Ceylon Tea Museum - Kandy

It was in the Kandy district that the first successful experiments in tea cultivation were made, and it was from this ancient Sinhalese capital that the dominant modern industry of Sri Lanka spread out to cover the entire hill country. Kandy was thus the appropriate choice for a museum dedicated to the history of Ceylon Tea.

The Ceylon Tea Museum is located at the Hantane Tea Factory, about 5km. (3 miles) from Kandy. Hantane was one of the first areas successfully opened up to tea cultivation after the failure of the coffee enterprise, but the factory that now houses the Museum is a relatively modern building, constructed in 1925.

The Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane, three kilometers from Kandy city is served by a motor-able road that circles the museum, provides easy access and adequate parking facilities for cars and tourist coaches. The museum consists of four floors. The ground floor and the second floor exhibit very old items of machinery and the first floor consists of a library and an auditorium with facilities for audio visual presentations. The third floor is allocated to tea sales outlets, where a selection of Sri Lanka's fine tea is available. The entire top floor is a restaurant. 

A panoramic view of the Kandy town surrounded by the beautiful Hunasgiriya, Knuckles Range and the Matale range of hills can be viewed through a telescope mounted on the fourth floor. The grounds surrounding the Tea Museum are to be landscaped with different varieties of teas. Kandy is a mandatory stop virtually on every tourist's itinerary and the location of the Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane enhances the attraction of the hill country to visitors. Additionally, its proximity to the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and Loolecondera estate, where tea was first grown commercially in Sri Lanka makes Hantane the perfect location.