We are now not battling some hygrometric world climate differences stemming from controversy but at last we could now report good news from Tea origins. The Tea Trade plus Brokers, Tea Exporters, and the Tea Board, although we have not spoken to them, are now in unison, saying 2010 points to an exciting year. Judging the ‘Best Tea’ is now on.

Asia Siyaka Tea Brokers Ltd president Anil Cooke, talking to us yesterday, said he confirmed it was now not time to assume some form of grandeur that we had reached that level of absolute invisibility; we were the best. ‘Certainly not he said. Others were catching up fast and if that ‘grand’ assumption was that we were insurmountable, banish the thought.’

The big plus was that Regional Plantation Companies, who have had intense critique in these pages, have been open to technological innovation and are, some of them, moving forward from their ‘Hundred year style of management and technological introspection’ to align with moving trends to meet these challenges.

Reports are, according to Anil Cooke, they are now on the threshold of innovative style and gradually meeting intense challenges of our times, so to speak, to be parallel with, or better still lead the world again, in production of ‘Qualitea’. Yesterday being a Poya holiday we did not speak to them. We will within the next few days and have their original input to what we now know.

Our reports are they are now reaching out to greater modernization, not only in technological advances but intense Social Responsibility practices paving the way for alternative flair with the intense goal of moving into the modern trend of things.

New ideas are originating from this source and although advances are relatively slow, intense application towards movement to transformation is now gathering momentum.

However the big plus is that the industry has now opened itself to some form of team work, rather than incubate themselves in some cocoon bereft of what happens around them.

The Colombo Tea Traders Association, Chairman Avi de Silva who we spoke to said there was to be an important meeting next week to decide specific advances that could be relevant. He would inform us expectations after these discussions.

‘Qualitea’ and ‘specialitea’, would receive priority in the new trading season to be in sync with world trends.

Already responses have been categorized phase II, phase III based on urgency of responses from RPCs, and improvement seen was impressive, Anil Cooke said.