Experience in the tea fields for over 30 years and also having experience as a consultant at many tea estates in the hill country.
“Ceylon Tea” is one of the legacies that Sri Lanka still carries in the global stage. The simple fact that even after decades since the British colonial rule, the brand still carries the name Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was previously known) says a lot about how strong a brand it still is. If you are a tourist traveling in Sri Lanka, an ordinary itinerary would most probably feature a visit to a “Tea Factory” where you would get a glimpse of the production process while a lady or a gentleman dressed in traditional attire would recite a tape recorder like story of its history. Instead, how about having a more personal experience where you meet a retired tea planter who would share his stories?
Meet Mr. Salinda Madugalle, a retired tea planter who began his planter’s career back in 1977, carrying with him a great deal of experience in the tea fields for over 30 years and also having experience as a consultant at many tea estates in the hill country. Now retired, yet with the passion of keeping his planting memories alive, Salinda will take you on a walk down the memory lane of the life as a tea planter back in the good olden days and of course show you around on how the situation at the tea estates had evolved since his times.
Stray away to the small trails among the tea bushes, you might even meet some of the local ladies plucking tea, most of the workforce still is Tamil women who live a hard life, conditions have improved since the 19th century but it is still a back breaking job. Salinda is very fluent in his Tamil, following his extensive experience in the estates, he will even strike up conversations with the locals and narrate some of their stories from life as tea estate workers.
Later join Salinda for a private tea tasting experience and engage in as he shares his expertise on determining the qualities of different kinds of tea based on differing flavors and appearance. You will bid goodbye to Salinda with the realization that a lot of hard work is put in when bringing your daily cup of tea to the table.
For more information, please get in touch with us on sales.srilanka@khiri.com