Pink yeast: Natural and effective way to improve Sri Lankan tea

The pink yeast growing on tender tea leaves can be effectively used to improve the quality of tea which has now been neglected in Sri Lanka

- BY DAYA WICKRAMATUNGE

DURING the drought there is a pink yeast growing on tender tea leaves in Uva and Dimbula, the renowned tea growing areas in the highlands of Sri Lanka.

They are found mostly in the bud and the first two leaves. Tea planters often refer to the pink tea buds they see in tea shoots, when they visit tea fields. When the drought ends and the rainy season starts, the pink yeast disappears and in its place we find the fungus — Aspergillus growing on the tea leaves. The pink colour of the yeast is due to beta-carotene, a carotenoid.

In his book — ‘Monographs on tea production in Sri Lanka’, Dr. R.L. Wickremasinghe, a leading tea chemist of the TRI, has stated that the bud and the first two leaves carry the most important chemicals required for the quality of tea. In the harvesting of tea, for the production of high quality tea, it is well known that the tea pluckers are advised to go for a minimum 60% two-leaves and bud. As Dr. Wickremasinghe has stated they carry the important chemicals to produce high quality tea. However since late there is a shortage of labour for harvesting tea. As a result there is a drop in the quality of Sri Lankan tea. The tea pluckers are being advised to use a mechanical harvester (TRI Selective Harvester), developed and introduced by the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka to double the output of manual workers.

Drop in quality of tea