The origins of Tea was with the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung who was boiling water when the leaves from a nearby plant Camellia sinensis plant floated into the pot. The emperor drank the mixture and declared it gave one "vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of purpose." Perhaps as testament to the emperor's assessment, the potion of tea he unwittingly brewed that day, today is second only to water in worldwide consumption!"
Until the 1860’s the main crop produced on the island of Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, was coffee. But in 1869, the coffee-rust fungus, Hemileia vastatrix, killed the majority of the coffee plants and estate owners had to diversify into other crops in order to avoid total ruin. The owners of Loolecondera Estate had been interested in tea since the late 1850’s and in 1866, James Taylor, a recently arrived Scot, was selected to be in charge of the first sowing of tea seeds in 1867, on 19 acres of land. Taylor had acquired some basic knowledge of tea cultivation in North India and made some initial experiments in manufacture, using his bungalow verandah as the factory and rolling the leaf by hand on tables. Firing of the oxidized leaf was carried out on clay stoves over charcoal fires with the leaf on wire trays. His first teas were sold locally and were declared delicious. By 1872, Taylor had a fully equipped factory, and, in 1873, his first quality teas were sold for a very good price at the London auction. Through his dedication and determination, Taylor was largely responsible for the early success of the tea crop in Ceylon. Between 1873 and 1880, production rose from just 23 pounds to 81.3 tons, and by 1890, to 22,899.8 tons. The first vessel recorded as carrying Ceylon tea to England was the steam-ship ‘Duke Argyll’ in 1877.
Rapid expansion of the Ceylon's tea industry in the 1870s and 80s brought a good deal of interest from the large British companies, which took over many of the small estates. Four estates were purchased by a grocer whose name is almost a synonym for tea: Thomas Lipton. Son of poor Irish immigrants, Lipton grew up amidst the slums of Glasgow. He left school at the age of 10 to help support his family and in 1865 sailed to America to work as a manual laborer and later managed a successful New York grocery store. It was here that he learned all the tricks and techniques of advertising and salesmanship that he later used to great effect when selling groceries and tea back in England and Scotland. He returned to Glasgow in 1871 and worked for a couple of years in the grocery shop run by his parents. By the age of 21, he had opened his own store, where he practised the retailing skills he had learned in America. His imaginative marketing and clever publicity stunts brought his new venture rapid success. In 1890, already a millionaire, Lipton was in need of a holiday and booked a passage to Australia. On the way, he broke his journey in Ceylon. He had an interest in tea as a product to sell in his shops. Lipton did not trust middlemen, and wanted to explore the possibilities of growing tea and bringing it direct to Britain. He couldn't have picked a better time. Since the problems of the coffee blight, plantations in the island were going for a song. He bought four and could now fully control his company's tea's quality and price. Tea was quite expensive in Britain at that time, and was selling at a higher price than most working-class families could easily afford. Lipton's plan was to reduce its cost by cutting out the numerous middlemen, and render it affordable for the average British shopper. His other novel idea was to begin packaging it. Instead of selling it loose from the chest, as was the custom at that time, Lipton packed his tea in brightly-colored, eye-catching packets bearing the slogan "Straight from the tea gardens to the tea pot." Lipton's foray into tea was a huge success, and vastly increased his wealth. His 300 shops throughout England soon could not keep up with the growing demand for his inexpensive product, and so Lipton teas became available in other stores around Britain. The name of Lipton had migrated from a chain of grocery stores and became a trademark soon to be famous the world-over. James Taylor's legacy, on the other hand, is best summed up in the words of John Field, High Commissioner for Great Britain in Sri Lanka. In 1992 he wrote, "It can be said of very few individuals that their labors have helped to shape the landscape of a country. But the beauty of the hill country as it now appears owes much to the inspiration of James Taylor, the man who introduced tea cultivation to Sri Lanka."
Henry Randolph Trafford was born in on 8 December 1853, the second son of Charles Guy Trafford and Caroline Anne, née Hopton. He was educated at Bradfield College (1868-1872), and Christ Church, Oxford University (1873-1875), though he did not graduate. According to his daughter, in her unpublished memoirs, Henry’s decision to move to Ceylon was motivated by family difficulties. On 22 February 1877, Henry left Southampton as a first class passenger on the SS Peshawur, bound for Ceylon. The SS Peshawur docked at the harbour at Galle, Ceylon on the morning of 24 March 1877. Henry kept a detailed journal of the month long journey and his first few weeks in Ceylon. This is how he had described his arrival in Galle,
‘Never did anything appear so truly beautiful to me as this, my first sight of Ceylon: the sweet little bay dotted here and there with various craft of various build and rig; a regular forest of palms coming right down to the beach, gracing the shore with their rich verdancy, and behind all the most glorious sunrise I ever saw, giving a bright golden tinge to the brilliant mass of green. Truly indeed, I thought does this deserve the name of the earthly paradise.’ ‘This first sight of Ceylon will be forever imprinted on my memory; it will always seem to me like a glimpse into Fairyland’.
Henry had a letter of introduction to the Peradeniya coffee estate, in the Hantane district, a few miles west of Kandy, owned at the time by Baring Brothers and Co. It was here that he would learn the business of coffee growing, before buying his own estate at Poyston. Poyston is located in Ceylon’s hill country, in the district of Dickoya, about 4,000 feet above sea level. It is just a couple of miles from the large Norwood Estate, in an area that holds a cluster of world renowned tea plantations (sometimes known as the Golden Valley of Tea). Poyston Tea Estate remains in existence as a tea estate to this day. The years until 1887 must have been hard graft for Henry. But as the changeover to tea was made, and as Henry became a long-standing member of the community (voting at the Planters’ Association of Ceylon in Kandy from 1885-1891), he was clearly able to relax more. In 1887, he was a member of the committee of the prestigious Kandy Club (whose President was the Governor of Ceylon), as well as being a member of the committee of the Dickoya Planters’ Association (a position he held until 1890). The extension of the railway line in 1884 to Hatton, less than 10 km from Poyston, would have made the journey time to Kandy considerably shorter and easier (less than three and a half hours by train from Hatton). The only surviving photograph from Henry’s stay in Ceylon is a group photograph from the Darrawella Club. He may also just have missed the visit on 14 February 1891 to the Darrawella Club of the Tsaravitch, later Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia. It seems unlikely that Henry made any money from his tea estate in Ceylon. Indeed, by all accounts, he lost money. But against this he surely deserves the recognition – if more by chance than good judgment – of being one of the pioneers of Ceylon tea.
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A timeline of the history of Ceylon Tea
| 1824 | A tea plant was brought to Ceylon by the British from China and was planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya. (non commercial) |
| 1839 | Establishment of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce |
| 1854 | Establishment of the Planters' Association of Ceylon |
| 1867 | James Taylor planted the first 19 acres of tea in Loolecondera Estate near Kandy, Ceylon and this marked the birth of tea industry in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) |
| 1872 | First sale of Loolecondera tea in Kandy |
| 1873 | Export of Sri Lanka's first tea consignment of 23 lbs from Loolecondera Estate to London |
| 1876 | Founding of the first Broking firm John Brothers and Co. |
| 1877 | Manufacture of first "SIROCCO" tea drier by Samuel C. Davidson |
| 1880 | Manufacture of first tea rolling machine by John Walker and Co. |
| 1883 | The first public Colombo Auction was held at the premises of Somerville & Co.on 30th July, 1883, under the auspices of Ceylon Chamber of Commerce |
| 1884 | Construction of a Central Tea Factory on Fairyland Estate (Pedro) in Nuwara-Eliya |
| 1891 | Ceylon Tea established a record price of Rs.36.15 per lb at the London Tea Auctions |
| 1892 | James Taylor, aged 57 years, died in Ceylon on 2nd May, 1892 |
| 1894 | Formation of the Colombo Tea Traders' Association |
| 1896 | Colombo Brokers' Association was formed |
| 1915 | Mr. Thomas Amarasuriya, first Ceylonese to be appointed as Chairman of the Planters' Association |
| 1925 | Establishment of Tea Research Institute |
| 1927 | Sri Lanka's tea production exceeded 100,000 metric tons. Sri Lanka's tea exports exceeded 100,000 metric tons |
| 1932 | Formation of The Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board. Export of poor quality tea was prohibited |
| 1934 | World's largest tea bush was found in Ceylon at Battawatta Group, Madulsima. It had a diameter of 24 feet and a circumference of 67 feet. Four pounds of green leaf were plucked from it on one day |
| 1935 | Set up the International Tea Market Expansion Board (ITMEB) in which Ceylon was a founder member |
| 1938 | The Tea Research Institute commenced work on vegetative propagation at St. Coombs Estate, Talawakele |
| 1940 | Biological control of the leaf eating Tea Tortrix Caterpillar by the Tea Research Institute |
| 1941 | First Ceylonese Tea Broking house, M/s Pieris and Abeywardena was established |
| 1944 | Ceylon Estate Employers' Federation was established |
| 1951 | Export Duty on tea was introduced from 1st October, 1951 |
| 1955 | First clonal tea fields came into bearing. |
| 1958 | Formation of the State Plantations Corporation |
| 1959 | Ad Valorem Tax was introduced on 1st June 1959 for teas sold at the Colombo Auctions |
| 1961 | Sri Lanka's registered tea extent exceeded 200,000 hectares. Sri Lanka's tea production exceeded 200,000 metric tons |
| 1962 | Sri Lanka's tea exports exceeded 200,000 metric tons |
| 1963 | Production and exports of Instant Teas commenced |
| 1965 | Sri Lanka became the World's largest tea exporter for the first time |
| 1966 | First International Tea Convention was held to celebrate 100 years of Tea Industry |
| 1972 | State take over of privately owned estates |
| 1975 | Nationalisation of Rupee and sterling companies |
| 1976 | Sri Lanka Tea Board was established. Formation of Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB). Establishment of the Tea Small Holding Development Authority (TSHDA). Exports of tea bags commenced |
| 1980 | Sri Lanka's partcipation at Moscow Olympics as official supplier of tea |
| 1981 | Import of teas for blending and re-exports was introduced |
| 1982 | Production and Exports of Green tea commenced. Sri Lanka's participation at 12th Commonwealth games at Brisbane as official supplier of tea |
| 1983 | Centennial year of the Colombo Tea Auctions. Production of CTC teas commenced in Sri Lanka |
| 1987 | Sri Lanka's participation in 'Expo 88' as official supplierof tea in Australia |
| 1992 | Sri Lanka completes 125 years in her Tea Industry. An international convention was held in Colombo to mark the occation. Formation of the Tea Research Board. Abolition of the Export Duty on 21st December, 1992. Abolition of the Ad Valorem Tax on 21st December, 1992 |
| 1993 | Privatisation of the management of Government owned tea estates |
| 1996 | Sri Lanka's tea production exceeded 250,000 metric tons |
| 1997 | Tea Exports reached 250,000 metric tons |
| 2000 | Tea production exceeded 300,000 metric tons |
| 2001 | Commencement of on-line sales of tea by Forbes and Walker Ltd., at the Colombo Tea Auctions. Establishment of a Tea Museum at Kandy |
| 2002 | Tea Association of Sri Lanka was formed |
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