Beta Tea, claimed to be the 12th largest tea company in the world, in collaboration with the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Ankara hosted the “Beta International Tea and Culture Festival from 21–24 May 2024 at Beta Yeni Han in Istanbul, Türkiye. This was the first time that Beta Tea organized such a cultural festival in Türkiye.
The event was organized to celebrate the inclusion of Turkiye's tea culture to the list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritages in 2022 and to mark the 100th anniversary of the commencement of tea cultivation in Türkiye.
Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in the Mediterranean Region, Adana, Beşir Uğur founded the Beta Tea in 1987 with bulk tea importation from Sri Lanka and packaging, and reselling in Türkiye as well as abroad.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka supported BETA tea in organizing the event by inviting diplomatic missions of tea growing countries to join the event.
Istanbul Deputy Governor Şevket Atlı, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Türkiye Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake, Undersecretary for Culture of the Embassy of China Meifen Zhou, Argentine Deputy Consul General Fabiana López and Commercial Consul of the Indian Embassy Raj Kumar Tanwar, Turkish officials as well as researcher-writer and history professor Kemalettin Kuzucu were among the special guests.
Representatives of Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to Adana (Chairman of the Board-BETA Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.) Beşir Uğur, Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to Istanbul Aydin Ozu and the former Ambassador of Turkiye to Sri Lanka Iskender Okyay also participated in the event.
During the event, Ambassador Dissanayake elaborated on the history of tea industry in Sri Lanka, the uniqueness of Ceylon Tea and it's health benefits, and production process was through a power point presentation. The Ambassador also highlighted that Ceylon Tea has been certified by ISO as the world's cleanest tea, produced through ethical and sustainable processes and was the first country to earn the accolade of "Ozone Friendly Tea" label.
The event had stalls displaying tea drinking traditions and cultural elements of Sri Lanka, China, Argentina, India and South Africa, organized by respective Embassies.
Cultural performances on stage started with traditional Turkish music played on stage by two musicians. The Embassy of Sri Lanka presented traditional Sri Lankan costumes on stage and arranged the traditional oil lamp. The ‘Tea Time Tunnel’ exhibition on the historical adventure of tea and the ‘Tea Gourmet Competition’ were also conducted during the event.
The ‘International Tea and Culture Festival’ was opened for the visitors from 22 to 24 May.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Ankara
29 May 2024
