A HOT cup of tea is better known as being soothing and relaxing,
but Sri Lanka is now marketing its most profitable export as a
luxury boost for the libido.
The tea industry is increasingly plugging Ceylon's supposed
aphrodisiac qualities in a bid to radically change perceptions of
the brew, which manufacturers say can sell for less than water in
some markets.
"We are highlighting the properties of tea that can give you an
edge in the bedroom," said Rohan
Fernando, whose firm HVA Foods sells a small 60-gram jar of premium
Ceylon for $350.
"Tea has traditionally been the poor man's drink. We want to be at
the top-end of the supply chain," he said.
The industry may not yet have hard medical proof of Ceylon's
performance-enhancing powers, but they have long been the stuff of
legend among Sri Lankan tea lovers.
The brews known for their potency are the top-quality white teas,
known as Silver Tips and Golden Tips, which are gaining popularity
among well-heeled Chinese businessmen along with rich Saudis and
Japanese, Fernando said.
Unlike orthodox teas, the white varieties are made with just the
tender tea buds, which are sun-dried and carefully tended until
they turn gold or silver in colour.
At his tea factory in Kandana town, north of the capital Colombo,
Fernando held up a ceramic urn wrapped in black velvet and sealed
with a gold ribbon, explaining that a cuppa is not only good for
sexual health.
The tea contains polyphenols, flavonoids and anti-oxidants - known
to improve the immune system and blood circulation.
Leading tea maker Herman Gunaratne is also keen to promote such
qualities in his rare "virgin white" tea, so called because it is
untouched by human hands in production, unlike orthodox types
hand-plucked from the tea bush.
The product retails at the Mariage Freres tea emporium in Paris for
$88 for a 20-gram box, the equivalent of $4,400 per kilo.
"My virgin white tea contains 10.11 percent anti-oxidants... This
could be the highest level of anti-oxidants in any tea," Gunaratne
told AFP.
"When your overall health improves, your sexual performance
automatically increases."
Tea is not indigenous to Sri Lanka, but after Scotsman James Taylor
planted the first tea bush, Camellia Sinensis, in 1849, it became a
primary export. Last year, tea brought in nearly $1.5 billion to
the country's coffers.
Sri Lanka also conducts the world's largest weekly tea auction
where five to six million kilos (10 to 13 million pounds) change
hands.
But the island may soon be reaching its maximum production capacity
after exporting nearly 320 million kilos last year.
Gunaratne is among the tea purists who want to guard Sri Lanka's
reputation as a maker of clean tea -- product that is free of
pesticide residue and other contaminants -- and he is keen to see
more high-end varieties rather than the traditional export of cheap
bulk products.
"We need to re-brand tea," he said. "We have the potential to
increase our tea income four-fold."
The Sri Lanka Tea Board is about to embark on a major international
marketing campaign for the first time in decades, which will
promote the health benefits of a high-end cup.
Currently only 42 to 43 percent of Ceylon is exported in packets of
less than three kilos each, but the target is to raise this to 60
percent in the next five years, board director Hasitha de Alwis
said.
Anil Cooke, head of Sri Lankan tea broking firm Asia Siyaka
Commodities, agreed that Ceylon -- known by the country's colonial
name -- should be "re-positioned globally" with a focus on
increasing its value.
"It is being done in a small way by a few companies, but it can be
given a bigger boost," Cooke said.
Leading the way is Gunaratne's tea plantation in the south of the
island, which has become a key tourist attraction with a tea
museum, tours and tasting sessions.
Despite cutting daily tea leaf production from 20,000 to just 2,000
kilos a day, his gourmet products now sell at 10 times the average
retail price of loose tea in the local market.
"Since shifting to highly specialised teas... I earn double what I
did before," said Gunaratne.
Cooke said he was not sure if the aphrodisiac properties or the big
bucks from his Ceylon had put a permanent smile on the 69-year-old
tea maker's face.