Green and lushly fertile, the island republic of Sri Lanka lies in
the Bay of Bengal, just below the southeastern tip of India. Sri Lanka was
formerly a British crown colony known as Ceylon, a name it kept for nearly a
quarter-century after independence.
It was during the British era that tea first began to be
cultivated and manufactured here. Tea from Ceylon soon gained the reputation of
being the finest in the world, and tea exports became the mainstay of the
colonial economy. Housewives and restaurateurs across the globe grew familiar
with the name of the country, learning that its appearance on a tin or packet
reliably guaranteed the quality of the tea inside. Independence brought new
markets, and production continued to increase. In 1965 Ceylon became, for the
first time, the world’s largest exporter of tea.
When the country changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972, its
premier industry was faced with a knotty problem. Ceylon was not only the
former name of the country; it was also one of the world’s leading brands,
familiar to consumers from Virginia to Vladivostok – a brand the industry had
been actively promoting and investing in since the early 1930s. Abandoning it
would deliver a setback from which there could be no easy recovery. And the
cost of promoting d establishing an unfamiliar new brand – ‘Sri Lanka Tea’ –
would be ruinoanus.
To qualify for the special, legal distinction denoted by the words
‘Ceylon Tea’, and for the famous Lion logo that goes with it, the tea must not
only be grown and manufactured entirely in Sri Lanka; it must also conform to
strict quality standards laid down and administered by the Sri Lanka Tea Board.
It cannot, moreover, be mixed or blended with tea from any other part of the
world. Even a blend that is 95% Sri Lankan cannot be described as Ceylon Tea.
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.
See More :- Sri Lanka tea board official web site
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