Tea plantations
Tea houses
Kandy
Tea varieties
Where to buy
If you remember that 45 years ago Sri Lanka was called Ceylon, then the phrase “Ceylon tea” will immediately pop up in your head. Ironically, Sri Lankans, like residents of the USSR, drink the smallest, lowest-grade tea, although they really have it from Ceylon;)
Where to see tea plantations in Sri Lanka
Before the colonization of Sri Lanka, neither tea nor coffee grew on the island. In the first decades, Europeans unsuccessfully tried to grow coffee here, but the climate of Sri Lanka was not suitable for this energy. The next attempt was tea, and the Golden Age of Ceylon tea began.
Plantations cover a significant part of the island; they are located in the center, in the highlands. The higher the height, the better the tea. To see tea plantations as close as possible to Colombo, you need to go to the outskirts of Kandy. Well, the main plantations are located in Nuwara Eliya. By the way, one of the most beautiful railway routes is located between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. So if you have time, I highly recommend using it.
We were limited in time, so we enjoyed tea near Kandy. The photo below shows a tea flower; unlike the leaves, it has a distinct scent of tea with bergamot. And the leaves don't smell like anything.
Tea berries are inedible. Tea blooms and bears fruit all year round, and in general, tea is a tree, only, as in the joke about another valuable product, it is not allowed to grow :)
Every day, thousands of tea pickers go to tea plantations, plucking the best, young and tender tea leaves. In a 12-hour working day, one woman can collect up to 7 kg of fresh leaves. The work is hellish: I tried it, and my speed was 10 times lower than that of the professionals.
Our guide shows you exactly which leaves are suitable for collecting. The first bunched leaf after drying and fermentation turns into white tea, the most expensive and exclusively export-tourist option. Golden needles, silver needles - this is the first leaf.
The second and third leaves turn black and green tea, also export. But the hard bottom leaves are what the Sri Lankans themselves (and former residents of the USSR) drink. It is turned into dust, which when brewed becomes very strong.
Look, the height of a tea tree can exceed 2-3 meters, but on plantations the trees are no higher than a meter, and all young leaves are regularly plucked off.
The plantations near Kandy are not very impressive and are highly targeted for tourist visits. For a quick glance, this is ok, but for real beauty you need to climb higher in years, of course.
But you can feel the contrast between what tourists buy and what Sri Lankans drink. Do you want this kind of tea? Don’t rush to answer; I’ll tell you about tea categories and flavors a little later.
Tours of Kandy tea houses
Kandy, one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, has several tea houses. They produce tea, while at the same time conducting excursions and tastings for tourists.
The tour itself is free, but you are expected to visit a shop at the end and buy some very overpriced tea. And leave a small financial thank you to the person who gave you the tour.
This is how hand-picked tea is dried.
And this is how it is fermented. The fermentation process is a process of rotting :) This is how the tea leaves rot and rot, turning into black tea.
And if it does not rot or rot, then after drying it will become green tea.
Below is the sorting machine. Small particles are for domestic consumption, large leaves are for export.
Tea classifier. Now it's time to tell what is what:
BPOF - tea dust, small pieces of tea leaves.
BOP is a tea made from pieces of leaves rather than whole leaves. Also strong, the taste of the tea is very pronounced.
FP - Coarse but whole leaves rolled into balls.
OP - first three sheets rolled into balls.
I became a fan of BOP and BOPF - when brewed, they give a strong, rich taste; BOPF is generally drunk only with milk.
There is only one type of tea offered at the tasting, and that is BOP. It’s strange that I liked the cheapest varieties and absolutely did not like the elite needles (white tea). Light yellow liquid, what kind of tea is this?
Where to buy inexpensive Ceylon tea in Sri Lanka
There is also a store in the tasting room. The prices are high, the tea is very good (already tried at home and in the families of friends and relatives). But in the future I will not buy tea in tea houses - the prices there are higher than in duty-free, but the assortment is the same.
It is cheaper to buy teas in gift wrapping in tourist shops in Negombo, and you can save a lot if you buy tea in shops for Sri Lankans. But it will be a BOPF grade.
Few people know that all products manufactured in Sri Lanka must have their price printed on them, and if you have this fact in your piggy bank, you will not overpay for being a tourist.
So, on the teas bought in Kandy, the price was not indicated, but on the packaging of ordinary tea from a regular store, it was printed on the back. Need I say that a half-kilogram bag was cheaper than a 30-gram bag with a tourist design?;)
What kind of tea do they drink in Sri Lanka?
According to our guide, Sri Lankans usually buy huge bags of BOPF tea around Nuwara Eliya. But even here modern world is taking its toll, and increasingly in the tea-producing country, local residents are opting for packaged tea from a regular supermarket.
There are both global and local brands; I liked Highline tea the most.
It is almost impossible to try freshly brewed loose leaf tea in mid-price cafes and restaurants; there are bags everywhere. Elite varieties are served in expensive restaurants and tea houses, cheap varieties in very simple eateries for locals.
Finally, I want to talk about whether it is possible to collect and dry tea yourself. I collected these leaves at a tea plantation in a race with a picker and carefully dried them throughout the trip.
What can I tell you... Herb by herb, properly drying tea leaves and turning them into normal green tea is not so easy.
Ceylon tea is the name given to tea grown on the island. Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon. Black tea is mainly produced here, famous for its bright aroma and spicy notes in taste, amber-colored infusion. The island of Sri Lanka has some of the cleanest highland areas. Tea leaves are harvested here throughout the year, resulting in high-quality, world-famous Ceylon tea.
Sri Lanka has six agroclimatic zones for tea cultivation, each characterized by certain geographical and climatic features, different air humidity and soil properties. Therefore, tea grown in each region has its own characteristic shades of taste, aroma, strength and color of the infusion.
Ceylon tea leaves are collected and sorted by hand. Tea picking begins early in the morning, when the night fog has not yet melted.
Brewing Ceylon tea
It is recommended to brew tea at a temperature of 95 ºС, pouring 1/3 of the cup volume, after which after 2 minutes the remaining 2/3 is poured and space is left for foam. The formation of foam indicates the high quality of the product. After brewing, the tea leaves are removed to prevent the drink from acquiring a bitter taste.
We think that this question is urgently faced by everyone who comes to the country where Ceylon aromatic tea is produced. It would be a shame to come from Sri Lanka and not bring tea, so even the most fastidious tea lovers and connoisseurs will find everything they want. It’s a paradox, but finding stores in Ceylon that sell Ceylon tea is not easy.
Any tourist going on an excursion to tea plantations will be able to not only watch how this very tea is harvested, but also purchase it on the spot. Overpriced, of course. If you don't mind the money, then buy it.
If money is a pity, then look for specialized licensed stores. For example, Chaplon. There may be others, we didn’t find out.
Where to buy Ceylon tea in Unawatuna
Right on the main road, near the turn to Jungle Beach, you will see a sign with this name.
Usually there are two guys working there, adequate and unobtrusive, one of them can tell you a little something about tea in Russian. The second guy, like all Sri Lankans, will try to cheat you out of 20-30 rupees or even more. So you have to always be on your guard. Photo of an adequate and honest seller:
Where can I order a transfer from the airport?
We use the service - KiwiTaxi
We ordered a taxi online and paid by card. We were met at the airport with a sign with our name on it. We were taken to the hotel in a comfortable car. You've already talked about your experience in this article.
Nice place, everything is clean, and most importantly the prices are reasonable. On any excursion, everything is 2-3 times more expensive than in a regular store, so if you want to save money, it is better to buy at a tea shop in your village. The selection is good, no worse than the excursion tia shops. There are many varieties of both green and black tea.
The minimum weight for sale is at least 50 grams.
Price from 245 rupees for 50 g
We have already tried the tea that comes from Kandy, nothing special, just a good fortified black tea. I also liked the tea from Dambulla. Vanilla, very aromatic and smells like candy, tasty, but not for every day. The most favorite for both of us was tea with menthol, the taste of children's medicine, with a chill. At least use it every day, it’s unusual, not for everyone, but tasty.
Next we will try jasmine tea and a couple more, probably also something not quite standard. There is enough regular tea in Russia too!
You can also buy tea in gift boxes in the store.
Free samples
You can ask for any tea you want to try. It's free. Moreover, there is enough tea for 3-4 brewing times. In Sri Lanka, you can enjoy good tea without always paying for it. For example, you can go to different stores and collect 2-3 sample bags in each. Enough for souvenirs. This is such a welcoming store. Come in, you won't regret it.
Tea is the hallmark of Sri Lanka. The island produces 9-11% of the world's tea. More than half a million people work on the plantations. Almost all the tea produced on the island is exported. It turns out that getting into the factory to make a report is not so easy. At all the factories where I came without an agreement, they kicked me out and did not allow me to film. There are several “tourist factories” on the island, where anyone can go, but I was not interested in window dressing, I needed a real tea factory. Thanks to our chef’s contacts, we managed to find such a factory, and even filmed a little before the bosses of a manager we knew arrived.
"The tea plantations of Ceylon are as much monuments to the courage and bravery of the planters as the statue of a lion in the field near Waterloo." Arthur Conan Doyle
In the central highlands of Sri Lanka there are plantations of the famous Ceylon tea. Tea was first brought to the island in 1824 from China, and in 1839 from Assam (India). It turned out that the Chinese variety was better adapted to high mountain regions, while the Indian variety adapted well to the plains of the island. In 1867, Scottish planter James Taylor first began growing tea commercially, planting 80 hectares of seedlings in the Nuwara Eliya region. Currently, Sri Lanka ranks third in the world in tea production and first in exports. For its unique characteristics, Ceylon tea is recognized as the best in the world. Due to climatic conditions, local tea has delicate taste and aroma. Tea is cultivated throughout the year and is grown at three levels: up to 600 m above sea level in the areas of Balangoda, Ratnapura, Kelaniya River Valley and Galle; from 600 to 1200 m and above 1200 m in areas around Nuwara Eliya.
01. The raw material for making tea is the leaves of the tea bush, which is grown in large quantities on special plantations. For the tea bush to grow, it requires a warm climate with a sufficient amount of moisture that does not stagnate at the roots. In Sri Lanka, the collection is held up to four times a year. The most prized teas come from the first two harvests. 
02. It is believed that tea from the highland plantations of the southern part of the island (altitude 2000 m above sea level and above) is of the best quality. Teas from other plantations are of average quality. 
03. Tea leaves are collected and sorted by hand: for teas of the highest grade (and value), unopened buds and the youngest leaves are used, only the first or second flush (the first or second group of leaves on the shoot, counting from the end); coarser teas are made from mature leaves. The work of the pickers is quite hard and monotonous: the ratio of the mass of finished black tea and raw leaf is about ¼, that is, to produce a kilogram of tea it is necessary to collect four kilograms of leaf. 
04. The production norm for pickers is 30-35 kg of leaves per day, despite the fact that it is necessary to comply with quality standards and take only the necessary leaves from the bushes. The raw materials for high-grade teas often grow on small plantations located scattered on mountain slopes, so that in addition to the collection of leaves, the need to move from one plantation to another is added. 
05. The need for manual assembly limits the possibilities of tea cultivation. Attempts have been made repeatedly to mechanize the assembly and sorting of tea leaves; in particular, a mechanized tea harvesting unit was created in the USSR back in 1958, but the technology for mechanized assembly has not yet been developed. 
06. Depending on the location, new shoots are collected once a month or once every few weeks. 
07. Women picking tea. 
08. A kilogram of green leaves costs 150 rupees. This is approximately 50 rubles. 
09. Anyone can pick tea. But for every kilogram, the collector must give 100 rupees to the owner of the bush and land. 
10. After assembling, the women bring the tea to the control point, where the owner checks what has been collected and whether there are any foreign objects in the bags. 
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14. In total, a tea picker earns up to 500 rubles per day. 
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16. Bags of tea are brought here. 
17. There are few men working in the factory. They perform only the most difficult work, such as chopping wood for stoves or repairing machines. 
18. The temperature in the oven is maintained at 120 degrees, the leaves are dried with this air. Deviations of more than 5 degrees are not allowed. 
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20. The factory has an ideal organization, there are markings on the paths for employees, there are signs and diagrams everywhere, there are robot people. 
21. Marking the stairs. 
22. The first stage in tea production is drying. Tea leaves are laid out on nets and blown with warm air, temperature 32-40 °C for 4-8 hours. The tea leaf loses some of its moisture and softens. 
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24. Leaves are turned over by hand. 
25. The most expensive tea is white. It is made from tips (unopened tea buds) and young leaves, which has undergone a minimal number of processing stages during the production process, usually only withering and drying. Despite its name, white tea has a higher degree of oxidation (up to 12%) than most green teas. Among white teas there are pure tips and those prepared from a mixture of tips and leaves. When dry, it has a light, yellowish color. 
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29. Next, the leaf sheet is rolled on special machines, rollers. When twisted, some of the juice is released. The blades of the tea leaf rolling machine are made of Kitul wood. 
30. Twisting tea leaves, on the one hand, preserves the best qualities of tea, significantly increasing the shelf life, on the other hand, it allows you to regulate extraction essential oils and other active components that tea “gives off” during the brewing process. 
31. Depending on the intensity, time and temperature of rolling, the tea tastes different. The richest and strongest teas are obtained from strongly twisted leaves, while the softer and more fragrant teas are made from loosely twisted tea leaves. 
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33. After twisting, Fermentation occurs - the process of oxidation and fermentation of cell sap. Tea leaves are laid out on flat surface and placed in cool, damp, dark rooms. During the fermentation process, the tea leaves turn dark brown and release a characteristic spicy aroma. Ideal conditions for high-quality fermentation are a combination of air temperature of about 15 C with humidity of about 90 percent. Fermentation can last from 45 minutes to several hours. 
34. Many machines remained from the British; they are more than 100 years old. 
35. Next, the tea is dried at a temperature of 90-95 °C for black tea and 105 °C for green tea. This stops oxidation and reduces the moisture content of the tea to 3-5%. 5. Drying tea leaves at high temperature stops the fermentation process. At the same time, it is very important to catch the stage when the tea leaves begin to give off their aroma, otherwise you can get an over-fermented product, the taste of which will be much worse, and the infusion will be less transparent. This point is very delicate: if the tea is not dried, it will simply mold and rot. And if you overdry, the leaves will char and the drink made from them will acquire a burnt taste. 
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45. Here tea is sorted by the size of the tea leaves 
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53. Ready tea is passed through this machine. She catches tea leaves of the wrong color and sifts them out. 
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57. And that machine sorts tea by size. 
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63. Ready, sifted tea is packaged in paper bags. 
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65. Marking – important point when purchasing tea, find the information on the label. It must indicate: place of collection, information about the manufacturer, weight, expiration date, type of tea, grade and international marking of the tea leaf. 
66. Women factory workers load bags of tea into a truck that will take it to the port. 
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A taste that is familiar and loved by many is Ceylon tea. It is this product that was and is being supplied today to all CIS countries, and in total to 145 countries, accounting for 10% of the total volume of exported product. Several varieties of black and green tea are grown in Sri Lanka, and camellia plantations cover all the mountainous regions of the island and the southern plains, amounting to more than 200,000 hectares of green bushes.
Plantations and producers
Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka is a classic black tea that is produced using traditional technology. Green tea is also produced on the island, but its share is low, as is its quality.
Such plantations occupy vast areas of the island
The island's tea plantations are spread across the foothills, highlands and plains in the south of the country. There are several tea regions, which are characterized by certain varieties of tea.
- Nuwara Eliya is a highland region where the best black tea is grown. It always gives a light infusion, soft taste with a light aroma of spices, cypress and wild herbs.
- Uda Pusselava - here the plantations are distributed between levels of 1600-1800 m. They produce a product of delicate taste and moderate strength.
- Dimbula is a climatic zone located at an altitude of 1000 to 1650 meters with high humidity due to monsoon rains. Here the tea is also moderately strong, but with a pronounced tart taste.
- Uva – the plantations here are spread within 900 – 1500 meters. This is a medium quality tea that is produced for further blending.
- Kandy – the plantations in this region produce strong classic tea, it shows its best qualities in combination with milk
- Ruhuna – strong, rich tea with a slight sweetness is collected here. Product of average quality and similar price.
It is very difficult to list all the companies involved in growing and selling tea located on the island. This is a huge number of factories that produce tea like in ancient times. traditional way, and using latest technologies.
National quality mark
The best manufacturers whose products are highly valued on the world market are Mlesna Tea, Hyson, Basilur and Gilbert Premium Tea. They are the owners of large plantations, standing at the origins of the tea business. All their products bear a special symbol - a lion with a sword (shown in the photo), confirming the high quality of the Ceylon product. This mark is issued by the Government of Sri Lanka only to those companies that produce and package tea within the island.
Varieties of Ceylon tea
Ceylon tea has its own labeling, which reflects its variety, quality and other information. If you know the interpretation of each designation, you can easily choose a product according to taste and quality.
- Pekoe – this is the designation for the twisted whole leaves, which give the infusion a strong and rich color with a traditional aroma and delicate taste;
- Orange Pekoe - means that the pack does not contain a whole leaf combined with buds, characterized by a rather delicate aroma and taste;
- BP1 Broken Pekoe 1 is a product in medium granules, optimal for fast and intensive brewing;
- PF1 Pekoe Fannings 1 – denotes a product in fine granules, this is packaged in bags for individual brewing;
- BOP1 Broken Orange Pekoe 1 – this broken twisted tea, collected from lowland plantations, is mild in taste;
- BOPF Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings – highland tea, strong, small leaf;
- FBOPF Ex. Sp Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings Extra Special is a high-quality loose leaf tea with tips that has high taste characteristics;
- FBOPF1 Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings 1 - medium leaf, from lowland plantations, providing natural sweetness;
- Dust is the remains of tea production, the so-called crumbs;
- Silver Tips - the best tea, consisting of silver-colored buds, the infusion is exquisite, aromatic, healing;
- Gun Powder – this is the label for green tea made in the same way as in China;
- Sencha is another type of green tea made using Japanese technology.
Ceylon black tea is considered the best in the world, but green tea is considered medium and even low-grade, since it does not have high aromatic and taste qualities. It's more of a herbal drink.
Sri Lanka, despite its small size, is one of the undisputed leaders in the tea business.
After all most population and the prosperity of the state as a whole directly depends on the export of leaf and its prices on the world market. That is why farmers do not change traditions and produce classic tea as close as possible to where it grows in order to preserve its benefits and bring the taste to the end buyer.
One of the best manufacturers Sri Lanka - Basilur
