Sri Lanka Tea Plantations
The name of each country causes us certain associations. At the word “Morocco”, I immediately recall the sweet yellow-sided oranges, “Cuba” – fragrant cigars. And at the mention of “Ceylon”? You yourself know the answer to this question. Of course, tea! You may not know anything about Sigiriya and the peak of Adam, never see the temples and dagobas of Sri Lanka, but you know Ceylon tea since childhood. This fragrant aromatic drink. But let me disappoint you. You don’t know ANYTHING about Ceylon tea!
Sri Lanka Tea Plantations
In the highlands of Sri Lanka there are endless tea plantations. A green carpet covers all the slopes. Every patch of this meager land is used to its full potential.
Tea pickers go to work every morning. Under the scorching sun, caring hands collect ripened leaves. In this process, mechanization is not provided. Everything is determined by the experience and integrity of the assemblers. Maybe this is the secret of the famous Ceylon tea.
An uninitiated observer, looking at the immense plantations, will see only the green sea. Just tea bushes. And she can’t even imagine that dozens of the most diverse varieties grow here. Each tea factory has its own selective developments. Therefore, the taste palette of Ceylon tea is so diverse.
A large number of varieties of feedstock provides the basis for creating many types of finished products. Different degrees of fermentation of tea leaves, allows you to get completely different types of tea. But all these processes are already taking place within the walls of tea factories.
There is no doubt about the ecological purity of Ceylon tea. Mountain air, clear lakes, complete absence of industrial emissions. The reserved places. Plant nutrition only with organic fertilizers. The complete absence of any chemistry. This is evidenced by special shields.
The popularity of the products of each tea factory is achieved by attracting tourists on excursions. For groups or individually, an entire process is displayed. Starting from the green leaf that got to the factory, to the finished tea packaging. At the oldest factories, equipment of the beginning of the last century was exhibited as exhibits.
A long walk through the tea plantations in the suburbs of Nuwara Eliya in the clean mountain air intoxicates. The workload of the process adds fatigue. So you want to sit down and relax. And a pointer catches your eye.
This is truly a gourmet paradise. A small tasting room with a tea shop. You can’t buy tea like this anywhere else in Sri Lanka. From here he immediately goes for export. And here you can see and appreciate the variety of types of tea.
Have you ever met soft yellow tea? But not because they regretted the tea leaves, but because it is such a variety. Usually, the choice is limited to two options – black and green. All variety is in supplements. But not for Ceylon tea. Here you can try tea of six different varieties. Three light, which are drunk only in pure form, and three dark, recommended for use with milk.
The tasting process itself requires a special approach. When they bring you a tray with cups and appliances, do not rush to immediately pour sugar. This will deprive yourself of the opportunity to experience the real taste of tea. And a sample of each species must be alternated with a sip of clean water. This is the only way to penetrate the secret of the taste of Ceylon tea.
Seeing the plantations, visiting the factory and tasting a fragrant aromatic drink, you only slightly opened the veil of secrecy. We learned a lot of new and interesting from the tour. But most importantly, they realized that you didn’t know about real Ceylon tea before.
Sri Lanka’s climate is tropical: rather warm and humid. In the lowlands, the average annual temperature is + 27 ° C. The difference in average temperatures of the hottest and relatively cool months does not exceed 5 ° C. It’s hot in cities, but on the coast because of the constant sea breeze. See the definition in the tourism dictionary is always comfortable + 28 ° … + 30 ° С. The water temperature in the Indian Ocean is about + 27 ° С.
The best time for swimming in the ocean and water sports, for the south-west coast of Sri Lanka is the period from October to April, for the north-east coast from March to November.
