Tea plantations

All the secrets of making tea, from gathering leaves to packing, will be revealed on tea plantations near Nuwara Eliya and Ella.
The production of tea is one of the main sources of income for Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon) and is 2% of GDP. Sri Lanka is the fourth largest producer of tea in the world. Humidity, cool temperatures and downpours in the central highlands of the country ensure a climate that promotes the production of high-quality tea. The industry was introduced to the country in 1867 by James Taylor, a British planter.
By the end of the 1880s, almost all the coffee plantations in Ceylon were transformed into tea plantations. Similarly, coffee storage facilities were converted to tea factories to meet the growing demand for tea. In the 1880s, conditions were created that were required to use tea production for commercial purposes. This was realized in 1884 with the construction of the Central Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya. As tea production in Ceylon has progressed, new factories have been built, with the introduction of innovative mechanization methods brought from England. By 1927, tea production in the country exceeded 100,000 tons. The law passed in 1934 banned the export of poor quality tea.
More than one million Lankans work in the tea industry.
Sri Lanka is one of very few countries where each leaf of tea is torn by hand, rather than mechanically. The manual method excludes the possibility of hitting rough leaves and branches.
All the secrets of tea making, from gathering leaves to packing, you will learn on the tea plantations near NuwaraEliya. At the factory you can learn how to distinguish quality tea from counterfeiting, how to brew it right, you will see what tea really consists of. Also at the factory you can taste and purchase different varieties of Sri Lankan tea and accessories to it.