Ceylon Tea Museum, Hanthane, Kandy

The Ceylon Tea Museum situated at Hantane Estate, Kandy is one of the best tributes to the 130 plus years of Ceylon Tea History.

Kandy, known as the Hill Capital of Sri Lanka, is about 100 kms from the capital city of Colombo, roughly about three hours drive through the famous Kadugannawa Pass. Hantane is located close to Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, where James Taylor planted his first experimental tea plants.

The Tea Factory before its conversion to a Tea Museum was built in 1925 but had been abandoned for more than a decade like many other tea factories in Ceylon.

However, the building was fortunate enough to be earmarked for the new Project undertaken by Sri Lanka Tea Board, Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka and the Planters’ Association of Ceylon and today the bilding stands as a proud monument reminding the glory of Ceylon Tea.

The modified factory building has a fascinating collection of machinery of the yester-years, tracing the history of the first tea plant brought to Sri Lanka. There are not very many exhibits here but they do provide a valuable insight into how tea was manufactured in the early days.

It is very interesting to see old machinery, some dating back to more than a century have been restored and seem to be in excellent working order. The engine room has on display an old Ruston and Hornsby Engine and other liquid fuel engines which generated power for use by estates.

There are old rollers, dryers and other typical factory machinery in their original settings. Exhibits on the lives and work of Ceylon Tea Pioneer James Taylor are true master pieces.

The interior is made of wood and houses an attractive library. Also, the oldest packet of Ceylon tea in existence with its 56 year old original packing is on display here.