Tea factories

Description and is it worth a visit

In the vicinity of Ella there are several tea factories that tourists can visit ostensibly in order to get acquainted with the production and cultivation of tea. In fact, the real purpose of such visits is to attract foreigners to branded tea shops operating in factories. Nevertheless, it is necessary to visit at least one such factory during a trip to Sri Lanka, and to buy expensive branded tea or not, decide on the spot, no one will force you to do it. Some factories allow you to visit production and even plantations, and in some you can see only a symbolic museum with tools for production at the store.

As for the purchase of tea, there are two versions, but which of them is true, we do not know, apparently it is up to everyone to decide for themselves:

• Version from manufacturers. Sellers assure that only in their factory you can buy such fresh and not "diluted" with garbage tea, since everything that is sold in tea salons and supermarkets in Sri Lanka is tea brought from foreign factories, where straw and dust are added to raw materials from real factories. Therefore, their tea is twice as expensive.
• Tourist version. Tea sellers in factories simply speculate on the price to justify the work of the store and staff, as well as to promote their brand. And exactly the same quality tea can be bought in tea shops in cities and supermarkets at times cheaper.

Here are the most famous tourist factories in the vicinity of Ella:

• Newburgh Green Teas. Green tea factory. A tour of the production costs 500 rupees, photography is prohibited. You can get from the center of Ella on foot, walk 2 and a half kilometers (factory on the map).
• Kinellan Tea Factory. Here you can see not only the production, but also walk around the plantation. The tour costs 500 rupees. The store sells inexpensive tea, but it seems like not the highest quality. From the center to go only 1 kilometer (factory on the map).
• Amba Estate. A small factory where organic tea is grown without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. The tour is very informative and free, tasting is paid – 500 rupees. You can only get here by tuk-tuk or rented transport, go 16 kilometers (factory on the map).
• Uva Halpewatte Tea Factory. A large factory, one of the most popular, it carries a lot of tourists. The tour costs 300 rupees, lasts 20 minutes, after tea tasting. It is believed that this is one of the best tours of the factory in Sri Lanka, then it is forbidden to take pictures, there are no walks on the plantation. You can only get there by tuk-tuk or rented transport, go 5 kilometers, ask for 1500 rupees in both directions with waiting (factory on the map).