From Leaf to Cup — Ceylon Tea in the Making
Sri Lanka is the world's fourth-largest tea producer and the island's hill country is one of the great tea-growing regions of the world. Ceylon tea — as it is still marketed globally — is renowned for its brightness, briskness and distinctive flavour, which comes from the combination of altitude, rainfall, and the island's volcanic soils. Visiting a working tea factory gives an extraordinary insight into how the fresh-picked leaf is transformed into the world-famous beverage.
Factory tours typically show the full process: withering (the fresh leaf is laid on wire mesh to lose moisture overnight), rolling (the withered leaf is rolled to break the cells and begin oxidation), fermenting, firing (drying in large ovens to arrest oxidation and fix the flavour), and grading (sorting the finished tea by sieve into the grades you see on supermarket shelves). Most factories end with a tasting of their estate teas — a chance to experience the difference between elevations and gardens.
The Full Process
See every stage from fresh-picked leaf to packaged Ceylon tea — withering, rolling, fermentation, firing, and grading.
Estate Tasting
Compare teas from different elevations — high-grown, mid-grown and low-grown — and taste the difference altitude makes to the cup.
Tea Plucking
Walk through the surrounding estate and meet tea pluckers at work — two leaves and a bud, picked by hand all day long.
Best Time to Visit
Year-round. Most factories run tours throughout the day; mornings are best to see plucking in the fields.
Getting There
Tea factories are found throughout the hill country — Nuwara Eliya, Ella, and Kandy all have factories open to visitors within easy reach.
