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An exhibition on tea at the Ceylon Tea Museum seeks to inform the public and stimulate interest in the industry

Tea is a household name in Sri Lanka, nay, in the whole world and Ceylon Tea is renowned for its quality. So how is it that most of us know so little about it?
“Though we have a long history of tea in our country, most Sri Lankans are not aware of the planting process, manufacture and marketing of tea,” says Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, Governor of the Central Province. Keenly interested in the tea industry, the Governor decided to organise an exhibition at the Ceylon Tea Museum in Hantana, Kandy. “Ceylon Tea – Pride of the nation” will be held on August 4, 5 and 6 from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.“ This exhibition, which is focused on reviving the tea industry, will be a unique event,” says Mr. Kobbekaduwa.

“In the 1970s, tea was our No. 1 foreign exchange earner. But sadly, it is not so now. Being an agricultural country, we should pay more attention to this cash crop and reap its benefits. Today, very few people seem to be aware of this valuable industry. The majority of our society is ignorant of its immense cultural and social value. Direct and indirect employment is provided to a large number of people, and it has a strong impact on our society,” said the Governor, who feels that schoolchildren, in particular should visit this exhibition.

A bus service has been arranged from near the Kandy Clock Tower to the Tea Museum in Hantana. All stakeholders in the tea industry are helping to make this exhibition a success. School children will be admitted free of charge.

Every aspect of tea manufacturing, from picking the leaves, processing, packing and sending it to the tea auctions will be explained at the exhibition. Earlier tea was exported in bulk form, but now some enterprising entrepreneurs blend and packet the tea, and export it as a value added product.

Manager of the Ceylon Tea Museum, Dharmasiri Madugalle, himself a veteran planter, states proudly that the Hantane museum is the only tea museum in the world! “Although the tea industry in our country is over 137 years and is a major contributor to our foreign exchange earnings, there was no monument or record of its history,” he says.

The museum, an abandoned tea factory situated five km from the Kandy town in Hantana on the Uduwela road was renovated and opened on December 1, 2001. Madugalle recalls how Clifford Ratwatte, who was then Chairman of the State Plantations Corporation, visited the Great Western factory in Talawakelle when he was the Superintendent, and seeing the dismantled machinery suggested that a museum be established. Machinery was collected from factories in Kandy and Matale for the museum. The machinery on display is from England and Ireland.

The pioneer of tea planting in Ceylon was a Scotsman named James Taylor, who first planted tea on ten acres of cleared land in 1867 on Loolecondera Estate, Hewaheta for commercial use. Taylor initially manufactured tea in his bungalow. “The leaf had been rolled on tables from wrist to elbow, and firing was done on Chula or clay stoves over charcoal fires with wire trays to hold the leaf,” said Madugalle. Taylor’s first factory was known as the ‘Tea House’.

As every one of us has at some stage or the other enjoyed a cup of tea, it will be worth visiting the tea exhibition to educate oneself on the tea industry, and also learn how to prepare a proper “cup that cheers”!