Tea is the the world’s most consumed beverage after water, with evidences pointing to its health benefits. Among tea from different sources, Ceylon Tea remains popular among tea drinkers.
Ceylon Tea is produced in Sri Lanka, an island nation in South Asia, and the world’s fourth largest producer of tea. Their production of a staggering 282,000 metric tons is just behind China, India and Kenya. A former British colony, Sri Lanka was formerly known Ceylon till it became a republic in 1972. Despite the country’s name change, the Ceylon Tea label remains unchanged as it is recognised in the international market and the country’s most famous export.
Stepping back into history, a tea plant was first brought into the country from China in 1824 by the British and planted as a non-commercial crop in the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was not till 1867 when the first commercial tea plantation was started by British planter, James Taylor, in Kandy. Back to present times, tea plantations are found in 6 principal regions, covering 187,000 hectares of land or 4% of the country.
There are 5 main categories of tea: white tea, green tea, black tea, oolong and pu’erh. All these different categories come from the same plant but are processed differently. White tea is minimally processed while black tea is fully oxidised. Green tea is not oxidised during the production process while pu’erh is not only dried and oxidised but also fermented.
When choosing Ceylon tea, look out for Ceylon Lion Tea Logo which is administered by Sri Lanka Tea Board. It is a symbol representing quality. Only 100% Ceylon tea produced and packed in Sri Lanka can use the logo if they conform to the quality standards set by the board.
The cool temperatures, humidity and rainfall of the country’s central highlands provides favourable climate for production of high quality tea. Tea grown at higher elevations has a more subtle and complex taste, coupled with sweetness, but less bitterness. Thus highland teas often command higher prices and in greater demand though tea is also planted at lower elevations.
Today, some important tea growing areas include Uva province, Kandy province, Uda Pussellawa, Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Southern province. Some of these Ceylon tea plantations also welcome walk-in guests for tours on their grounds. A visit to these plantations and tea factory is a must for a complete experience of Sri Lanka culture and heritage.
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Kandy Province
Start your tea journey in Kandy, around 115km Northeast of Colombo and more than 3.5 hrs drive away. This is where commercial tea planting in Sri Lanka first started.
Ceylon Tea Museum
Ceylon Tea Museum is 3km away from Kandy City and housed in a former tea factory. The 5-storey building has good exhibits on tea pioneers James Taylor and Sir Thomas Lipton. Other exhibits on display includes the first tea bag, the first tea drying machine and the first tea rolling machine. Join their guided tour around the facility at Rs800/adult with brief information on tea production and history of tea in the country. At the end of the tour, guests are offered a cup of tea in the top floor cafe and chance to purchase tea leaves home.
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Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya is often referred to as ‘Little England’ and its name is synonymous with tea in Sri Lanka. At 166km east of Colombo or 5 hr drive away, the city is the country’s most important location for tea production. Located at an altitude of 1,868m, the highland climate is favourable for the production of good quality tea.
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Several tea factories offers guided tour around their production facilities and tea sampling sessions. This includes Pedro Tea Factory, Damro Tea Factory, Bluefield Tea Garden and Oak Ray Tea Factory.
Heritance Tea Factory
If you are keen to try tea plucking yourself, there are private tours offering this experience in the plantations. Or you can choose to stay in Heritance Tea Factory hotel.
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Heritance Tea Factory is a highly-rated 4-star hotel surrounded by tea plantation and misty mountains. The hotel offers tea plucking experience in their tea fields. Dress up in sarong for guys and saree for ladies, carry your own basket and head out with their professional tea pluckers. At the end of the session, they will process the tea leaves you have plucked for you to bring home as souvenir.
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Uva Province
Uva province is 265km east of Colombo and 5.5 hours drive away.
Lipton’s Seat
Sir Thomas Lipton visited Sri Lanka in 1890 and made a business deal with James Taylor. His company purchased Ceylon Tea and distributed it to Britain, Europe and America. In doing so, he made ‘Lipton Tea’ an international household name and introduced Ceylon Tea to the world.
Lipton’s Seat is an observation point high up in the hills of Poonagala, 18km from Haputale. With unrivalled views of 7 provinces as well as Handapanagala Lake, Chandrika Lake, Udawalawe Lake, Wedihitikanda Mountains and even Hambanthota Harbour along the Southern Coast, this was where Sir Lipton used to survey his burgeoning tea empire.
Today, besides the impressive views, the only thing you would see at Lipton’s seat is a statue of Sir Thomas Lipton and a wooden sign.
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Halpewatte Tea Factory
Established since 1971, Halpe Tea is a single estate tea producer owned by the Abeyrathna family with tea plantations on the hills of Halpewatte.
Video Source: Halpe Tea
Their tea factory is perched 1,230 metres above sea level in Uva Province, located around 200km from Colombo and 6km from the small town of Ella. Visit their tea factory on a guided tour as their knowledgeable staff walk visitors through the factory where they get to learn all about tea and its processing. At the end of the tour, visitors get to taste 6 varieties of black tea. The tour cost Rs.525 or US$3 (as of March 2019).
Despite the competitive environment, they have won a number of awards over the years. The type of tea they produced include white, green and black tea, tea blends and fruit teas. Popular choices include jasmine green tea and soursop green tea.
Besides tea plantations, nearby attractions include Dhowa Temple, Nine Arches Bridge in Demodara and Bandarawela monastery.
Image Source: Surangi Kasturirathne
