Thanks to the finesse and high quality of it’s teas, Sri Lanka managed to become the 4th biggest tea producers in the world. Tea culture was originally introduced by the english settlers.
Despite the name change to Sri Lanka, the tea remains known as Ceylan’s tea.
We get to admire the superb landscapes from the bus’ window, on our way from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya (well, it’s was raining, but still!)
As the road runs along mountain passes, we manage to glimpse ravines and small rivers along the way. Once we reach the Nuwara Eliya province though, an ocean of tea leaves unfolds, as far as the eye can see!
The visit of Mackwood-Labookellie, one of the biggest producer there, reminded us of one of our early visit, at the beginning of our travel , the Bois Chéri factory in Mauritius.
Since the factory isn’t running between harvests, it’s time for us to dust off our Mauritius archives and put them to good use.
All of the most common teas come from the same plant, the Camellia Senesis. There is only 3 cultivated variants in the world.
Several harvests are possible, up to 4 a year. It is delicate work, the whole harvest is hand-picked, a task mainly executed by women, right before the buds come out.
The overall quality of the tea greatly relies on the quality of the harvested leaves. The more tender ones will be used for white tea.
The leaves are sent to the production unit to undergo their next transformation.
They are then stored in a dry environment, blown upon to dry them properly, softening them until they become malleable enough to fold and take their final form.
The process lasts between 14h ( wind tunnel) and 36h, depending of air humidity.
The Mackwood-Labookellie site allows for 1000 to 2000 tons to be withered at the same time.
The folding, or rolling process is carried out with steam, releasing the leaves’ essences, a necessary step before the next one: fermentation
It is more, in truth, a matter of oxidation rather than fermentation, but both are valid terms.
Contrary to withering, oxidation is done in a very humid atmosphere. It darkens the leaves by removing the oxygen, concentrating the natural aromas of the leaves.
The drying is pretty swift (20/30 minutes) and stops the oxidation process, preserving the leaves from further decay.
In Mackwood-Labookellie, wood ovens take care of the drying, managing up to 2 tons a day.
Sieves sort the leaves by size, before the packaging. Size -does- matter here for quality!
The majority of the 300 000 annual tons of the Sri Lankan production is then shipped to popular brands across the world.
Mauritius inhabitants being quite fond of tea (around 1kg per person and per year), the production is consumed localy.
Both varieties come from the same plant, but the transformation process is where lies the difference.
White tea, once harvested, is only dried before packaging.
In both Mauritius and Sri Lanka visits, tasting is order!
But in Mackwood-Labookellie, you might have that little surprise that makes for a genuine experience: British weather of course!
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