A farmer shows newly-picked tea leaves at a tea garden in Qimen County, east China's Anhui Province, March 28, 2022. [Photo by Shi Yalei/Xinhua]

HEFEI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) — A dialogue on the world's top three high-fragrance black teas kicked off Monday in Qimen County, east China's Anhui Province, aiming to showcase the charm of black teas and promote cultural exchange and cooperation between the tea industries of China, India and Sri Lanka.

Keemun black tea from China, Darjeeling black tea from India, and Ceylon black tea from Sri Lanka are often famed as the top three high-fragrance black teas in the world.

More than 100 guests and tea representatives from the three countries are invited to participate in the event, both online and offline, to discuss the development and cooperation of black tea.

"As we are currently identifying, tea is playing an increasingly important role in international trade, technical cooperation, and cultural exchange. Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka is very famous for its aroma and taste in the world. I'm delighted to attend this event to further strengthen our relationship between these two countries," said Sylvester Perera, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in China.

Keemun black tea, which originated in Qimen County, is one of the most famous Chinese teas featuring an intense aroma. It has a history of more than 100 years.

According to local statistics, tea plantations currently cover an area of about 12,600 hectares in Qimen, producing a comprehensive value of 5.52 billion yuan (about 808.6 million U.S. dollars) in 2022. A total of 7,300 tonnes of tea were produced in the county last year.

"I hope this activity will help promote Chinese tea culture, drive China's tea-related industry to go global, and inject new vitality into the ancient tea-making intangible cultural heritage," Wang Qing, president of China Tea Marketing Association, said at the event.

In November 2022, China's traditional tea-making was added to the intangible cultural heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.  

(Source: Xinhua)