The Beginning
It was in 1824, at the botanical gardens at Peradeniya in Kandy,
that Tea was introdused in Sri Lanka for the first time ever.
Earlier it was brought from China, but later, in 1839, more were
introduced from Assam. James Taylor, a Scottish planter, planted tea
seedlings on eight hectares of forest land which had been actually
cleared for coffee plantation. Two years later the whole coffee crop
was destroyed by blight and the all planters had to resort to tea as
a result of James Taylor’s encouragement.
Commercialisation
The first sale of Looll kandara tea was held at Kandy in 1872.
Export was started in 1873 with 23 pounds (approximately 10 kg)
being shipped to London.
The first public Tea auction was held in Ceylon in 1880 and The
Ceylon Tea Traders Association was formed in 1884.
In 1925 the Tea Research Institute was established at Talawakelle to
extend the facility of research work and to improve the industry.
Quality of Tea
Quality tea should meet all the criteria a tea drinker would look
for: such as Flavor, an attractive bright coppery or orange color,
good liquoring properties, which give body or strength to the tea,
and fragrance. All the type of Tea produced in Sri Lanka is flavored
by different drinkers of worldwide.
The high grown varieties, grown from 1220m up to about 2500m, with
their light taste, weak color and strong aroma are preferred by
German and Japan.
Medium grown tea, grown from 550 to 1220m with its good mix of
liquor and color is popular in Australia, Europe and North America.
Low grown tea, grown below 550m, with its thick taste and strong
color is popular in Middle East.
Present day marketers have introduced variety of flavored teas in
to the domestic and export markets.
Tea Producing Areas
There are six main tea-producing areas- Galle, to the south of the
island; Ratnapura, about 55 miles east of Colombo; Kandy, Nuwara
Eliya, the highest area that produces the finest teas; Dimbula, west
of the central mountains; and Uva, located east of Dimbula. Any
tourist planning to visit a tea estate may simply visit any of these
localities. Accomodation can be availed at the guest houses
belonging to the respective tea estates. The finest teas are
gathered from late June to the end of August in eastern districts
and from the beginning of February to mid-March in the western
parts.
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