What We Do
Every business success story needs a winning recipe and it’s usually built around either products, services, or underlying processes. We don’t mean to toot our own horn here but at Ceylon Tea Plantation we go ‘all out’ on all three fronts!
Our ‘tried and tested’ strategy is to parlay a strong hand of people, network, and technology to offer our customers a series of ‘value-added’ products, services, and processes. In this section, we walk you through some of the specialised activities that we excel in.
We also venture on to add that, if this interests you and your business (and you would wish to avail our services), do get in touch with us.
Sourcing
Sri Lanka is usually synonymous with the game of cricket, sandy beaches, or invigorating Ceylon Tea. And most often it’s the Tea! Rightfully so, because in the world of Tea, we are the best! Not only is Sri Lanka considered the largest auction centre in the world but it’s also one of the oldest running auctions.
CTP’s sourcing process begins a week in advance of the auctions. Our very own Tea tasters evaluate pre-auction samples sent in by reputed Tea brokers. Next, the choicest samples get flagged for selection at the auctions. The Teas that are selected and purchased at the auctions are then readied for our unique processes.
Blending
There’s an old saying that if you keep on doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, you’re probably borderline insane. NOT TRUE! Here at CTP, we firmly believe, on the contrary, that practice makes perfect. And that’s why we’ve kept busy at producing masterful blends of Tea day in, day out, for the past twenty-something years. Add onto that an ensemble of state-of-the-art facilities and high-skilled human expertise and presto!
So, as befits our scope of international export, we’ve mastered the art of producing an assortment of products that brings together tea leaves, herbs and spices from across the region, China and India included, to create flavours that are close to the heart. Ranging from Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Masala Chai, Oolong, Green teas and so much more. But don’t take our word for it, see for yourself!
We also thought it’d be worth mentioning that we are take technology seriously and feel it’s important to stay on top of things. We’ve invested in a modern vertical blender (i.e. tower blender) which gives us more efficiency in blending Teas than the traditional methods. The tower is part of a blending system that features dust extractors, vibro sifters which enables us to achieve uniform Tea particle sizes, and electromagnets to remove any metallic impurities.
And none of that would have been possible had we not stuck by our guns, toiled, and bettered ourselves to produce some of the best blends in the marketplace. You could say we pick carefully the proverbs that we stick by. Or you could say we are ‘mad’ about getting our Tea blends right!
Packaging
Ah, packaging! As trendy or as fastidious as it can get sometimes, it’s invariably handy and very much essential for a choice Tea product.
So what’s all the fuss about ‘packaging’ you ask? It acts as a shield, protecting Tea from the elements till the right time for it to find its way to your cup. And boy, don’t we have a lot to protect it from — air, light, dust, moisture, microbes, bad vibes, etc. We also think it’s super important to be able to steal that first glance as first impressions say a lot in the marketing world; which is why we at CTP take our packaging very seriously. And it’s certainly a central process in the stream of value-added activities we excel in. In fact, we’ve invested in a number of specialised systems and machinery that’s helped us mechanise all processes ranging from cleaning, separating, mixing, flavouring, tea-bagging, over-wrapping and packing, in line with international health and safety standards,
Storing
As a multi-national exporter, storage plays an integral role in Ceylon Tea Plantations’ everyday business. All Teas and ingredients — be it in raw or packed form — are faced with interim storage requirements till it hits the production floor and/or gets on a vessel to be on its way to an international outlet near you. As such, we have equipped ourselves with up-to-date storage and handling facilities, because all good Teas need some extra care and attention.
Our storage infrastructure features appropriate moisture-, odour-, and temperature-control mechanisms, including a cold room to maintain seasonal and aromatic teas, which allows us to store our Teas under ideal conditions, at all times. We have also invested in measures to protect our inventories from all sorts of pests, with specific focus given to pest-prone variants like Herbal teas and ingredients.
Customised Packaging
So you might have figured by now that Ceylon Tea Plantations is an export-exclusive operation producing and marketing our own brands internationally. Did you also know that our customised packaging business is constantly expanding as we deal with a growing number of foreign clientele?
Well, now you do! Let us also state that, all in all, our grip on international exports presently spans across most quarters of the world, but this sure doesn’t mean that we’re done exploring — our goal is to become a borderless Tea exporter, in true globalised fashion. We’re an ambitious bunch. Wish us luck! And if you want to do business, get in touch with us – we would love to talk to you!
Wholesale
Bulk blends to suit your brand requirements will be delivered in a timely manner keeping in mind our promise of high quality. Packaging is done keeping in mind the importance of maintaining the freshness and the wonderful aroma of our teas.
We can also be your partner for straight line garden packed teas direct from the plantations, through the Colombo tea auction. We will select samples based on your blend requirements, send them to you for your approval and then bid at the auction on your behalf. Our expertise in blending will be a definite advantage to you as we will always select the right teas to suit your blend and make sure the teas we buy and send to you as samples are consistently of the right standard.
Our Factory
The vibro sifter which removes any metallic impurities and also achieves uniform Tea particle sizes.
Tea bagging machine
Extractors
Bulk tea packed and ready to go into storage
Tower blender
Conveyor to final packing