Handunneththi’s Tea Spill

From Nobel Laureate to Guinness Gaffe

Colombo’s political circles are chuckling over a slip of the tongue that turned into a full-blown social media circus. Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunneththi tried to toast Sri Lanka’s latest tea triumph — but ended up serving himself a hot cup of embarrassment.

At a public event, Handunneththi proudly declared that Sri Lanka had bagged a “Nobel Prize” for tea. The crowd blinked. The microphones caught it. And within hours, the opposition was brewing memes faster than a Pettah tea kiosk.

What really happened? The New Vithanakande Ceylon Black Tea had indeed secured a place in the Guinness World Records for being the most expensive tea ever sold at a Japanese auction. A solid achievement. But somewhere between Guinness and Nobel, the minister’s wires crossed — and suddenly Sri Lanka was rubbing shoulders with Einstein, Mandela, and Malala.

Handunneththi later rushed to Facebook with a sheepish apology:

“While commenting on this achievement, I mistakenly referred to it as a Nobel Prize instead of a Guinness Record. I regret this error.”

But the gossip pond doesn’t forgive that easily. Opposition MPs were quick to stir the pot, joking that maybe the government was planning to nominate Ceylon Tea for next year’s Peace Prize — “for calming nerves worldwide.”

Others whispered that the minister’s gaffe was just a symptom of a larger trend: politicians so eager to grab credit for anything positive that they can’t even keep track of the awards cabinet. Nobel, Guinness, Grammy — as long as it makes a headline.

For now, the Guinness World Record belongs proudly to Sri Lanka’s tea industry. But in Colombo’s gossip grapevine, Handunneththi will forever be remembered as the man who almost made Silver Tips a Nobel laureate.