Visit the tea plantations of Sri Lanka

“Having grown up in a South Asian family where the British tea tradition is an integral part of our daily lives, I had never taken the time to understand where tea comes from, how it’s harvested, and what makes up the different types of teas. We chose to visit two tea plantations, Pedro Tea Factory when we first arrived in Nuawara Eliya and Dilmah Tea Plantation on the last day when we were on our way to Kandalama Lake. The tours were informative and relatively short at 20 mins or so. They walk you through the factory itself to show how tea leaves are sorted, cleaned, dried, cut, flavoured and then packaged. I had no idea that the size of the tea leaf is such an important factor in the tea that we drink everyday. While the factory tour was interesting, the best part of the experience was undoubtedly the ability to walk freely around the plantations. We were surprised to see very few people taking up the opportunity. Most went 10 meters out from the factory building, took a few selfies and then went back in to drink a cup of tea and buy some tea to take home.”

“Nuwara Eliya is considered the most important area for tea production in Sri Lanka, so Kelsi and I took full advantage of exploring the region. The next morning we were up early and on another state bus heading into the plantations. We hopped off at a plantation called Mackwoods Labookelie a half hour before it even opened. The backdrop to Labookelie was sensational. Green hills covered in rows of tea plants, small temples scattered off in the distance, and a river running through the bottom of the ravine. We watched the little old ladies walk down the dirt road with their baskets to begin work. They trudged off into the plantations to begin harvesting for the day. [...] For someone who drinks tea all the time, and I mean ALL the time, I actually have no idea how to make it. I don’t know where it comes from, or how different teas are classified; this was an eye opening experience for my tea ignorance.”