Tea in Sri Lanka (Ceylon tea) has a special meaning and is the hallmark of the island. The first who started tea cultivation was the British tea planter James Taylor, and in 1891 he made the first delivery to London. However, his name didn't become known to the general public. But the name of Thomas Lipton is world famous. In 1890, he started his business in Sri Lanka by purchasing five tea plantations. Thanks to skillful leadership he was able to reduce the price of the tea and made it popular all over the world.
Tea is harvested by women. Women have more gentle hands, they can be paid less and have better endurance than men. In recent years, tea production has fallen steadily, and Sri Lanka has already lost the third place to Kenya. The fall was caused by bad weather and strikes.
There is a large tea museum in Khantau (3 km from Kandy). But we were interested to see the real production, so on the way to Nuwara Eliya we stopped at the Mackwoods factory. You can take a tour in English and buy tea, prices are ordinary.
©Yuriy Buriak
Women work, men manage ©Yuriy Buriak
Tea plantations in Sri Lanka ©Yuriy Buriak
Tea plantations in Sri Lanka ©Yuriy Buriak
Tea plantations in Sri Lanka ©Yuriy Buriak
Collection of tea in Sri Lanka ©Yuriy Buriak
Tea grows everywhere - in the mountains, near the houses, along the roads. ©Yuriy Buriak
View of the tea plantations from the train ©Yuriy Buriak
Mackwoods tea factory ©Yuriy Buriak
Mackwoods tea factory ©Yuriy Buriak
Mackwoods tea factory ©Yuriy Buriak
Mackwoods tea factory ©Yuriy Buriak
Interesting table, the tea is standing on the leaves of which it was made. ©Yuriy Buriak
How to find a tea factory: There are many tea plantations in Sri Lanka. On the way from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya we saw a lot of factories and visited one of them.
