The move followed a similar initiative by Tetley, the world's second-largest tea maker to insure the taste buds of master tea-blender Sebastian Michaelis for £1-million in 2014. The policy ensures the consistency of the Tetley blend despite Michaelis having to skilfully combine different teas to produce the same result each time.

Kelsey says in insuring his sensory buds and tongue, Joekels is guaranteeing its customers that the teas within their range will be consistent despite fluctuations in the raw material. The insurance policy will continue for the remainder of his working life.

Joekels may claim on the policy, should Kelsey’s tongue or taste buds be damaged in any way, rendering him unable to taste the teas to ensure consistency throughout the various blends.

Kelsey, who has been tea tasting professionally since 1989, was taught his skills by another master tea-blender and has learnt to differentiate the taste of different teas from around the world. Currently Joekels only purchases its teas from Africa.

While insuring body parts has not taken hold in the corporate world, there are a host of celebrities who have insured their mega-watt smiles and beautiful legs for small fortunes to keep their fortunes rolling.

Singer Jennifer Lopez's derriere is insured for $300-million, while colleague Mariah Carey's legs are insured for $1-billion ($70-million more than British football star David Beckham's legs carry on insurance). Actress Julia Roberts's famous smile carries a $30-million insurance policy, while model Heidi Klum has insurance on her legs - one of which carries a $2.2-million price tag, but the other only $1.2-million due to a small scar on her knee.

Actor Daniel Craig, who performs many of his own stunts, has insured his body for $9.5-million, while singer Tina Turner carries a $3-million insurance on her legs.

Kelsey and Joe Swart founded Joekels in 1994 and are currently blenders and packers of some of South Africa's popular household brands of quality tea including Tetley Tea, Tea Time, Tea for Me, Tea4Kidz, Laager Rooibos and the strong regional brands Phendula Tea, Teeco Tea, and Southalls Rooibos.

In 2005 Tetley took a 33.3% stake in Joekels to further its plans to grow its business globally and entrench Tetley's presence in South Africa and neighbouring countries. Tetley raised its Joekels ownership in 2012 while the company extended its portfolio of private label for major retailers. Joekels currently packs approximately 90% of all the private label brands, belonging to the various retailers.

Looking ahead, Kelsey says the focus is on raising the awareness of Tetley with the South African consumer and that every cup of Tetley comes with the quality of 178 years of international blending experience.

Statistically, South Africans consume 20 million kilograms of black tea and seven million kilograms of rooibos annually, placing the market value around R1.8-billion. Joekels has a 10% share of the black tea market and a 26% share of the rooibos market making it South Africa's third-largest market player.

For more information, visit the Joekels Tea Packers website.