Joanna James
As soon as you enter the central highlands of Sri Lanka, you'll be greeted by the scenic sights of the region's expansive tea plantations. The tea they produce is a source of pride and joy for the nation! Here are a few interesting things you might not have known about Sri Lanka's tea plantations.
It's quite interesting to trace back how it was that tea first got introduced to Sri Lanka. Tea itself was first popularised in ancient China. According to legend, the Chinese emperor, Shennong, embarked on a trip to a distant land. On this trek, one of his servants began boiling some water for the emperor to drink. As chance would have it, a leaf from a wild tea bush is said to have landed in the cup. Upon tasting it, the emperor immediately fell in love with the drink, finding it flavourful and refreshing. For centuries, drinking tea and the art of tea-making was confined to the Chinese territories. This changed thanks to the work of a British spy by the name of Robert Fortune. Fortune spent years in China, learning of the value of tea and the methods involved in its preparation. He returned to the empire with news and knowledge on how to break the monopoly that the Chinese had on tea. A few decades later, tea plantations began popping up all over British India and it would soon make its way to British Ceylon.
Even though tea plantations began popping up in Sri Lanka during the late 19th century, it wasn't actually a priority to the British. The islands were instead seen as a haven for coffee plantations – this would change in a few short years, however. As the century went on, a severe disease – aptly named "devastating Emily" – began to run rampant across coffee plantations, essentially wiping them out. Left with no choice, tea was used supplant the lost coffee crops and the rest is history!
There are quite a few different varieties of tea to choose from. There are popular white tea, herbal green teas, and rich black tea to name a few. All these varieties have distinct flavours and aromas that make them stand out – chances are, you probably have a type of tea you prefer above others. Therefore, it might surprise you to know that all tea varieties are actually derived from the same exact plant! Indeed, all the crops you see at a tea plantation are essentially the same species. Tea varieties differ purely based on how the leaves are processed in factories. If you have accommodation in Nuwara Eliya -say for example you're staying at Galway Heights – you can watch these processes up-close by visiting a nearby tea plantation.
Tea plantations enjoy the weather of the Sri Lankan highlands. The cold climate coupled with the constant rainfall is perfect for growing trees. The tree plantations in return provide the highlands with some amazing scenery with their stretches of expansive greenery.
The process of plucking tea and processing it takes a considerable amount of man-power. It is for this reason that the British shipped in cheap labour from the southern provinces of India during their rule. The descendants of these workers still work the plantation fields even today and are an often overlooked minority in the country.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
