An evening of conversation and tea with Jetwing Hotels

Forest Hill Tea Director Buddhika Dissanayake, Kaley Tea Founder Udena Wickramasooriya, and Amba Estate Production Manager Neethanjana Senadheera

Jetwing Symphony Chairman Hiran Cooray

Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association President Simon Bell

In line with the pioneering hospitality company’s spirit of celebrating the best of Sri Lanka, Jetwing Hotels, in partnership with the Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association (CATA), launched a range of unique artisanal teas at its hotels and resorts across the island with an evening of brewing demonstrations, tea-infused cocktails, and conversation at the brand’s Colombo hotel, Jetwing Colombo Seven on 5 September.  

Speaking at the event, Jetwing Symphony PLC Chairman Hiran Cooray stated 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 continued further saying that having experienced the flavour and quality of the hand-crafted teas and tisanes produced by the members of the Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association, Jetwing Hotels would be rolling out the product to guests across its portfolio.  

Kaley Tea Founder Udena Wickramasooriya presenting at the launch said the Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association 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.  

Jetwing Hotels has partnered with three of the Association’s estates – Kaley, Forest Hill, and Amba.  

A live brewing and tea-tasting experience followed the presentations where four artisanal teas were served to invitees with carefully paired canapes, with an expert curation by Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association President Simon Bell.  The event concluded with an evening of tea-infused cocktails 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 vodka and a homemade cinnamon syrup. -Pix by Sameera Wijesinghe