Enchantea Ceylon Golden Tea Coin: Innovation, Beautifully Brewed!
By: Thasmina Sookoor
Fifth-generation tea entrepreneur Salman Anverally celebrates international success as Enchantea wins Best Innovative Packaging at the Saudi Food Excellence Awards 2026, transforming Sri Lanka’s rich tea heritage into a contemporary luxury experience.
In a world where innovation increasingly defines the future of luxury, young Sri Lankan entrepreneur Salman Anverally is demonstrating that even the most traditional industries can be reimagined through creativity, craftsmanship and an appreciation of heritage. As the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Enchantea, Salman has embarked on a mission to transform the way consumers experience Ceylon tea, taking it beyond the conventional cup and presenting it as an expression of artistry, discovery and sophistication. That vision has now earned prestigious international recognition, with the Enchantea Ceylon Golden Tea Coin winning the Best Innovative Packaging Award at the Saudi Food Excellence Awards 2026. The accolade marks an important milestone for Enchantea and celebrates a product that seamlessly combines Sri Lanka's renowned tea-making traditions with innovative design and contemporary luxury packaging. For Salman, a fifth-generation member of one of Sri Lanka's established tea families, the achievement represents more than an award. It is a celebration of his family's legacy, the extraordinary craftsmanship behind Ceylon tea and his determination to introduce a new dimension to an industry steeped in history.
Five Generations of Tea Heritage, One New Vision
Born in Colombo, Salman Anverally grew up surrounded by the traditions and commercial realities of Sri Lanka's tea industry. A fifth-generation member of the Anverally family, his connection to tea was established long before he entered the business professionally. Educated at Colombo International School and The British School in Colombo, he subsequently travelled to the United Kingdom for his undergraduate studies. Following university, he lived and worked in London, gaining valuable international experience and exposure to different markets, cultures and consumer expectations. Returning to Sri Lanka, Salman joined the family business, bringing with him a fresh perspective shaped by his experiences abroad. While tea was deeply embedded in his family history, he recognised an opportunity to approach the industry differently.
Growing up, he had experienced two contrasting worlds: tea and fashion. Tea was traditionally associated with grades, quantities, pricing and negotiations. Fashion, by contrast, was a world of imagination, individuality, design and emotional expression. Salman began asking himself a deceptively simple question: "Why can't tea be extraordinary?" That question would eventually become the foundation of Enchantea.
Rather than creating another conventional tea brand, he envisioned a business that would celebrate tea as an experience, where craftsmanship, rarity, presentation and storytelling were as important as the beverage itself.
The Discovery That Inspired Enchantea
A defining moment in Salman’s entrepreneurial journey occurred during a visit to Gulfood, the international food and beverage exhibition in Dubai. While exploring the exhibition, he encountered a blooming flower tea, an intricately handcrafted creation that opened beautifully when immersed in hot water. It was unlike anything he had previously seen. Even more surprising was that his father, despite decades of experience in the tea industry, had never encountered such a creation. The experience sparked a realisation. If individuals who had spent their lives in the tea trade could still be surprised by its possibilities, imagine how much remained undiscovered by consumers around the world.
Salman began researching unusual handmade teas, discovering farmers and craftspeople producing remarkable creations shaped into flowers, balls, cigars, coins and other distinctive forms. These products represented far more than different ways of preparing tea. They embodied artistic expression, specialist knowledge and meticulous craftsmanship. Yet many of these extraordinary creations remained relatively unknown internationally. Salman saw an opportunity to connect the talent of tea artisans with consumers seeking distinctive, meaningful and memorable experiences. Enchantea was established around this philosophy. He describes the brand through an analogy with the art world: "The farmer is the artist. The tea is the artwork. Enchantea is the collector." Just as an art collector discovers exceptional artists and brings their creations together, Enchantea seeks out remarkable teas, skilled producers and distinctive craftsmanship, curating them into a collection that celebrates the extraordinary possibilities of tea.
The Golden Tea Coin: Where History Meets Innovation
The award-winning Enchantea Ceylon Golden Tea Coin is perhaps the clearest expression of this philosophy. At first glance, the product captures attention through its striking black-and-gold presentation. However, behind its luxurious appearance lies a fascinating story connected to Sri Lanka's plantation history. Enchantea sources its Tea Coins from Talawakelle Tea Estates, which owns Great Western Estate in the celebrated Dimbula tea-growing region. Situated more than 5,000 feet above sea level, Great Western Estate is renowned for producing high-quality Ceylon tea, benefiting from the cool mountain climate, fresh air and distinctive terroir of Sri Lanka's central highlands. The inspiration for the Tea Coin dates back to approximately 1880. During the British colonial period, Great Western Estate used a special brass token associated with the remuneration of its plantation workers.
Known as the "Great Western Coin," the token originated in Great Britain and carried the estate's name. It represented a quarter-task value, equivalent to approximately 25 per cent of the task of picking a bag of clean tea. The coin was therefore closely connected to the work of tea pluckers and estate labourers, whose skills and dedication helped establish Ceylon tea's international reputation. To preserve this unique historical connection, Great Western Estate recreated the original coin in an entirely different medium: black tea. The result is an extraordinary fusion of history and craftsmanship. A coin once associated with the labour involved in producing Ceylon tea has been recreated from the very tea itself. Through Enchantea, this meaningful historical creation has been transformed into a luxury product designed to introduce its story to the world.
Crafted in the Heart of Ceylon Tea Country
The Golden Tea Coin's appeal extends beyond its historical significance. Its exceptional character begins with carefully selected tea leaves, including leaves harvested from some of Great Western Estate's old seedling tea bushes. Cultivated in the cool, high-grown conditions of the Dimbula region, the tea reflects the distinctive qualities for which premium Ceylon tea is celebrated. Its production incorporates traditional processing methods, including withering, rolling, rotorvane processing, fermentation, drying, sorting and packing. Several stages require skilled manual handling, from loosening and turning leaves during withering to operating processing equipment and carefully collecting the tea during fermentation. These processes preserve an essential element of the product's identity: the human craftsmanship behind every cup. Each Enchantea Tea Coin weighs approximately five grams and is recommended to be brewed for around five minutes, producing a distinctive Ceylon tea experience with good liquor colour. For Salman, the product is particularly meaningful because it connects three essential elements: provenance, craftsmanship and heritage. It also offers an opportunity to recognise the generations of estate workers whose contributions remain fundamental to the story of Sri Lankan tea.
A Golden Idea Inspired by Luxury
While the Tea Coin itself carried an extraordinary story, Anverally wanted its presentation to be equally remarkable. From the earliest days of Enchantea, he had envisioned packaging that would immediately distinguish the brand from conventional tea products. An important breakthrough came during discussions at an exhibition in Dubai, where a potential business partner spoke about opportunities within the luxury hospitality sector. The conversation revealed a preference among certain Middle Eastern consumers for tea with a rich, dark liquor, a strong Ceylon character and relatively low astringency. The Enchantea Tea Coin emerged as a compelling proposition for this market.
Salman recognised the potential to introduce artisanal tea into the world of luxury hotels, resorts and premium gifting. However, translating the concept into an exceptional presentation proved challenging. Almost a year was spent developing the packaging, with extensive discussions involving Anverally, his Dubai partner and suppliers. Determined to find the perfect visual identity, he travelled to London, exploring department stores, tea boutiques and luxury retail displays for inspiration. Interestingly, the breakthrough came not from the tea industry, but from confectionery. Salman noticed the visual appeal of gold-foil chocolate coins and the widespread use of gold in premium gift packaging. The idea immediately resonated. Why not wrap the tea coins in gold foil, transforming them into objects that resembled precious golden treasures? He chose black as the ideal background, creating a dramatic contrast that would allow the gold to shine. The resulting design was both sophisticated and evocative. Against the deep black presentation box, the golden coins resembled stars scattered across the night sky. It was a visual expression of the emotion Enchantea sought to inspire; discovery, imagination and wonder. The design perfectly captured the brand's tagline: "Wonder, Awakened."
Saudi Recognition: A Milestone for Sri Lankan Innovation
The success of the Enchantea Ceylon Golden Tea Coin at the Saudi Food Excellence Awards 2026 represents a significant achievement for Salman Anverally and his brand. Winning the Best Innovative Packaging Award recognises the creative thinking behind a product that brings together exceptional tea, historical storytelling and striking contemporary design. The accolade is particularly meaningful as Enchantea continues to develop its international presence and explore opportunities within premium retail, luxury hospitality and gifting markets. Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East represent important audiences for premium tea experiences, where distinctive presentation and thoughtful gifting play significant roles in consumer culture. For Enchantea, the award reinforces the belief that Sri Lankan tea businesses can compete internationally not only through the exceptional quality of their tea, but also through innovation, brand identity and the experiences they create. It also demonstrates how established industries can evolve without losing their authenticity. Rather than distancing itself from Ceylon tea's heritage, the Golden Tea Coin draws its greatest inspiration from that very history. The result is a product that honours tradition while embracing contemporary luxury.
A Tribute to the People Behind Every Cup
Beyond the award and the visual appeal of the packaging, the Golden Tea Coin carries a deeper significance. Its origins are connected to the estate workers whose labour helped build Sri Lanka's tea industry.
By bringing the history of the Great Western Coin into a contemporary luxury product, Enchantea creates an opportunity to celebrate the skills, dedication and contributions of generations of tea workers. It reminds consumers that behind every cup of Ceylon tea lies a story of people, place and craftsmanship. For Salman, this connection is central to Enchantea's identity. The brand does not seek merely to package tea beautifully. It seeks to reveal the extraordinary stories behind the products it presents. In doing so, Enchantea offers consumers something increasingly valued in luxury: authenticity and meaning.
Brewing a New Future for Ceylon Tea
As a fifth-generation tea entrepreneur, Salman Anverally represents an emerging approach to one of Sri Lanka's most important traditional industries. His journey combines inherited knowledge with international exposure, entrepreneurial independence and a willingness to challenge established conventions. Through Enchantea, he is demonstrating that tea can occupy a space traditionally associated with fine art, luxury accessories and exceptional gifts. The Golden Tea Coin is a testament to that ambition. Its success at the Saudi Food Excellence Awards 2026 celebrates more than innovative packaging. It highlights the potential of Sri Lankan creativity, craftsmanship and heritage to resonate with international audiences. For Salman, the achievement is another step towards a larger vision; making consumers see tea differently. A product once defined primarily by its grade, origin and price can become a conversation piece, a meaningful gift and an experience that awakens curiosity. The Enchantea Ceylon Golden Tea Coin brings together the past and the future in one beautifully presented creation. It honours the estate workers who shaped Ceylon tea's legacy, celebrates the artisans who continue its traditions and reflects the imagination of an entrepreneur determined to introduce something extraordinary to the world. Enchantea Ceylon Golden Tea Coin - Innovation, Beautifully Brewed! Where heritage becomes artistry, craftsmanship becomes luxury, and every cup awakens wonder.
