Ceylon Tea Museum – Kandy
Description
The Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane hills, three kilometres from the city of Kandy, is served by simple access and enough parking facilities for cars and tourist coaches. The museum consists of four levels. The ground floor and the second-floor display ancient items of machinery, and the first floor consist of a library and a theatre with facilities for audiovisual performances. The third floor is earmarked for tea sales outlets, where the diversity of Sri Lanka's fine tea is available. The whole top floor is a tea cafe. A telescope installed on the fourth floor can observe a panoramic view of the Kandy town surrounded by the beautiful Hunasgiriya, Knuckles Range and the Matale range of mountains. The grounds encompassing the Tea Museum are landscaped with different varieties of teas. Kandy is a mandatory stop virtually on every tourist's plan, and the place of the Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane becomes the attraction of the hill country to visitors.
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Location and Accessibility
With a motorable road that circles the museum, the Ceylon Tea Museum is easy to access and offers adequate parking facilities for cars and tourist coaches. In addition, its proximity to other popular tourist spots like the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and Loolecondera estate makes it an ideal location for visitors to explore.
Four Floors of Exhibits
The museum boasts four floors of exhibits showcasing the history of tea in Sri Lanka. The ground and second floors exhibit old machinery used in tea production, while the first floor features a library and an auditorium for audiovisual presentations. The third floor is dedicated to tea sales outlets, where visitors can purchase fine Ceylon teas, while the entire top floor is a tea café.
Tea Café
The tea café on the top floor offers visitors a panoramic view of Kandy city, surrounded by the Hunnasgiriya, Knuckles range, and Mathale range of hills. In addition, guests can enjoy the pure pleasure of a cup of tea and participate in the fine art of tea tasting at the Tea Tasting Session arranged at the tea café. Visitors can also watch a documentary on the Ceylon tea industry, which covers its history, working factories, and the health benefits of tea.
Tea Tasting Steps
The art of tea tasting is an acquired and highly prized skill, with experts trained to detect differences in tea flavour based on factors like climate, elevation, and soil. The tea-tasting process involves:
- Standing up.
- Infusing the tea sample in boiling water.
- Inspecting the infusion for colour, aroma, clarity, and body.
- Taking the infusion into the mouth with a loud sucking sound to assess freshness, sharpness, bouquet, and fullness.
Tea Sales Outlets
At the tea sales outlets, visitors can purchase the reputed brands of Pure Ceylon Teas, such as Sri Lanka Tea Board teas, Tea Tang, Basilur, Impra, Mlesna, Zesta, and more, as well as souvenirs related to tea.
Library
The Ceylon Tea Museum's library has a vast collection of books, magazines, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, CDs, videotapes, and DVDs that tell the story of the Ceylon tea industry from the late 1800s to the present day. Old photographs of tea factories, plantations, and planters such as James Taylor and Thomas J Lipton showcase the proud heritage of the Ceylon tea industry. Directories of planter information and books such as "100 Years of Ceylon Tea" make sense of the tea industry in Sri Lanka.
Plan Your Visit Today
The Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 8:30 am to 3:45 pm and on Sundays from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. Please note that the museum is closed on Mondays and Poya Day falling weekdays. Ticket prices are 1000.00 LKR for non-resident adults and 500.00 LKR for non-resident children. So plan your visit today and experience Ceylon tea's rich history and culture firsthand!
