brand logo

Revamping Sri Lanka’s tea industry: Ceylon Tea wine brewing

31 Jan 2022

  • TRI seeks PPP with local or foreign party to promote product
By Uwin Lugoda The internationally-renowned tea industry of Sri Lanka is set to introduce a patented tea-based wine to its portfolio courtesy of the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka (TRI), The Sunday Morning learns. According to the institute, the new ‘Ceylon Tea Wine’ is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka and comes with a unique aroma and character synonymous with local tea. The TRI believes the wine will be a potential new product in the country’s tea portfolio. The TRI is now attempting to commercialise the wine with the aid of a private party, which will partner the institute in a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) to manufacture, brand, and bring the product to market.  Attractive business opportunity  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, TRI Director Dr. L.S.K. Hettiarachchi stated that this was an attractive business opportunity for partners both in and out of the industry, citing that the current global market for tea-based alcohol stood at 1.8 million litres imports per year. He stated that carving out just 10% of that market via this new wine could be hugely beneficial for the local industry, as well as the partner.  The TRI was inspired by the success of another fermented-tea-based beverage, kombucha, which has grown in the US, currently having a market of $ 1 billion and predicted to reach $ 3.8 billion by 2023.  “We plan to enter into a PPP with either a local or international partner; someone who can help our wine capture 10% of the global market, which is around 180,000 litres or 250,000 bottles of 750ml. We are optimistic about the wine’s potential to stand out and attract consumers,” Dr. Hettiarachchi said.  To accomplish this, the State-owned TRI and the Ministry of Plantation recently called for Expressions of Interest from potential partners for the production of their tea wine. The document was released by the institute on 19 January and called for applications from private partners. Patented and perfected process According to the TRI, Ceylon Tea wine is a dry red wine that contains 12% (v/v) alcohol, is rich in its unique taste with a medium body and soft tannins, carrying a pronounced tea aroma with the sweet fragrance of delicate black Broken Orange Pekoe (B.O.P.). The patented process for making tea wine utilises a specific Sri Lankan tea variety, Dimbula Black, special ageing techniques, and traditional wine-fermentation methods.   Moreover, Dr. Hettiarachchi stated that the wine was made more unique with the use of tea originating from Dimbula during a certain season. He explained that this gave the wine an aroma and character synonymous with Dimbula tea. He stated that this process was patented earlier, however the TRI took time to perfect it and develop product quality consistency.  “The beauty of this wine is that it will have a geographic indicator to ensure authenticity. This is something we want to do with Ceylon Tea as well due to its reputation. These indicators will help authenticate Ceylon Tea and differentiate the teas coming from each of the seven tea regions in Sri Lanka. We are also looking at incorporating chemical fingerprints into these products to ensure that the Ceylon Tea brand is protected.” The tea wine has since been given positive reviews by both consumers and wine specialists. Dr. Hettiarachchi stated that one review from a professional winemaker had the TRI questioning why this product had not been made available much earlier. Production and costs He explained that once commercialised with the right partner, production could be scaled up and done at a lesser cost. “After we make this patented process for the preparation of Ceylon Tea wine available to the partners, they can scale up production and lower costs. Considering that the current cost of a decent bottle of wine is around Rs. 2,500, selling this at around Rs. 1,500 can accumulate a huge profit for the partner,” said Dr. Hettiarachchi. He added that the TRI would also be getting a licensing fee from the potential partner. According to Dr. Hettiarachchi, this product can be introduced to both the local and international markets with the right partner. As such, he stated that the TRI had received several inquiries about the wine, along with a few Expressions of Interest. However, he stated that the institute had decided to extend the deadline for applications from 30 January to 14 February, to make way for more applications. Industry response Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) Chairman Jayantha Karunaratne stated that he saw potential in this new product. However, he noted that introducing it to the international market would be a difficult undertaking. He stated that the project’s private partner would need to prepare themselves for the development, branding, and marketing of a completely new product. “This has potential but taking it to market is a big task and a big investment on the private entity’s side. They are going to need a fairly big marketing campaign and factories for manufacturing and bottling; not to mention licensing and approvals from the Excise Department. It’s a long-term project and cannot be done overnight. However, if either the TRI or Tea Board comes into the fold, it would be easier on the private partner,” said Karunaratne. Tea Exporters Association (TEA) Chairman Sanjaya Herath agreed with Jayantha on the wine’s potential in the global market, adding that the industry needed to look at innovative products, as they were the way forward. “We have seen tea being used in various innovative ways and we see innovative products in the global market, so we need to adopt that level of innovativeness into our industry. I think this wine is a step in the right direction which will lead to more innovations within the local industry,” said Herath. He stated such innovations would also enable the main product, Ceylon Tea, to increase exports. He explained that as things stand today, the local tea industry would take at least another three to four years to beat the current export mark of three million kilos. However, he opined that with the aid of innovations, it could be surpassed much sooner. “In the global market, Ceylon Tea is always $ 1 ahead of tea from other origins and these innovations will help keep us ahead of the curve.” He stated that there was a lot of interest from TEA exporters for such an innovative product.


More News..