Tea Plantations

The verdant vistas are enough in themselves to be a big holiday tick, but these plantations aren’t just easy on the eye, they play an integral part in the day-to-day lives of Sri Lanka’s people. In fact, around five percent of the island’s entire population make a living from the billion-dollar tea industry and it’s not easy work. Tea buds must be picked by hand every seven to 14 days (before the leaves grow too tough), so work locations are rotated depending on which buds need picking. Once picked, there’s a hefty process to turn the leaves into the tea that we know and love. Drying and ‘withering’ is just the first step, then there’s the fermentation process which starts to develop the distinctive flavour and the sorting of leaves by size and type into bulk bags that will most likely be sent on to Colombo to be sold in auction.

But don’t just take our word for it. If you fancy getting familiar with the origins of your daily cuppa for yourself, we’ve got just the ticket. Our Nuwara Eliya base experience means that you’ll get the chance to actually visit a plantation, rather than just admiring its beauty from afar. Here, you’ll learn all about the near 200 year history of the industry, take a tour of a working factory – most are still using the original machinery – and even try your hand at being a tea-picker. Oh and the experience wouldn’t be completed without actually trying some teas, obvs. ‘Hard work’ over, enjoy a brew or two whilst soaking up the oh-so-green scenes.