Plantation expo draws big crowd; on display are diverse delights from estates

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 18 February 2023: A wide array of organic and value-added products, including a variety of leafy and powdered tea, home ground coffee and and spices, are on display at the ongoing Plantation Expo at Sooryakanthi Exhibition Grounds here, drawing a steady stream of visitors looking for genuine delights from estates across the state.

 The four-day Plantation Expo, organised by the newly set up Plantation Directorate, Government of Kerala, was opened by Industries Minister P Rajeeve recently.

The event has been planned as the first step towards raising Kerala’s plantation products as a global brand. The expo is organised with the cooperation of registered plantations, co-operatives in plantation sector, plantation-based businesses, distributors and equipment providers.

The products on the display offer a vivid glance into the diversity of the storied plantation products of ‘God’s Own Country.’

The shelves at the expo are stacked with a variety of tea, the staple brew of people around the world, in different colors, fragrance and taste such as white, black, green, dust and leafy.

The stall of tea major Kannan Devan Company has all its diverse products on display--white, black, and green tea as well as dust and granule. The visitors get their choice at the same price that the company gives it to the retailers.

White tea, known for its anti-oxidant property, has high demand, mostly from the health-conscious. The stall also has on sale an assortment of items fresh from plantations like coffee powder and tea tree oil, besides tea chocolate made by groups working for the welfare of differently-able children from the Kannan Devan plantations.

If someone wishes to present a spice-box as gift to a near or dear one, Harrisons Malayalam’s stall has the ‘Spices Gift Packet,’ containing an assortment of spices. The stall also has ‘single estate’ tea, the delight of tea-buffs.

Those visiting the stall of The Tropical Plantation are served with  cups of steaming tea, before buying Connemara brand of ground coffee, filter coffee and black pepper.

Malankara Plantations, Tyford Estate, Poabs Organic Green Tea, Jain Foods, Pullikkanam Estates and PDS Organic Spices are some of the popular brands that have set up stalls are the expo.

The pioneering event is conceived as the first major step to make Kerala Plantation a global brand while ensuring the progress of the labourers in the sector.