- Jetwing and Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association launch a range of artisanal teas
By Venessa Anthony
Jetwing Hotels, in a move to celebrate the essence of Sri Lanka, partnered with the Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association (CATA) to launch a range of unique artisanal teas at its hotels and resorts across the island. The launch was marked with an evening of brewing demonstrations, tea-infused cocktails, and conversation at Jetwing Colombo Seven.
Opening the floor at the event, Jetwing Symphony Chairman Hiran Cooray began by noting that although Sri Lanka produces some of the finest teas in the world, the country has failed to capitalise on the potential of its golden export and the growing demand for single-estate, hand-crafted products. He added that upon having experienced the flavour and quality of the hand-crafted teas and tisanes produced by the members of the Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association, he ensured that Jetwing Hotels would be rolling out the product to guests across its portfolio.
What followed was a sampling of four of their finest tea, along with canapés that Cooray noted pairs perfectly with the tea and complements the keynote flavours, with an expert curation by CATA President Simon Bell.
Those present had the opportunity to sample the green tea, black tea, and white tea, as well as a masala-spiced blend. Kaley Tea Founder Udena Wickramasooriya, presenting the teas at the launch, said that CATA is a group of like-minded, independent tea estates across the island, growing tea in a variety of climates, environments, and terroirs, which imbues the tea leaves with distinct flavours and fragrances, highly sought after by discerning tea drinkers across the world. It was made known that Jetwing Hotels has partnered with three of the Association’s estates – Kaley, Forest Hill, and Amba.
The event concluded with a selection of tea-infused drinks with a creative twist, such as Sunshine Sour, which used Kaley Tea’s Orange Sunshine, and Kurunduwatta, featuring Forest Hill Tea’s iconic Wild Cinnamon mixed with homemade cinnamon syrup. Our personal favourite would have to be the Spiced Old Fashion – don’t let the name fool you, the drink was much sweeter than the rest with an added layer of cream on top, that when mixed, resembled a masala chai. The drink, made with AMBA Estate spiced chai syrup, was certainly the highlight of the evening.
