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| Sacred Island Tea |
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The Very First Tea estate was established in Kandy district in 1867 by an Englishman by the name of James Taylor at
Loolecondera estate.In 1873, the first shipment of Ceylon tea, a consignment of some 23 lb (10 kg), arrived in London.
Soon enough plantations surrounding Loolecondera such as Hope, Rookwood and Mooloya situated to the east and
Le Vallon and Stellenberg to the south began transforming into tea plantations and were amongst the first tea estates
to be established on the island. Tea production in Ceylon increased dramatically in the 1880s and by 1888 the area
under cultivation exceeded that of coffee, growing to nearly 400,000 acres (1,619 km2) in 1899.British figures such as
Henry Randolph Trafford arrived in Ceylon and bought coffee estates in places such as Poyston, near Kandy in 1880,
which was the centre of the coffee culture of Ceylon at the time. Although he knew little about coffee, he had
considerable knowledge in regards to tea cultivation and he is considered one of the pioneer tea planters in Ceylon.By
1883, Trafford was the resident manager of numerous estates in the area, now switching to tea production. By the late
1880s almost all the coffee plantations in Ceylon had been converted to tea. Similarly, coffee stores rapidly converted
to tea factories in order to meet the increasing demand for tea. Technology for processing tea developed in the 1880s,
after the manufacture of the first "Sirocco" tea drier by Samuel C. Davidson in 1877 and the manufacture of first tea
rolling machine by John Walker & Co in 1880 set the conditions that would be required to make commercial tea
production a reality. This was consolidated in 1884 with the construction of the Central Tea Factory on Fairyland
Estate (Pedro) in Nuwara Eliya. As tea production in Ceylon progressed, new factories were constructed, introducing
innovative methods of mechanization brought from England. Marshals of Gainsborough of Lincolnshire, the Tangyes
Machine Company of Birmingham, and Davidsons of Belfast supplied the new tea factories with machinery which they
still supply today.
Tea was increasingly sold at auction as its popularity grew. The first public Colombo Auction was held at the premises
of Somerville & Co. on 30 July 1883, under the auspices of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. One million tea
packets were sold at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. That same year the tea established a record price of £36.15
per lb at the London Tea Auctions. Ceylon has struck Gold !
Loolecondera estate.In 1873, the first shipment of Ceylon tea, a consignment of some 23 lb (10 kg), arrived in London.
Soon enough plantations surrounding Loolecondera such as Hope, Rookwood and Mooloya situated to the east and
Le Vallon and Stellenberg to the south began transforming into tea plantations and were amongst the first tea estates
to be established on the island. Tea production in Ceylon increased dramatically in the 1880s and by 1888 the area
under cultivation exceeded that of coffee, growing to nearly 400,000 acres (1,619 km2) in 1899.British figures such as
Henry Randolph Trafford arrived in Ceylon and bought coffee estates in places such as Poyston, near Kandy in 1880,
which was the centre of the coffee culture of Ceylon at the time. Although he knew little about coffee, he had
considerable knowledge in regards to tea cultivation and he is considered one of the pioneer tea planters in Ceylon.By
1883, Trafford was the resident manager of numerous estates in the area, now switching to tea production. By the late
1880s almost all the coffee plantations in Ceylon had been converted to tea. Similarly, coffee stores rapidly converted
to tea factories in order to meet the increasing demand for tea. Technology for processing tea developed in the 1880s,
after the manufacture of the first "Sirocco" tea drier by Samuel C. Davidson in 1877 and the manufacture of first tea
rolling machine by John Walker & Co in 1880 set the conditions that would be required to make commercial tea
production a reality. This was consolidated in 1884 with the construction of the Central Tea Factory on Fairyland
Estate (Pedro) in Nuwara Eliya. As tea production in Ceylon progressed, new factories were constructed, introducing
innovative methods of mechanization brought from England. Marshals of Gainsborough of Lincolnshire, the Tangyes
Machine Company of Birmingham, and Davidsons of Belfast supplied the new tea factories with machinery which they
still supply today.
Tea was increasingly sold at auction as its popularity grew. The first public Colombo Auction was held at the premises
of Somerville & Co. on 30 July 1883, under the auspices of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. One million tea
packets were sold at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. That same year the tea established a record price of £36.15
per lb at the London Tea Auctions. Ceylon has struck Gold !