Ceylon Tea Museum in Central Province

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kommentare 5

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  george jayaweera

  :: 27 March 2018 22:03:18

  The origin of Tea was with the Chinese Emperor ShenNung who was boiling water when the leaves from a nearby plant Camellia sinensis plant floated into the pot. The emperor drank the mixture and declared it gave one "vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of purpose." Perhaps as testament to the emperor's assessment, the potion of tea he unwittingly brewed that day, today is second only to water in worldwide consumption!" Until the 1860’s the main crop produced on the island of Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, was coffee. But in 1869, the coffee-rust fungus, Hemileiavastatrix, killed the majority of the coffee plants and estate owners had to diversify into other crops in order to avoid total ruin. The owners of Loolecondera Estate had been interested in tea since the late 1850’s and in 1866, James Taylor, a recently arrived Scot, was selected to be in charge of the first sowing of tea seeds in 1867, on 19 acres of land. Taylor had acquired some basic knowledge of tea cultivation in North India and made some initial experiments in manufacture, using his bungalow verandah as the factory and rolling the leaf by hand on tables. Firing of the oxidized leaf was carried out on clay stoves over charcoal fires with the leaf on wire trays. His first teas were sold locally and were declared delicious. By 1872, Taylor had a fully equipped factory, and, in 1873, his first quality teas were sold for a very good price at the London auction. Through his dedication and determination, Taylor was largely responsible for the early success of the tea crop in Ceylon. Between 1873 and 1880, production rose from just 23 pounds to 81.3 tons, and by 1890, to 22,899.8 tons. The first vessel recorded as carrying Ceylon tea to England was the steam-ship ‘Duke Argyll’ in 1877.

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  Natasha Aguiar

  :: 25 March 2018 15:07:21

  A short tour for tea enthusiasts. It is around a half an hour to an hour tour of an abandoned tea factory which has now been turned into a museum. They will explain to you the process of how tea was made in the factory with the oldern machinery. They have brought some of the machines from other factories in Sri Lanka. You do not get a tour of the plantation. This is mostly a tour of the different machines and how tea is made. You get a nice tasting of tea at the end, it was very strong tea.

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  Lisa Azzopardi

  :: 25 February 2018 16:41:11

  I did this tour recently and really enjoyed it. There isn't a huge amount to do in kandy and if you aren't going to any of the other tea plantations I would recommend it.

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  colgatefluor

  :: 11 February 2018 15:05:33

  Quick tour. Fast explanations just a way to drive to their tea shop. Not even a visit of the surrounding tea plantation. The shop is a joke, I have more choices in my local mini market. My advice look for another place to appreciate tea. Otherwise only come for the nice building itself

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  Kushan Bhareti

  :: 26 December 2017 14:45:36

  Best place to visit if you're a tea enthusiast. Has a wide display of many of the equipment used in the manufacturing process of tea. Some of the equipment dates back to the earliest days of the tea industry in SL. All the equipment have descriptions and are dated. There are pictures from the earliest days of tea and some of James Taylor's (father of tea in Sri Lanka) possession are there on display. A free cup of tea is given to everyone who visits and they offer a wide range of range of really good ice teas. It's a good place to get a better knowledge about the history of SL.