While Sri Lanka’s Southern Province may be famed for its beaches, there’s a very special tea plantation here as well; a captivating tour awaits at the Handunugoda Tea Estate where Virgin White Tea is produced.
Getting to the Estate
The estate can be found along Handunugoda Road in Tittagalla, Ahangama. Those staying at Sri Lanka beach resorts in and around the south coast including properties such as The Blue Water Hotel and Spa can easily plan an excursion here.
Virgin White Tea
While several varieties of tea are grown at the estate, the signature product of this family-run plantation is Virgin White Tea. One of its distinct features is that such tea is untouched by human hands! On your tour, you have the chance of seeing tea pluckers who wear gloves carefully plucking tea buds using golden scissors.
A Time Honoured Process
Once plucked, the tea buds are dried via filtered sunlight before being processed at the on-site factory. A tour of the Handunugoda Tea Estate will give you a chance to see the machines used at the factory some of which are around 150 years old!
The Perfect Cup
After all you have learnt and seen, what better way to conclude the tour than by actually sampling some tea? As part of the visit, you can savour a delicious cup of tea paired with some yummy chocolate cake, the perfect end to your time here.
Roland Lefevre is a travel writer who specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe. Google+
