Ceylon Tea Escapades

Sri Lanka presents the perfect blend of tea and culture for those in search of a unique holiday getaway in the tropics. From golden sandy beaches to mist-covered emerald hilltops, the pearl of the Indian Ocean offers an assortment of travel experiences to those smitten by wanderlust.

Tea was introduced to this teardrop island back in the 1800s by the British. Today, the country produces some of the finest tea globally. Ceylon tea is available in a wide range of single origins and unique blends incorporating fruity, and spice attributes that are highly sought after by tea lovers the world over.

Listed below are a few activities to delight the tea enthusiasts travelling Sri Lanka:

1. Observe the tea pluckers at work

Ceylon tea cultivation is an art in itself. The expert tea pluckers carefully select and pluck two leaves and a bud as they walk along the narrow footpaths with tarpaulin bags on their backs, filling them up to weigh 18kg per day which is set as their daily target.

Observe their delicate process of picking up tea leaves as you take in the mesmerizing surroundings. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries where you can still find traditional tea pluckers that conduct the process by hand.

2. Visit a working tea factory

Travellers can gain some insight into Sri Lanka’s history of tea making by visiting some of the oldest and still functioning tea factories hidden away in the mountains of Hatton. Most factories offer you tours where you can walk through their tea fields into their production facility to observe how it all takes place.

One batch of freshly plucked tea leaves amounting to 18kg yields 5kg of Ceylon tea after it undergoes processing that starts with the withering of leaves that extracts its moisture, to rolling of the leaves leading to the fermentation process.

3. Experience a tea tasting session

Tea tasting is indeed an acquired skill. Distinguishing the quality and grade of the tea by identifying the key flavour notes, aroma and texture is quite the adventure for the budding tea connoisseur.

With most tea factory viewings, you are entitled to a tasting session that wraps things up. You may even request a guided tasting experience with an expert who can walk you through the technique and help you identify the flavour profiles.

4. Indulge in a tea planter’s picnic lunch

An elegant private picnic with wine awaits you at Ceylon Tea Trails in Hatton. The boutique resort comprising five luxurious tea planter bungalows offers you this exclusive experience that takes you back to the origins of tea making.

Back in the day, the tea planters travelled by foot or on horseback as they set out for field inspections across the acres of tea plantations. They would take a break at midday to refresh with a spot of lunch while they feast their eyes on the vast expanses of tea fields and mountaintops surrounding them.

Walk up to the scenic picnic spot where you can enjoy your lunch, and you may opt for the resort’s hosted experience with the resident tea planter Bernard Holsinger who will guide you on the process of tea manufacturing in Sri Lanka.

5. Tea museum expedition

The Hantana tea museum presents a vast display of machinery and literature on tea-making processes for the avid tea enthusiast to indulge in.

Located in the old Hantana tea factory, you can find the Ceylon Tea Museum, which dates back to 1925. This four-storey building houses a collection of vintage tea-processing paraphernalia alongside 19th-century machinery that was in use from the times of Sir Thomas Lipton and James Taylor themselves.