On Day 8, we spent 2.5 hours at Bernie's family tea plantation to understand how tea bushes are cultivated, how tea leaves should be plucked and how tea bushes should be pruned. The workers at the tea plantation were enthusiastic to demonstrate to us.
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| Bernie's house in Bernie's family tea plantation |
In Sri Lanka, tea leaves are manually plucked. This ensures that only young leaves or buds are plucked and old leaves are discarded. This is one of the key reasons Sri Lanka is renowned for its tea quality.
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| Tea leaf pluckers begins to work at 7:30 a.m. |
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| Plucking tea leaves |
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| Plucked leaves are put in a bag tied to the head |
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| Collecting the plucked leaves |
Tea leaf pluckers carry a long stick which is used to level the tea bushes. Leaves grow above the level are discarded so that all young leaves are grown at about the same height. This will make the plucking job easier.
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| Leveling the tea bushes |
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| Pruned tea bushes with some leaves left for growth |
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| Tea bushes must be pruned correctly |
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| Pruning expert and the apprentice |
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| Nursery for the tea bushes |
After lunch, we went to visit the original Lipton Tea factory at Dambetenna, about 10 Km east of Haputale.
Along the way, we saw some funny trees. These trees reminded me of the American GIs' haircut.
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| "GI Trees" |
The tea factory was built in 1890 by Sir Thomas Lipton. We spent about an hour to understand how tea leaves are processed into tea. While waiting to be led into the factory, we look around. There were some interesting displays.
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| Original Lipton Tea Factory |
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| Old clock made by Seth Thomas |
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| An old scale used to measure the weight of tea leaves |
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| Tea tasting station |
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| Tea cup with teeth |
The factory tour was a guided tour. The officer in charge carefully explained how tea leaves are turned into drinking black tea through various stages.
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| Drying the tea leaves |
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| Hot Air Pump |
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| Withering the tea leaves |
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| Grinding the tea leaves |
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| At the factory |
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| Instructions from the tea factory |
On the way back from the tea factory to Haputale, we stopped by Adisham Bungalow, built in 1931 by an English aristocrat and planter Sir Thomas Villiers. Now it is a monastery for the Silvetro/Benedectine monks.
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| The Adisham Monastery |
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| The Adisham Monastery |
We again had a late lunch at New Rest House in Haputale before we travelled to Galle.
From Haputale to Pelmadulla, the condition of the road is acceptable. But from Pelmadulla to Deniyaya (A17), the road was so narrow. The width of the road for two vehicles travelling in opposite direction is about the width of a lane in Singapore. It was a 144 Km drive by night. Very risky. One small mistake and I won't be here to write this blog.
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| Closenberg |
Nevertheless, we eventually arrived safely at Closenberg, Galle. Thanks to John's F1 driving skill.
