALL AT UPASI CONFERENCE..

(article in Contemporary Tea Time)

BY P S SUNDAR.

(Response can also be sent to; pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com) 

FOR THE RECORD -- 72:

WELCOMING 2020 WITH LOTS OF HOPES..

FESTIVE COLLECTIONS FROM AVATAA BEVERAGES..

INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY ..

E-AUCTION IN JORHAT..

2019 -- THE YEAR THAT WAS..

RECORD PRODUCTION IN INDIA..

MORE BLACK TEA IN THE WORLD ..

LESS EARNINGS AT TEA AUCTIONS..

TEA BOARD'S GREEN LEAF PRICE, THE LOWEST IN TWO YEARS..

TEA BOARD CANCELS LICENCE FOR ADULTERATING TEA..

TEA BOARD ISSUES SHOW CAUSE NOTICES INCLUDING TO INDCO AND TANTEA FACTORIES..

TEA BOARD ADDRESSES CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT..

(Articles in The Assam Review & Tea News, Dec 2019)

BY P S SUNDAR. 

(Response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com) 

HAPPENING -- 6:

INNOVATIVE TEA GIFT PACKS FROM AVATAA BEVERAGES

BY P S SUNDAR

The International Mountain Day (IMD) on December 11 gained added significance in The Nilgiris with top quality teas from estates and factories holding Rainforest Alliance certificate dedicating to tea connoisseurs in India and abroad their mountain-friendly teas.

The teas are new products from the speciality tea major Avataa Beverages and manufactured from the leaves plucked from Billimalai Estate, some 10 kilometres from Coonoor.

“Both these factory and estate are Rainforest Alliance certified confirming our commitment to conserve existing mountains and grow tea protecting the waterbeds, wildlife and the ecosystem in our area”, Avataa Director G Udayakumar told me.

“It is, therefore, highly relevant to dedicate to the tea consumers such mountain-friendly ‘festive collection packs of top quality teas’ on this IMD”, he noted.

The new festive gift packs were dedicated to the tea connoisseurs by Pooja Singh Yohan, who has returned from Greece as the first person from The Nilgiris to win ‘Triple Crown’ in Mrs India Worldwide who also holds ‘Achiever Aiming Higher’ 2019 award. 

“The Tea Board has earlier distributed Avataa teas in Olympics.   Avataa tea holds the record of fetching the all-time highest price among any tea from any factory in any public auction anywhere in South India.  Now, it is motivating people to gift its mountain-friendly tea varieties during the forthcoming Christmas and New Year festivities”, Pooja said.   

In the ‘Mandala Festive Box’, as these gift packs are called, customers can choose any four teas packed in attractive tins – Speciality teas (white, long ding, twirl green, virgin green, oolong or green tea) or Herb green teas (cinnamon, tulsi, turmeric and vanilla) or ethnic Indian tea variants (Saffron, Gujarat Kawa, Masala and badam) or Fruits and Flower Teas (strawberry, mango, orange, hibiscus, rose or jasmine)”, Udayakumar said.

“Tourists visiting The Nilgiris can pick up these gift packs at Homewood Tea Museum in Doddabetta peak picnic spot”, Avataa Specaility Tea Specialist ENR Vejayashekara added.

 (Response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)

FOR THE RECORD -- 71:

TEA BOARD'S SCHEMES..

TEA BOARD'S ORDER ON TEA AUCTIONS IN THE SOUTH..

TEA BOARD ANNOUNCES GREEN LEAF PRICE..

INDIA HEADING FOR A RECORD TEA PRODUCTION THIS YEAR..

GLOBAL BLACK TEA OUTPUT INCREASING, THANKS TO INDIA...

LESS PRODUCTION IN THE NILGIRIS..

AVATAA HOPES FOR BETTER WINTER TEA..

BY P S SUNDAR

(articles in The Assam Review and Tea News, Nov 2019)

(response can also be sent to: pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com)