According to the most recent stats, Sri Lanka is the fourth largest tea producer (after China, India and Kenya) and the third largest exporter in the world (Behind Kenya and India). The country is known globally for their Ceylon tea which incidentally was the name of the country until they obtained independence from Britain in 1948 and then changed their name in 1970. Central Sri Lanka has acres and acres of tea plantation:
It was interesting to watch the women pick tea leaves. In describing how fast they do it, imagine a good pianist racing their fingers across the entire keyboard in seconds. Women pick dozens of tea leaves in a matter of seconds and only pick the new leaves at that:
From there it is dried in long kilns for 8 days:
Then force-air-dried for a few extra hours, rolled and chopped and then the leaves are sifted and the stems separated (for mulch):
There are various grades of tea; there is green tea, pekoe and black tea, etc. White tea comes from the bud of the leaf. Did you know that Earl Grey is flavored?
The negative aspect of this industry is that the women are paid by the bag making only $3- $4 Cdn per day (the average wage in the country is $3 per hour). Come rain or shine, they do this daily. And it's not all that glamorous when picking leaves in the rain as the lady's picture illustrates:
That said, tea is a major export for Sri Lanka and the economy. It is the country's largest employer, directly or indirectly over 1 million people and fills about 20% of global demand.
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