Uva District Teas - Eastern highlands Relevant to Ambagasdowa, St. James, Uva Highlands, Iddalgashinne and Thotulagala. This district contains a number of sub districts within it. The Island has sum 7 major districts which contain a total of some 42 sub districts all contributing to the amazing variety of Ceylon teas. The many sub districts are: Badulla/Demodera/Hali-Ela, Balangoda, Bandarawela, Ella/Namunukulla, Haputale, Koslanda/ Haldummulla, Malwatta, Madulsima & Passara. The teas from this district have an international reputation for a very distinctive pungent character created in July/August when the tea leaves contain concentrated volatile oils rather than excessive moisture in the rainy seasons. The manufacture has to be changed to deal with the volatility of the oils which create the pungent flavour & aromas at that time. Outside of the season, the teas are used extensively in blending. The central highland mass runs from Matale in the North, through Kandy and Gampola, rising right up to the Nuwara Eliya heights and then on through the Horton plains to Balangoda, and slopes right away down to Matara , something like a central mass of hills and deep valleys covered in a green carpet of tea that follows every rise & fall in the ground. Out to the east lies a long deep North/South running valley that divides the central massif from the undulating hills of the important district of Uva. Uva lies in the broad bulge where the island is at it's widest and appears as if broken away from the central mass. This is an undulating area of hills and valleys almost reaching to Bibile rock and Moneragala to the East. Within the bulge there are a number of sub districts such as Badulla, Passara, Hali-ela, Welimada, Bandarawela, Diyatalawa, Haputale and Madulsima, make up the Uva district. A mix of Uva Province and Badulla District. The world renowned district of Uva is a very different area from the other tea districts. It is a champagne tea area like Nuwara Eliya which reacts to the Western quality wind, whereas Uva experiences a very individual and different quality season which is influenced by the wind called the 'Cachan', a drying cool wind coming in from the North/East off the ocean. It traditionally arrives at the end of July to the middle of August. However with recent variability in weather patterns, 1997 saw the wind arrive in the first week of September. The wind has the effect of making the bush sense a state of drying and therefore the leaves close-up and the leaf chemicals concentrate into the lowered fluid levels in the cells of the leaves and when picked this concentration conveys a very concentrated high balance of flavour brought out in the rolling process. The prices of the teas at this time rise dramatically and are fought over by a number of international buyers. Outside this period the prices drop and flavour is very much lower in intensity. In order to produce the finest release of this flavour, the factories concentrate on BOP and BOPF grades during the high season and large grades are totally frowned upon by the estates and their management's. It takes an enormous amount of pressure to change this policy. Making FBOP grades at this time badly affects the BOP manufacture and the price of that grade, requiring alternative marketing. The 'Cachan' wind sweeps across Uva, then down and around the central massif expiring at Balangoda having brought it's flavour concentrating cold breath to the bushes. Evocative names such as St. James, Glen Alpin, El Teb (Captain Gordon’s estate), Spring Valley, Kinross, Sutherland, Westmorland and Yelverton. The above information was compiled by Robert Wilson, of Robert Wilson's 'Ceylon' Teas.U.K. and may not be used or copied without his permission and reference to source. 1998.

Dimbula and Dickoya District Teas Relevant to: estates such as Brunswick, Laxapana, Chrystler's Farm & Venture. The district is internationally recognised for the quality of its teas in the N/Western season when they exhibit very clean bright & brisk teas, with a good coppery red colour & in the case of the Golden valley area a hint of a golden hue. Depending on the grade that we use, these teas vary from the B.O.P. of Brunswick which creates wonderful quality breakfast and all day quaffing teas to the O.P. grade of Chrystler's Farm where we can create a superb loose afternoon tea. The districts contain a number of sub-districts such as the Golden Valley, Maskeliya, upper Kotmale, Ramboda & lower Dickoya. Up to the 1970's Dimbula & Dickoya were considered two separate districts and I consider them to be separate for my purposes as the character of the teas is slightly different with Dickoya generally having a slightly lighter liquor. The teas from this district have an international reputation for a very distinctive character created in Feb/March when the tea leaves contain concentrated volatile oils rather than being full of water. The manufacture has to be changed to deal with the volatility of the oils which create the wonderful flavours & aromas at that time.

Nuwara Eliya District Teas The highest elevation teas - We work closely with Mahagastota (Lover's Leap), Kenmare and two estates in Udapussellawa for specialist production. Uddapussellawa is really a separate district to the North of Nuwara Eliya and has the advantage of western quality influences as well as the Uva quality seasonal influences but it is not possible to list every sub district. The district produces wonderfully balanced light teas with aromas in the Western quality season, with a B.O.P grade the flavours can be quite pungent but the liquors are of a light yellow colour, bright, clear & crisp. Our Lover's Leap has won several gold awards. The district contains one or two sub districts such as the lower regions of Maturata to the North & New Galway to the South. Production for total High growns, includes Uvas and Western quality: Kilos: 1965 = 91,532,694 1994 = 118,060,000 1997 = 83.77 million 1998 = 77,390,000 = Decline. This is the great ‘Champagne’ tea area, with teas ranging from 6,000 feet to over 7,000 feet in height. It borders the South western bulge of Dimbula, Maskeliya and Dickoya and takes over across the central highland mass across to Uva in the East. It’s season comes in from January/ February for the great quality teas. The area often experiences heavy frosts around the end of December. To reach Nuwara Eliya by car there is the famous Ramboda pass, a spectacular feat of engineering. To reach Nuwara Eliya by train one has to travel to Nanu Oya (oya = stream) and then travel on to the town. Nanu Oya is the most spectacular pass of all. It was at Nanu Oya that Alexander Brown ( already mentioned as a family member), constructed a bridge in the first place before the railway arrived. At one point the line makes an ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The winding curves to accomplish this are the most intricate seen in the island. It passes through a steep gorge through Edinburgh estate and eventually opens onto the Nuwara Eliya plain lying at the foot of the tallest peak in the island called Pidurutallagalla at 8,280 feet. At 6 degrees North above the equator, the temperature is 57 F degrees. The area supports a very varied flora & fauna including large numbers of Elk which increase year by year. Leopard which were the main predator of the Elk declined from shooting many years ago but are now increasing and causing some concern at their numbers again, as the Elk have increased so have the numbers of Leopards. The Nuwara Eliya plain has four gaps, one on the N/East to Kotmale District, then to the S/East to Uva Province, one to the West to Dimbulla district and finally one to the East to Uddapussellawa and then Kandapolla. Leading out to the East is a precipitous shoulder of mount Pidurutallagalla called Lovers Leap. Legend has it that a Kandyan prince became attached to a maiden of low caste and when the King heard of it they fled, pursued by the King's soldiers. Seeing no hope, it is said that they embraced and leapt from the precipice. The railway line used to cut through Udapusssellawa and Kenmare estate to Kandpola at the edge of the mountains overlooking the Uva slopes at 6,316 feet it had the distinction of being the highest point reached by the Government railway but it is no longer in operation. It passed from Nuwara Eliya out through the gap past the military reserve up a steep incline sharing the carriage road for most of the distance. On the way it passed the famous estates of Pedro, Mahagastota, Lovers' Leap. The bushes enjoy the cool conditions but the pluckers of Nuwara Eliya must think that they live in a land of considerable cold, rain and mist, it has often been said that the Nuwara Eliya pluckers look miserable compared to other pluckers. It must be said that at times they do have reason to be miserable. They must yearn at times to be in Dimbulla or Kandy. Once through the gaps the temperature changes and becomes much milder, the bushes seem to thrive as we pass Kenmare and then St.John's. Cave's books on the island recorded having seen bushes measuring sixteen feet in diameter. Close to St.John's and down to Brookside the line descends some 1,300 feet in four miles very suddenly. In the days of coffee, packs of hounds were kept to hunt Elk deer up and down these steep rocky chasms. Here on the very edge of this mountain mass overlooking Uva and the lowlands beyond lies the Bintenne area half way to the Eastern coast, the home of the last remnants of stone age cave dwellers of the island who still live and hunt there, they are called Veddahs. Up the 1950's my father recounted having met with pure blooded descendants on his visits with Spittel, however with increasing intermarriage it is now impossible to detect genuine Veddah descendants. Over half way to the coast is Westminster Abbey a large rock at a place called Govinda Hela, which stands out and can be clearly seen from the road that runs down from Bandarawela to Haputale.

Ruhunu & Morawak Korale District Teas - Low elevation Relevant to: estates such as Uruwala & Dellawa. The district is internationally recognised for the quality of its teas in both the N/Western season & the Uva season. The area is low in elevation and the bushes receive very high levels of photosynthesis combined with a very hot & humid atmosphere which develops wonderful black, bright sheeny made leaf. These conditions allow the tea-makers to apply less pressure in rolling and to slow the manufacture which cam allow the creation of large twisted grades of leaf with grades such as B.O.P. Sp, O.P., O.P. 1, FF 1, FF sp & FF Ex Sp. The slower light touch allows the tea buds to show in the final manufacture as silvery strands or golden tips. Prior to the 1960's the area was not know for high quality liquors and mainly for the appearance of the leaf which were used to improve appearance in other teas. The liquors presented rather burnt tasting teas but with the advent of specialised cooling machines the area became known for quality and received high prices. Uruwala is one of the top marks for the area. The brews are a light red in colour, clear and brisk with a characteristic dryness on teh palate followed by a caramel or honey taste that lingers on the palate. with a good coppery red colour & in the case of the Golden valley area a hint of a golden hue. The districts contain a number of sub-districts such as: Ratnapura, Rakwana, Kaltura, Matara & Weligama close to teh Southern coast. The teas from this area can be created in both the South/ Western quality season and the July/August dry season. The area consists of many small family estates created from family inherited lands, some are small holdings, others larger units which have invested in factories and then serving as manufacturing points for the surrounding small holdings. It is vitally important that there is good communication between the manufacturing point and the small holders to maintain a strict plucking discipline which may require a special bonus system to encourage quality leaf. The area contains large areas that were newly planted into tea in the 1970's onwards and this has resulted in high yields combined with quality teas which attracted high prices from the Middle Esat and the rformer CIS areas during the period when much of the rest of the tea lands were in Nationalisation. The government then realised that if this area could be so successful when in private hands then perhaps the nationalised estates should be allowed to be tendered for by private companies which is the basis of the 23 private companies who today run many of the formwer nationalised estates on a 50 year leasehold basis.

Kandy District Teas - Mid elevation Relevant to: Estates such as Geragama, Kenilworth, Elpitiya & Hellbodde. The teas from this huge district are generally considered to be of medium elevation, running from approximately 2,000 feet in elevation up to 3, 500 feet but with a few individual divisions on estates rising to 4,500 feet. Driving up from Colombo the road is slow to rise for the first 37 miles reaching only 212 feet in elevation, it then rises 400 feet in 12 miles but the significant rise is up to and through through the Kadagannawa pass where the tea scenery changes with a rise of over 1,000 feet in 13 miles and 900 of that rise is in a stretch of 6 miles. The teas from this area are best made in February/ March and then again from July/ September, during the two dry seasons. The teas are red in colour, during the dry weather they posess excellent clarity and are brisk but do not normally exhibit character/flavour, being described as having taste. The teas were traditionally much sought after for blending, although naturally planters prized their own teas from their own factory, from which the tea-maker would make a blend for the bungalow of about 65 % B.O.P. & 35 % B.O.P.F. It is important to understand that those two grades prior to 1964, were 2- 3 times the size of leaf that is produced today, producing a slightly lighter brew compared to the modern fascination for small leaf, quick brewing, high caffeine teas. The district contains a number of sub-districts such as Ambagamuwa, Alagala,Dolosbage,Galagedera, Hantane,Hewaheta, Hunasgiriya, Kadugannawa, Kelebokka, Knuckles, Matale, Nilambe, Pussellawa and several others. Matale could almost be considered as a separate area with a number of the sub districts and that area is famous for Cocoa & spices. Kadugannawa and Dolosbage evoke memories of the British occupation in 1800 when the British army used the Kadugannawa pass as an entry point to the Kandy King's kingdom. As one nears Kadugannawa on the old pass there is a huge rock across the road and it is said that the Sinhalese believed that whomever made a hole through that rock would take the kingdom of Kandy. The other main pass being to the South at Ginigathena, close to Kenilworth estate. Dolosbage and Kadugannawa being where the earliest coffee estates were established in the 1830's rising up into Pussellawa. Then came the transformation of coffee to tea virtually in the same area on the edge of Pussellawa and Hewaheta districts. This area was highly significant to the taking of Kandy and also to the start of the plantation venture to fund the development of the island in those early years and Dolosbage was the centre of our family estates.

Uda Pussellawa This district is sometimes combined with Uva in July/August or Nuwara Eliya in February/ March because depending on the strength of the ocean winds in those two periods it can receive quality production conditions in both periods. The district lies to the North & East of Nuwara Eliya District, spreading out along the Northern boundary of Uva District. Uda Pussellawa has two important sub districts in Halgranoya & Maturata. The word oya in Singalese means a stream, rather than a river. The estates running close to the Nuwara Eliya boundary exhibit a rosy red colour, rather than the light yellow colour of Nuwara Eliya and usually contain a bit more body. These sub districts within the major districts are extremely important as they are part of the 32 agro climates that create the amazing differences in Ceylon teas that have made them so desireable and yet the average U.K. consumer of tea will be totally unaware that such a huge range of characters is available.

Ceylon and International Tea Industry Statistics A comprehensive set of statistics about the Ceylon tea industry and comments on aspects of overall world production are available by accessing a Pdf word file. Another set of statistics and comments on the overall basis upon which the Ceylon tea industry is operated is also available here as a Pdf word file. This file includes the latest information on the statutory wages and benefits that workers in the industry receive. It also comments on teh estate land tenure basis where the Government own the lands which the 23 estate management companies lease and theerfore the Governments funding of a Trust that provides funding for worker welfare projects such as provision of Schools, hospitals, maternity wards, housing, housing mantenance, clean water provision, sewerage treatment, health clinics, co-operative banking facilities, co-operative shops and creches.

Summary of Ceylon Tea Production By acessing the buttons for each district you will get a more detailed picture of the character of the teas in those districts. This section summarises how these districts fit into the overall output of Ceylon teas. Within this small island (270 miles x 140 miles wide- Mean width 100 miles) that we work closely with the tea industry is situated in the Southern half of the island. The Southern half of the island is made up of the tea lowlands which run from Colombo in the West around the Southern coast to Matara in the South running inland to a central area of highlands which start about 15 miles inland from Colombo but getting wider further South so that at Matara the highlands are some 40 miles North of the coast. The island amazingly posseses 7 different major districts within which there are some 32 different agro climates, each major district maybe compared to the wine regions of France producing very definable different characters and liquor colours for the teas. The 32 agro climates compare to the differences that occur in areas like Bordeaux where there area number of sub-districts for wine growing Lowland teas: This lowland area is called the Ruhunu district and includes Morawak Korale. This lowland area only became very important to Ceylon production in the late 1970's when new machinery was installed to allow quality manufacture in what is a very humid & hot region and Government subsidies allowed the re-planting of the area in the new clones of teas. Much of the southern area consists of privately owned small estates with surrounding small holdings that supply leaf to the private factories. The teas in the area have always had a reputation for superb looking black teas but until the 1970's too harsh for general consumption. To day these teas are recognized as of excellent quality and much sought by the Middle Eastern buyers. With the new planting of the area, yields have been raised significantly which allowed the Southern owners to achieve good profit margins and the teas achieve consistently high prices at auction. The Highland Teas: The higlands include the medium elevation teas of Kandy District where the teas are described as red in colour and with some strength, these teas have traditionally been sought for improving blended teas. The district is one of the largest and contains a large number of sub-districts, some of which rise to as high as 3,000 feet in elevation. Driving South from Kandy into the famous Dimbula district the road climbs steeply through the Ginigathena pass. Dimbula encompasses an important sub district of Maskeliya and most of the Dimbula estates are situated between 3,500 to 5,000 feet in elevation. This area marks the important divide in tea making terms between what are called high growns, Kandyan medium growns & lowland low grown teas. To the East and slightly North/East of Dimbula lies Dickoya sometimes called the Golden valley area, this is again roughly the same elevation as Dimbula but with wide valleys. To the East of Hatton dickoya lies the famous very high district of Nuwara Eliya which starts at 6,000 feet and rises to over 7,000 feet in elevation, producing light coloured liquoring teas with superb flavour and aroma in the western Quality Season when prices rise significantly. To the North/East of Nuwara Eliya district lies another district called Uda Pusselawa and this district is unusual in receiving both the Western Quality Season and some of the Uva Quality Season influence. Running below and alongside both Nuwara Eliya & Uda Pussellawa districts is a steep escarpment that is cut deep by the largest river in the island called the Mahaweli Ganga whose source is the high elevation Horton plains. The river runs to the North and then turns West to Kandy district heading North to empty at its mouth at Trinomalee. The deep valley that the river runs in below Nuwara Eliya is called the Malwatta Valley and is the defining boundary between the Western quality area and the inetrnationally famous district of Uva. This district lies in rolling hills out to the East where the island bulges to its widest width. the Uva district lies in an area of rolling hills roughly 20 miles wide alongside Nuwara Eliya district and then narrowing at Haputale and sweeping South of Dickoya & Maskeliya to Balangoda. This district relies on the North/Eastern Cachan wind in July/August that rolls in from the Bay of Bengal and this wind together with the drying weather are the percursords of the Uva character that is so sought after by tea connoisseurs. Types of Teas: As well as the classic district black teas that this island has been internationally renowned for, the island also these days produces a huge range of other teas such green teas, white teas and specialist tippy teas such as Dellawa FF EX Sp. The green teas are produced at different elevations and are usually steamed in large drum steamers, then rolled in special small rollers. The highest quality white tea is the Silver Tips variety, also called Silver Needles and compares to the highest quality Chinese Yin Zhen.

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