By Aparna Datta
Awards and honors are a pleasant, yet significant aspect of any thriving industry, indicative of professional achievement and a competitive spirit. Award ceremonies are also great business and social networking events, often bringing together stakeholders from across the business ecosystem. Quality awards, especially those that reward producers, have a special role in the tea and coffee industries, recognizing merit and quality in the cup that ultimately benefits consumers.
The coffee world has the Cup of Excellence operating in several countries in the Americas and has evolved into an international event along with an auction process that has contributed to better price discovery for dedicated growers. The Coffee Board of India had initiated The Flavor of India - The Fine Cup back in 2002; since 2003, illycaffe S.p.A of Italy has organized the annual Coffee Quality Awards in India, modeled on the famous Brazilian Quality Award.
The Golden Leaf India Awards: Southern Tea Competition (TGLIA) is unique in the tea world as the first-ever structured tea quality competition to be organized anywhere in the world. With the fifth edition successfully conducted in February 2009, the competition now forms part of the calendar of events in the tea industry in Asia and West Asia, and is increasingly seen as a catalyst for quality tea production. The competition is an initiative of the United Planters Association of Southern India, better known as UPASI, established in 1893, perhaps the oldest planters’ association in continuous operation anywhere in the world, representing the interests of tea, coffee, rubber and spice producers in southern India. TGLIA is conducted annually under the aegis of UPASI, in association with the Tea Board of India.
Interestingly, the basis of TGLIA is geographic origin, with individual tea districts of the entire southern peninsula of India given equal importance. Rather than the broad brush of "South Indian teas" or even the inaccurate bracketing of all south Indian teas under ‘Nilgiris’, the most well-known region for South Indian teas, and most recalled appellation, TGLIA seeks to showcase teas from different origins of Southern India, each bearing the tradition of a unique ecosystem. These teas, the aromatic Nilgiris, the fragrant High Ranges, the floral Anamallais, the brisk Wayanads, the full-bodied Travancores and the balanced Karnataka each represent different facets of the Southern Indian tea bouquet.
Driving forceThe driving force behind TGLIA has undoubtedly been N. Dharmaraj, vice president of Harrisons Malayalam Limited a well-known plantation company based in Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala. As convenor of the organizing committee of TGLIA, Dharmaraj, along with a core group of UPASI members, has been responsible for meticulously planning and implementing the competition and establishing it as an annual event.
Dharmaraj first set the ball rolling with a seminal presentation he made at the 110th UPASI Annual Conference at Coonoor on September 27, 2003. Speaking on "Speciali-tea in Diversi-tea", he sought to throw a spotlight on each region. "South India has diverse agro-climatic zones, each differentiated by divergent mean altitude above sea level, divergent soil and climatic conditions," said Dharmaraj. "The diversity manifests in a different type of tea from each region, each with unique and distinctive quality attributes." Collectively, South India accounts for some 20%-25%of tea produced in India, depending on the year and output, with approximately 52% being exported. The presentation turned out to be an eye-opener, drawing attention to the potential for marketing individual regions with their distinctive offerings, thereby increasing the spectrum, and the price-benefit options that could appeal to a cross-section of buyers.
Showcasing diversityA big idea was required to create a platform for showcasing the diverse teas of South India and the answer was found in TGLIA. In September 2005, the first TGLIA was inaugurated at the 112th UPASI Annual Conference at Coonoor. Present on the occasion as part of the international jury was James Norwood Pratt of US-based Tea Society. In the spring 2006 issue of TEA – A Magazine he wrote: "One of us came from Japan, others from Dubai, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Netherlands, US, UK, and two from India. But we agreed unanimously that we had never even heard of any event of the kind so well planned and organized or half so well executed. And afterwards we jurors departed homewards in no doubt we had participated in a significant event in tea history - The Golden Leaf India Awards Southern Tea Competition 2005." Further, he went on to say, "If it becomes an annual event, the Golden Leaf India Awards Southern Tea Competition is undoubtedly the best way to south India’s twin goals of improving quality and achieving recognition."
The second edition of TGLIA was held barely six months later in February 2006, to coincide with the Global Dubai Tea Forum organized by the Dubai Tea Trading Centre at Dubai during February 25-27, 2006. This set a pattern that TGLIA has since adopted – piggy-backing on important tea industry events so as to increase the opportunity for different audiences in different locations to witness the TGLIA and experience the teas. While TGLIA 2007 was held at Kochi, the 2008 edition was once again held at the Global Dubai Tea Forum, and the 2009 edition was held at Kochi in February 2009 alongside the India International Tea Convention organized by the Tea Board of India. TGLIA representatives also participated at Tea & Coffee World Cup Asia, organized by Lockwood Publications, held at Hyderabad, India during November 20-22, 2008 making a promotional presentation.
TGLIA has involved international jurors in the selection process and ensured credibility at all the editions of the event, often managing a galaxy of international tea experts. The international jury for the 2007 event included Randy Altman, World Tea & Coffee, USA; Penny Kelly, Typhoo Tea Ltd, UK; Alexey Shvetsov, Orimi Trade Ltd, Russia; Bryan Baptist, Ceylon Tea Brokers Ltd, Sri Lanka; Mohsin M. Saify, Tapal Tea Pvt Ltd, Pakistan; Sanjay Sethi, Dubai Tea Trading Centre, UAE; Edward Foster, Thompson Lloyd & Ewart Ltd UK; Paul Sandys, Unilever, Kolkata; and Azam Monem, Williamson Magor, Kolkata. The 2009 event saw Alexey Shvetsov from Russia; Ghassan Gharbawi from Iraq, Mahmoud El Nahas and Mohamed Heiza from Egypt, Marcus Wulf from Germany, Mehdi Hariri from Iran and Pradeep Jeyathilak from the UK.
TGLIA has come in for praise for the detailed selection process that is seen to be fair and transparent. The process of selecting the best teas from the various agro-climatic regions is based on a multi-layer screening process using a scoring system that captures the various quality attributes of tea in an objective manner. Competing teas are also screened for pesticide residue parameters and heavy metals. A back-up quantity of the entries is set as a pre-requisite to ensure that the teas represent a commercially viable critical mass, so as to differentiate from specialty teas. Scientists from the UPASI Tea Research Foundation physically draw samples from the back-up quantities. The collection of samples, and infusion for tasting, are done in accordance with ISO standards. The evaluation is based on a scoring methodology that assigns scores on a scale of 0 to 10 for the various quality attributes such as dry leaf appearance, infused or spent leaf appearance, and liquor attributes such as color, aroma, briskness and strength.
Increased entriesNo wonder then that the number of entries has increased over the years, as has the participation of individual estates and tea factories. While large tea plantations had the edge in the first couple of competitions, small growers are evidently catching up. In fact, in the TGLIA 2009 competition, the Hittakkal tea factory won awards in all three categories – brokens, fannings and dust – under the bought-leaf section. The Hittakkal factory had sourced green leaf from small growers in the Kotagiri area in the Nilgiris. "The small growers have improved their quality with the help of Krishi Vigyan Kendra scheme under UPASI. They have learnt to pluck fine leaves and it has directly reflected in better quality," said Hittakkal and Vigneshwar director B Rajesh. Another small unit, Pandalur Industrial Cooperative Society also won an award in the Wayanad CTC Leaf category.
The improved quality, and the recognition received through TGLIA, had even translated into better prices at tea auctions at Coonoor. Compared to the average selling price, the teas from the Hittakkal tea factory recently fetched a marked premium. It is now widely accepted that TGLIA has triggered healthy competition among tea producers to improve the quality of teas. "This is beginning to fetch a premium between 25% to 40% and is driving the producers to manufacture better quality teas," says Dharmaraj.
Perhaps the biggest outcome of TGLIA is the benchmarking of quality teas, setting standards and raising quality consciousness across South India. Besides, the competition has been able to showcase the best of the region’s teas to national and international buyers through an engaging mechanism. In the process, it has elevated the awareness of South Indian teas, winning recognition, respect and increasing the market value of the teas, ultimately making a positive difference to the local and regional economy.
Aparna Datta is a Communications Consultant and writer based in Bangalore, India. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Website: www.crucible-online.net