Goatfell

Today we woke up to bright sunshine and were able to see the stunning views. After breakfast we went in the hotel tuk tuk to the local tea plantation that does tours . It is called the Pedro plantation named after the large mountain near by .
We went into the tea factory ( but were not allowed to take photos ) . We saw the receiving bay and learnt that the ladies pick 3 sacks a day each weighing approximately 6 kg and work for 8 hours. Then into the withering room where the leaves stay over night with hot air blasted up so that they wither , then on to grinding and rolling and finally drying for exactly 21 mins at 80 degrees. The size of resulting leaf gives the strength with the weakest tea being the largest leaf and the finest the strongest. The factory keeps a small percentage to sell direct to visitors and the rest goes in big sacks to the tea auctions in Colombo. Where the likes of Tetley , Yorkshire etc buy it to take home and blend with other teas from Kenya and India to create their own unique taste .
Certainly changed my perspective on the whole tea drinking experience!
Back at the hotel we briefly sat in the sun but the mist started to roll in so we sat under rugs and enjoyed reading our books . We even had a game of croquet.Read more