Sri Lanka Tea Experience

Welcome at the airport & proceed to Colombo for check-in ( Standard check in time : 14.00 hrs). (40 KM / 1h 0m)

Evening meet your local guide and a get a brief on the main objectives of the tour.

Objectives of the tour –

1. To distinguish variety of Ceylon teas
2. Understand the history of Ceylon tea
3. Stay in unique accommodation that’s related to Sri Lankan tea.

Overnight stay in Colombo

 After breakfast proceed to Kandy. (140 KM / 5h 00m)

Kandy city walk (Duration of visit : approx 2 – 3 hours)

• Engage in a Kandy city walk where your host will take you through the Kandy market and introduce to the types of teas that are available for locals.
• Thereafter you will be taken on tuk tuk (Threewheels taxi) ride to the Kandy cirty where you could learn a little bit about the history of the Kandy city.
• The host will take you to a small boutique where you will witness how tea is made and how locals purchase tea. There you will have cup of freshly prepared tea and enjoy a small snack with your host.

Overnight stay in Kandy.

After breakfast engage in a short hike and a Tea Factory visit of Loolecondera Factory.

Loolecondera Tea Factory (Duration of visit : approx 2 – 3 hours)

The Loolecondera Tea Factory Sri Lanka which borders Taylors Hill is the country’s first tea factory, set up by James Taylor in respect of whom Taylors Hill Hotel is named, its estate a beguiling and unique experience for visitors, representing the important and vital history of tea in Ceylon from its inception.

Tea became such a key product for Sri Lanka in the mid-19th century. James Taylor had an impressive career at Loolecondera Tea Factory Sri Lanka, commanding the respect of the estate’s employees after arriving in the Ceylon in 1852.

Afternoon at leisure.

Overnight stay in Kandy.

After breakfast visit the Ceylon Tea Museum at Kandy.

Ceylon Tea Museum (Duration of visit : approx 1 ½  - 2 hours) – closed on Mondays & Poya Days (if tour falls on Monday or Poya Day can be visited on the previous day)

Ceylon Tea Museum is located in the former Hanthana tea factory, which was originally constructed in 1925. It is situated 3 km south of Kandy and was formally opened in 2001. A warm welcome and a full guided tour of the museum is given on arrival. The four-storeyed building had been abandoned for more than a decade before it was refurbished in 2001.The museum contains exhibits on tea pioneers, including James Taylor and Thomas Lipton, as well as lots of vintage tea-processing paraphernalia.  The ground floor and the first floor houses 19 th century old generators, rollers, dryers, fermentation tables, sorting machines etc. The second floor houses the library and museum. The third floor has shops whilst the top floor contains a restaurant and a tea room. Therefore if you visit this well worth museum you can grab lots of information regarding the whole tea making process.

Thereafter proceed to  Hatton for check-in. (90 KM / 3h 30m)

Overnight stay in Hatton.

After breakfast engage in the Tea Experience organized by Tea Trails.

The Tea Experience 

Resident Tea Planter, Andrew Taylor, will show you first hand, the tea making process, starting from the fields where it all begins with the picking of “two leaves and a bud” to the factory where the all-important conversion to "made" black tea happens. The tour ends with a tasting of different grades of this great brew. Departure from Bungalow at 0830 hrs. Travel time from Castlereagh, Summerville, Tientsin Bungalows to the factory is 45 minutes. From Norwood Bungalow 10 minutes. Factory tour starts at 9.30 hrs and ends at 12 noon approximately. Suited for all, free of charge. Please note that the tea factory can be noisy and dusty at times, which may deter small children.

Tea Experience – Please note that plucking of Tea leaves is not done on public holidays & Sundays. As such the Tea production process does not take place, however an alternative tour of the factory will be arranged where the process is explained.

In the afternoon enjoy the luxuries at Tea Trails.

Overnight stay in Hatton.

After breakfast proceed to Nuwara Eliya and En-route visit Tea Research Institute in Talawakelle. (53 KM / 1h 45m)

Tea Research Institute

The Tea Research Institute (TRI), since its inception in 1925, has been the only national body in Sri Lanka for generating and disseminating new technologies related to tea cultivation and processing. The TRI has always been the driving force behind the numerous successes achieved towards development of the Sri Lankan tea industry over the years. The highly competent staff of the Institute are capable of dealing with ever-changing problems of the industry as they arise.

The TRI was founded in 1925 under the Tea Research Ordinance enacted by Parliament in order to facilitate research into all matters pertaining to tea and thereby enriching the industry through a professional approach to commercial tea cultivation and processing. Mr. R G Coombe is considered as the pioneer to put forward this concept through the Planters’ Association of Ceylon.

The institute had its early beginnings in Kandy which was later moved to Nuwara Eliya along with a representative nucleus of staff who undertook research work in make-shift laboratories with very modest equipment. In December 1929, the Institute was transferred to the present location, at St. Coombs Estate in Talawakelle. In the meanwhile, the institute was able to publish the first local scientific journal on tea research, the Tea Quarterly, in 1928.

Late afternoon enjoy high tea at Grand Hotel which is 1891 built colonial masterpiece. 

Thereafter proceed to Kandapola.

Overnight stay in Nuwara Eliya.

After breakfast engage in a Nature walk around the Tea Estates with a Trekker.  (Duration of visit – approx 2 hours)

Thereafter engage in the Tea Plucking Experience. (Duration – approx 45 mins)

At Heritance Tea Factory you will be decked in local attire – saree for the ladies, sarong for the gentlemen – and provide you with a basket in which to collect your leaves. Then we will take you out to our organic tea fields and show you which leaves to pluck.

The professional tea pluckers will accompany you – you’ll be amazed at how efficiently and quickly they manage to fill their baskets by comparison. Then you will return to the Heritance Mini Tea Factory, where our chief tea taster, Nadaraj, will inspect your efforts. Nadaraj will take you on a tour of the Mini Tea Factory and explain the whole process, from the initial drying (withering) of the leaves, through rolling, fermenting and sifting, to produce the different types of tea.

In the afternoon engage in the Tea Tasting process in which a trained taster determines the quality of a particular tea. Due to climatic conditions, topography, manufacturing process, and different clones of the Camellia sinensis plant (tea), the final product may have vastly differing flavors’ and appearance. These differences can be tasted by a trained taster in order to ascertain the quality prior to sale.

Overnight stay in Kandapola.

After breakfast board train from Nanu Oya (09.18hrs) to Haputale (11.05hrs). (2nd Class) (Train journey – Approx 1 hr 20 mins)

The significance of the train ride: The rail road to the hill country was built during the British era to transport tea to its final destinations. Therefore, when you travel by train, you will not only experience one of the most scenic views in Asia, but also turn back the pages of time to over 150 years ago when Tea was transported on these same railway lines.

Thereafter pick up from station and proceed to Thotalagala Planation House for check-in.

Enjoy high tea at the Gardens of Sir Thomas Lipton’s former residence. (Please note Sir Thomas Lipton’s residence cannot be visited)

The Gardens of Lipton’s Bunagalow

Visit Sir Thomas Lipton’s former residence where guests can experience a sumptuous high tea experience in the immaculate gardens of Dambatenne. Expect to taste exquisite Sri Lankan delicacies whilst drinking fresh tea paired with warm scones, whipped cream and home-made preserves. The perfect blend of the British past and the Sri Lankan present.

Evening enjoy the surroundings of the plantation house and the all-inclusive meal option. (Please see below for all-inclusive description.)

Overnight stay in Haputale.

Early morning visit the Dambatenne Tea factory.

Experience The Dambatenne Tea Factory

Built in 1890 by Sir Thomas Lipton himself, this colonial tea factory coined the term “Ceylon Tea” and is still in operation today. The first pound of Lipton’s tea was founded and sold from the precincts of this very factory. This tour is an education in the intricate processes involved in the fermentation, rolling, drying, cutting, sieving and grading of tea, creating an authentic and unparalleled tea tasting experience.

Lipton Seat (Organized by Thotalagala)

Trek through Tea fields where you can observe the world famous Sri Lankan Tea Pluckers at work, to Lipton’s Seat which is one of the most beautiful and breath taking scenic view points. Dambatenna Tea Garden where Lipton’s Seat is located was owned by Sir Thomas J. Lipton for a period of 40 years spanning  late 1800 to 1930, legend has it that he loved to entertain his guests at picnics, and also to contemplate the future on Lipton’s Seat which is at the summit of the plantation. Lipton’s Seat is perched perilously at the edge of a sheer descent of over 6000 feet and offers a 360 degree view. You will pass through some astonishingly beautiful scenery on this trek.

Afternoon proceed to Galle. (225 KM / 5h)

Overnight stay in Galle.

After breakfast experience southern tea and plantations.

A Southern Blend

Meet your host early morning and walk amongst rolling hills of tea bushes guided past verdant leaves. Hear of the intricacies of tea growth, its history in Sri Lanka and look out for plants and wildlife such as peacocks, lemongrass and versatile jackfruit.  In the morning you are more likely to see brightly clad pickers hypnotically selecting leaves by hand from hidden paths between bushes.  Down in the factory, witness the next steps in the leaf’s passage to your cup as leaves transform from jade to brown.  Follow the flow of the leaves and pinafore clad ladies, enveloped by the unmistakable smell of tea at each stage.

Optional visit of Galle city and dutch fort

Galle (Duration of visit : approx 1 ½  – 2 Hours)

Galle is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km (74 mi) from Colombo. Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali) before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, before the arrival of the British, who developed the harbor at Colombo.

Evening at leisure.

Overnight stay in Galle.

After breakfast proceed to Colombo (125 KM / 2h 30m)  and visit the premises of the tea auction (premises only as it is not permitted to participate during tea auction) thereafter engage in de briefing with your guide of the learning outcome of the tour over a high tea.  

Overnight stay in Colombo.

Breakfast and check out for departure (Standard check out time : 12.00 hrs)

Drive to Airport for departure. (40 KM / 1h 0 m)

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