History of Ceylon Tea

Known Facts on Tea

The discovery of tea is credited to Emperor Shen Nung who reigned in China around 2700 B.C. Whether all this is factual or mythical one need not worry, but for a historian, a starting point has been found, however fictitious it may seem. Chinese for centuries have been cultivating and drinking tea, so too have the Shan people of Burma and Siam. The fact is that the tea plant - Camellia Sinensis was found growing wild over an area that stretches for 1,200 miles north and south and 1,500 miles east and west, from China down to Vietnam and Nagaland to Thailand.

There are of course marked differences to be seen in the species found in this vast area. In the grim climate of China, Camellia Sinensis is a bush, that even when unattended, seldom grows to more than ten feet in height. In Assam this species is referred to as a forest tree, which can grow to well over thirty feet in the wild state. Whatever the grouping are, they are closely related, and when subdued and domesticated, they produce tea. Tea will grow anywhere where the soil is acid, the rainfall not less than forty to fifty inches a year, and the variance between the hot and the cold seasons not too marked.

It is an undisputed fact, that it had been the Chinese who first introduced the habit of tea drinking to the outside world. They, to some extent were also responsible for the propagation of tea in countries outside the tea belt. It was tried out in Japan way back in the eight century, and although its growth was fast, it took them a further five centuries to treat it as a beverage. Until then they treated it as a medicine.

It was during the early part of the seventeen century that tea started to penetrate the European markets, after the tea routes to China were opened. The Honourable East India Company, from the beginning of the eighteen century held the exclusive right to trade in tea, and this monopoly was maintained for the next hundred years. Exports of tea increased rapidly, and by 1805, England alone was importing more than seven million pounds. In 1880, China reached the crucial period in its tea trade, when over 300 million pounds were exported, of which about half went to England. Tea drinking habit by then had got securely established in the country.

In 1833 the East India Company lost its legal monopoly in China. They were forced to look elsewhere to establish trade ties, which would not involve paying for tea in silver which caused a bullion crisis, or in opium which caused a moral one. This was a crucial period for the British trade with the Far East, and all trade policies had to be adjusted virtually overnight. The supply of Chinese teas to the western world was fast drying up, and immediate action had to be taken to counteract the position.

With the breakdown of the Chinese tea trade, the inevitable task of finding alternate sources fell on Lord William Bentinck, then Governor General of India. He lost no time in appointing a committee to study the possibilities of growing tea in India. Assam, then an uninhabited area that produced little or no revenue for the government, attracted the attention of the committee, as the district was close to the tea growing areas of China.

The district of Assam was found to be the ideal location for the tea project, but there was disagreement with the type of tea to be grown. Dr Wallich, the curator of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens was in favour of establishing an equivalent of the Chinese tea industry in India, with Chinese planting material.

Others promoted the use of native tea seeds from the tea forests found growing wild in Assam. The large leaf deep-rooted Assam varieties when pruned, did better in their native soils than the imported Chinese varieties, which were more suitable for higher elevations.

It did not take long for the Assam planters to learn the art of growing and handling of the crop. There was a spontaneous reaction to this strong Indian tea, in Britain, and thereafter Chinese teas were condemned and consign to the dustbin. The introduction of strong Indian teas to the British market, brought about radical changes to the preparation of this beverage. They began to add milk and sugar to the cup to soften its potency, and this in turn made a real contribution to the average British diet.

According to Daniel Green, the author of A Plantation Family, “a cup of plain tea contributes about four calories and a small amount of vitamin B to the diet. When milk and sugar are added, this is increased to forty calories and a small amount of protein. Since the British drink about six cups of tea a day on average, it can be seen that tea drinking began to contribute about 240 calories to the daily diet, and this could amount to 10% of the total calorie intakes of the poor.”

It has been said “that if to be an Englishman is to eat beef, to be an Englishwoman, is to drink tea." How true it is, that tea which in the 16th century was a luxury costing ten geniuses a pound, and only consumed by a hundred people has in the 19th century, become a necessity costing two shillings a pound and consumed by a million.

Scarcely or never has an industry made such progress, nor an article of consumption hoisted to such positions as was the case of Ceylon tea. Thanks to the British, they have been responsible for the promotion of tea world wide. They have now developed the marketing of tea to a fine art as they did with the production and manufacture of tea.

The date when tea became an article of diet is uncertain, but it has been a long time since its health giving properties was discovered. Tea first received recognition to render it a national and a health drink in China. After many centuries, it was introduced into Europe by the Dutch in the early 19th century. It generally gained ground, and in the domestic history of England, there was nothing more remarkable than the hold tea had taken of the people.

Tea was known in England long before it was grown in India or Sri Lanka. It is a fact of history that from 18 million pounds of Chinese tea that entered Europe in 1786, Britain had secured for themselves two thirds of the quantity for themselves. It had been the powerful Dutch national trading company, Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) that had carried all the tea cargo from the East to the West. Consumption of tea increased from 10 million pounds in 1845 to 180 million pounds in 1885. A commodity that was considered a luxury a few years previously had become an article of daily consumption in almost every household in Britain.

Like all other things, it made sense at that stage for the British government to levy a tax on the imports of tea. It was brought into force in 1885, and in its first year of application, the Exchequer became richer by Pound Sterling 4,795,000, which was as much as four times as large a sum as the duty on liquor.

The tea drinking habit was fast becoming established in the country, and the revenue collected, made the authorities give serious thought to the possibilities of establishing tea in their colonies. At a time when British merchant capital was freely available for investment, this was too tempting an opportunity to be ignored.

A high powered committee was immediately appointed to consider the best methods of cultivating tea in the colonies commencing with India, where tea was found to grow wild in the Assam hills. This was a time, when England had attained a position of colonial supremacy unmatched by any other power. For in her domain, she had the resources to produce every necessity, and every amenity of life that was denied to most other countries.

Cultivation of tea in India got under way, and with its success, the same procedure was followed in Sri Lanka. Numerous difficulties were encountered during the initial stages in their pursuit to propagate tea in the colonies. The Chinese in a way, did not want the highly guarded secrets of tea cultivation and processing to be passed on to the British, and all the obstacles were placed in the way by them. Despite these various impediments, cultivation of tea got under way, and the enterprise grew at an alarming rate.

This was the first attempt by the British to grow tea, but they were ultimately going to play a lead role in the marketing of the product. Teas cultivated and processed under their own guidance began to flood the British market. The initial success was found to be full of promise. Further British merchant capital began to pour into the colonies to promote the growth of tea. A 3% share of the market in 1865 grew to 33% in 1885. During this period the production base in India had increased to 70 million pounds on a capital investment of approximately Pound Sterling 16 million. For the investor, he found the return on capital attractive. The state was also glad at the progress made in promoting the consumption of a beverage grown in their own colony.

The progress made in India was fast and smooth, but the situation in Sri Lanka was slightly different. Although the tea plant was originally introduced into the country in 1842, it was not until coffee was stricken by a disease that attention was generally directed to the cultivation of tea. In 1873, a small parcel of 23 pounds was exported to the UK. In 1886, the quantity increased to 9 million pounds and the estimate for 1890 was 40 million pounds.

With large quantities of their own teas now pouring into Britain on a regular basis, the planting community was forced to make a distinction between British grown teas and other primitive varieties, and in this instant it was the Chinese and the Japanese assortments. This move by the British to launch the image of a product of their own creation as against Chinese and Japanese varieties that they had been accustomed to for centuries, will often be repeated in the chronicles of mercantile history. There was competition during the initial stages from Chinese and Japanese teas, but it was short lived. With steady supplies assured from India and Sri Lanka, they created a passion for British grown teas.

This procedure of changing consumer preferences was long drawn out, and in the process, dubious methods were adopted to tarnish the image of their old favourite. They took the naïve and the obvious path of discrediting teas from other sources was on grounds of adulteration and contamination. Weather the Britishers had sufficient proof or otherwise to libel the Chinese or the Japanese is subjected to challenge. But they became a target of attack due to the primitive way tea was produced, and they made no attempts to improve their processing methods,

China preferred to ignore the growing international market in the increasing number and range of products resulting from the industrial revolution in Europe. They maintained their traditional isolation and sense of superiority over alien civilisations.

By the end of the 19th century, Chinas tea trade with the Western world had deteriorated in the face of the challenge from a system with superior organisation and production skills. Most of all, the British owned plantations were able to maintain product consistency.

With the break down of the Chinese monopoly, tea began to play an important part in the colonial policy, and with it, many others took to cultivating tea. Despite the slump in 1847, coffee still remained the king for a much longer time. There was however a change in the air, and some planters were beginning to think of tea as an alternative. As in the case of India, it all started with the Botanists. The inclination to cultivate tea in the island commenced with the arrival of the first batch of tea seeds in 1847. It was once again Dr Wallich the curator of the Botanical Gardens at Calcutta, who was kind enough to send some of the tea seeds from the recently discovered Assam tea to Mr Normansell, who was the then superintendent of the Botanical Gardens Peradeniya. A further consignment of plants followed the following year.

These were taken care of at Peradeniya and Nuwara Eliya, but nothing was done to grow them commercially, despite the Government’s declaration that tea was likely to be a new and profitable speculation which would give rise to a valuable source of revenue. The only other attempt to grow and manufacture tea was made by the two brothers Gabriel and Maurice Worms, on their estate at Pussellawa. It is no doubt ironical to discover that these two German Jews, both men of fortune, should have cast aside high finance and high society, in order to become large scale coffee planters, and to pioneer the cultivation of tea in the island.

It was Maurice Worms who brought some tea cuttings from China and planted them in a nursery on their coffee plantation at Pussellawa. He went to the extent of employing a China man to look after them. Once sufficient leaf was available, it was cured under the Chinese expert. The teas thus produced, were given to their friends in England as gifts. Although the cost of producing tea was considered excessive at around Pound Sterling 5 per pound, it nevertheless remains as the first record of teas actually grown and cured in Ceylon and exported to England.

There was overproduction of coffee in the early 1860’s and the Planters Association of Ceylon was hard pressed to find alternatives. It was finally decided to promote the cultivation of cinchona and tea as suitable crops. Encouraged by what was happening in India with tea, the Government decided to send an experienced coffee planter to Assam to report on its suitability for Ceylon. The report was considered comprehensive and great. It was this report that made most planters to launch on tea cultivation. He recommended among other things, that Ceylon was suitable for the cultivation of tea, that seeds and plants could be obtained from Assam, and that, in order to produce only high quality teas suitable for the London market, upland rather than lowland tea should be grown.

There was spontaneous reaction from coffee planters to this report. It was James Taylor, who had already made a name for himself by his trial planting of cinchona, who turned to tea in a big way, and before long he was considered the father of Ceylon tea. It did not take long for the blight to destroy the country’s coffee industry, causing plantations to be abandoned. Most of the pioneer coffee planters were forced to leave the country as destitute persons, having lost all. There were however a few planters in the calibre of James Taylor, who remained in the island to point the way to a new crop and a new extension of the Plantation industry

Ceylon Recreated From a Rice Bowl to a Tea Garden

Before the 20th century, Ceylon was popularly known as “Serendib” or “Pearl of the Indian ocean.” This beautiful island was blessed with tropical forests, with weather conditions conducive for agriculture. During the days of the early Sinhalese kings, and until the last king of Ceylon, the country was referred to as the “rice bowl of the Indian Ocean.” In 1508 the Portuguese invaded Ceylon’s coastal areas and engaged themselves in the spice trade. Gems and ivory found in the tropical interior also became a part of their lucrative trade. They were deposed by the Dutch who had similar trading habits, but encouraged the cultivation of cinnamon and coconut that were indigenous to the country. The British invaded Ceylon in 1795, and with the capture of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815 the entire the country was unified.

The opening of the first coffee plantation in 1835 at Gampola was the start of a series of changes that was going to transform an ancient culture based on a subsistence economy to an outward looking capitalist economy. The British government provided all the facilities for their own investors to undertake the cultivation of coffee and with its demise in the 1870’s, tea was introduce as a substitute, which proved a great success.

Millions of people the world over enjoy drinking tea, but only a few are conversant with its long and colourful history. Emperors and peasants, Taoist recluses, Buddhist monks, wandering physicians, Mandarins, lovely ladies, craftsman, potters, poets, singers, painters, architects, landscape Gardeners, nomadic tribesman (who bartered horses for bricks of tea) and statesman (who used tea to buy off would-be invaders) have all played their part in it.

Originally, tea was an exclusive Chinese possession that resisted all attempts to transplant it in other soils. Tea drinking too was exclusively Chinese, and it had to be changed to suit local conditions in the countries of its later adoption.

The first reference to tea in this island was made by Johann Christian Wolf in 1782. He reported that “Tea and some other sorts of elegant aromatics are not to be found here (Ceylon). Some trials however had been made to raise these, but without success” Although the first reference to tea in the country had been in the negative, it however remains as the starting point on the subject.

Tennant has also referred to the unsuccessful attempts made by the Dutch to grow those aromatic varieties. The “London Observer” of 25th July 1802, noted: “a late attempt has been made by a naturalist of eminence to cultivate the tea plant in the island of Ceylon but the experiment had been a total failure."

James Cardiner, in 1805, said that the tea plant was seen to have been growing wild near Trincomalee, and that the soldiers had dried the leaves, boiled them and preferred the decoction to coffee. This species of cassia, then referred to as “wild tea” has confused many others and led them into believing it to be genuine tea.

Captain Robert Percival, of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, who was present at the capture of the island from the Dutch in 1796, had taken great pains to write about the history of the island. In an account published in 1805 he had the following to say. “But it was not sugar alone that Ceylon seems destined to afford to the general use of the Western World; the tea plant has also been discovered native in the forests of the island. It grows spontaneously in the neighbourhood of Trincomalee and other northern parts of Ceylon. General Champagne’ informed me that the soldiers of the garrison frequently used it.

They cut the branches and twigs and hang them in the sun to dry, they then took off the leaves and put them into a vessel or kettle to boil to extract the juice, which have all the properties of that of the China tea leaf. Several of my friends have assured me that the tea was looked upon as far from being bad, considering the little preparation it underwent. The soldiers of the 80th regiment made use of it in this manner on being informed of its virtues and quality by the 72nd regiment, whom they relieved. Many preferred this form of tea to coffee”

Anthony Bertolacci, in 1813, contradicts a report current in his day, that the tea plant grew wild in the forests of Ceylon and Bennett, 30 years later, in his publication “Ceylon and its capabilities” published a colour plate of a species of an indigenous tea plant. This he had done on the authority of the Assistant Staff Surgeon Crawford, who sent him the specimen from Batticaloa in 1826, Bennett however could never find the species again in the Mahagam Pattu.

The early reference no doubt gives the impression that the subject of tea had been discussed freely in Ceylon, but weather the species in its present form, and falling into the category Camellia Sinensis was ever found growing wild in Ceylon was yet to be proved.

Tennant, on better authority, maintains that the leaves of the Rannawara (Cassia Auriculate) were infused in the South of Ceylon as a substitute for tea. This was normally referred to as the “Matara Tea Tree” In the “Century Directory” under “tea trees” the Ceylon tea tree is classified as Eloeodendron Glaucum. Doctor Trimen, in his hand book of “Flora of Ceylon” describes it as a small tree growing from the coast to Dimbula. Its leaves were found to be strongly serrated. A plant was forwarded to the Royal Botanical Gardens Calcutta, by Hay Mac Dowall as “Ceylon Tea Tree." It seems however certain that despite all these controversies, a tea tree was found in the Botanical Gardens at Kalutara before 1824.

Truths and fallacies regarding the growth of the tea plant in Ceylon were finally resolved in 1886. A report forwarded by doctor Trimen provided the information to clear up the matter.

Contrary to popular belief or to the image of tea held by people not deeply rooted in the agricultural history of this country, the fact is that tea was not introduced into Ceylon as a replacement for an earlier crop coffee; which once held sway as the island’s primary product. While coffee dominated the plantations for four decades or more, from the early years of the 19th century, two other crops -- tea and cinchona were introduced in a small way, as subsidiary crops. They were cultivated along with the island’s traditional spices.

Tea, which did not occur among Ceylon’s indigenous vegetation, was brought to the country for the first time from India in December 1839. This was about fifteen years after George Bird, the island’s pioneer planter, had opened the first coffee plantation on Sinnapitiya near Gampola.

This estate, which so changed the county’s ecology and socio-economy and led in later years, to the quickening of its political beat, today straddles the railway into the main section of the hill country, where tea, and not coffee any longer dominates the landscape. The wayside platform at Sinnapitiya itself (just before Gampola is reached), is a throw-back to the coffee era -- which is insignificant now and all but forgotten. Neither the government nor the public seems to have taken notice of this fact until coffee cultivation became a partial failure. From the very inception it was known that the Ceylon tea was likely to supersede the Chinese article, as also of the Indian or Assam.

Cultivation of Tea Got Underway

With the devastation of all the large coffee plantations due to the leaf disease the attention of planters was drawn to the cultivation of the tea plant, which to some had been growing wild. If it had been so, for nearly 300 years after European occupancy, the tea tree, as the modest violet, would have been shedding its fragrance unnoticed in the desert air.

With the first steps been taken to promote the cultivation of tea in the island by the former coffee planters several representations were made to the government, regarding the likelihood of its success. It was regarded a profitable speculation that could end up as a valuable source of revenue. From the very first consignment of planting material received in the country, the then superintendent at Peradeniya, Mr Normansell, despatched a few plants to Nuwara Eliya but very little is known of this experiment.

A further instalment of Assam plants arrived in 1842, and in October the same year some of these plants were presumably handed over to Mr Mooyart at Nuwara Eliya, with specific directions for cultivating them. This project was supervised by Reverend E.F.Gapp, who at the time was the tutor to the son of Sir A. Oliphant, Chief Justice of Ceylon.

According to Reverend Gapp’s personal recollections, these plants (about thirty in number), were planted on a cleared jungle patch on Sir Anthony’s land (Oliphant) in the neighbourhood of the present Queen’s Cottage. It is again very likely that, on his departure from the country a few years later, no follow up action had been taken and the experiment doomed to failure. Reverend Gapp however communicated his findings in a letter to the “London Times” on 19th August 1843, and stated that some of the tea plants put out near Essex Cottage, now Naseby Tea Plantation.

The results of the experiments carried out in Nuwara Eliya from the planting material obtained from Assam, had not been documented in an accurate manner, and doubts have been cast as to which variety of plant laid the foundation for the establishment of the tea industry in the island.

The initial success obtained from Assam seeds and Chinese cuttings did not prevent the scientists from further investigating into finding better varieties of plants that would do well under local conditions. During the period 1866 and 1867, The Director of the Botanical Gardens reported that a sample of tea prepared from China (Bohea) plants had been favourably reported on.

In London, Dr Thwaites, for several years, continued to press the advantages of planting this hardy plant in the colonies. In 1868, about 270 plants propagated from Assam seeds were prospering well in Hakgala Gardens. The popular belief at that time was that the Assam variety would only succeed at an elevation well above the limit of coffee. By 1872, the pioneers had moved to the higher mountain ranges with absolute confidence of success. Dr Thwaites’ dream of seeing flourishing tea gardens at higher elevations became a reality. This fact was recognised in all quarters, and by 1875, the cultivation of tea in Ceylon was an established commercial success.

If one has the time to plough through the press correspondence alone on this subject, it becomes evident that attempts had been made to propagate tea in the island long before either the Ceylon Company or the Loolecondera experiments were carried out.

This situation, however is understandable, as these trials may not have been taken too seriously by the main body of planters, for the next thirty years or so, as the coffee mania had gripped all but a few. Tea came much later. Many more are the references to tea cultivation in the island.

It is reported that Charles Shand, who had connections in Chittagong, had obtained for himself, a consignment of Chinese seed similar to what was planted in that area, and had tested it out in a nursery on Barra Estate (Springwood Group) Rakwana in 1864. It had been allowed to grow wild. In 1872 the tea manufactured from this plot had been tested to ascertain its intrinsic value for which a valuation of 2 shillings 4 pence had been placed for a pound. Cultivation of tea on Barra Estate was taken seriously, only after 1881and after a prone, the tea bushes were reported to have flushed well.

It is also recorded that Maurice B. Worm, returning from a voyage to China, had brought with him a few cuttings of the Chinese tea plant and tested it are Rothschild Coffee Estate in the Pussellawa district. Later Maurice and his brother Gabriel, with financial assistance from their cousins, the Rothschild’s in London planted tea on Sogama and on their other properties in Pussellawa. A field had been planted with China tea on Condegalla (now a part of Labookelle Group in the Ramboda district) as an experiment. This had proved a through success. The Worm Brothers it is said had manufactured some tea in Pussellawa with the assistance of a Chinese tea maker. The tea is reported to have cost Pounds Sterling 5 per pound.

The first attempt by the Worm Brothers at planting coffee on Rothschild was a great success. They were famed for competence and efficiency, and in the Coffee Planters book of William Sabonadiere, they have been held out as models in the planting enterprise in Ceylon. Tea from Rothschild had made a mark in Mincing Lane. With the success achieved in coffee planting, they soon reached out and opened Keenakelle estate in Badulla, Meddecombra in Dimbula, Thotulagalla in Haputale, Condegalla and Labookelle in Ramboda, and Norwood in Dickoya, making a total of 7,318 acres. In 1865, after having enjoyed the ownership for about twenty-five years, they sold these properties to Ceylon Company Limited, later named the Eastern Produce &Estates Company Limited for a total sum of Pounds Sterling 157,000. This was considered a record transfer of European owned estates in the island. The two brothers subsequently retired to England after having led useful and contended lives. Maurice died in 1865 and Gabriel in 1881.

On the acquisition of the property by Ceylon Company Limited, they found a small extent of tea on Condegalla responding well. This called for greater attention. An experienced tea planter from Assam was employed to look after the plantations. Labour was obtained from Bengali. Despite all these moves, the experiments carried out in the preparation of tea did not turn out well.

Sir Emerson Tennant wrote as follows about tea on Rothschild Estate in Pussellawa. “On this fine estate, an attempt has been made to grow tea. The plants thrived surprisingly well, and when I saw them they were covered with bloom. Unfortunately, the experiment has hereto been defeated by the impossibility of finding skilled labour to dry and manipulate the leaves. Should it ever be thought expedient to cultivate tea in addition to coffee in Ceylon, the adoption of the soil and the climate has thus been established, and it only remains to introduce artisans from China to conduct the subsequent processes.”

A further eleven years went by before tea established itself as a commercially viable crop. This was after the pioneer coffee cum tea planter, James Taylor, proved on his Loolecondera estate at Hewaheta, that tea could be grown profitably as an alternative plantation crop to coffee, which was then on its way out.

There can be no doubts, that the efforts of the British planting community of a century ago, were made basically in their own interests. But it cannot also be denied that they did show grit in turning away from a crop that had given them their livelihood in near half century, to focus their confidence and their resources on a plant that had yet to prove itself. Had they not taken these steps, “King Coffee” would have carried on despite the blight that eventually ended its reign and the world would never have known the joy of “Ceylon Tea."

Some indigenous Assam plants had also been introduced by Llewellyn of Calcutta to Penylan Estate Dolosbage. A letter written by H. Cottam in May 1901 confirms that the superintendent of Penylan, Mr Tringham, had conserved a field of Llewllyn’s planted in the forties, and on examination found the stem to be eight inches in diameter, and two feet in Circumference. It had grown to about 27 feet in height, and it would have grown much higher if its roots had not been cut to construct a drain near the kitchen of the bungalow. It is also recorded, that some plants from Rothschild had been transferred to some estates in Kotmale, Ramboda, and Punduloya, but no systematic attempts had been made to cultivate them on a commercial scale.

D. Millie also claims to have planted tea in Punduloya in 1861, and Lindsy claims responsibility for having some Assam seeds in 1864 and planted them at Rajawella, Dumbura. A sample of tea from this plantation however had been unsparingly condemned in Mincing Lane. After about forty years, these tea trees were reported to have been struggling under poor soil and unattended.

The First Commercial Tea Plot

It is here that we introduce the person who, more than any other, showed Ceylon the way out of the coffee disaster by founding an even greater plantation industry.

James Taylor was born in 1835 in a cottage at Monboddo, Kincardineshire, Scotland. He was one of a family of six children, who was described by his school master as “a quite, steady going lad," His mother died when he was only nine old. His father married again, but James did not take kindly to his step-mother. It must have been this setback that prompted him to seek his fortunes in a strange land at the tender age of sixteen.

At that time the owners of coffee plantations were looking for “sons of toil” in Scotland for their properties in Ceylon. In 1851, young James signed the form of engagement to G. & L.A. Hadden the London agents for Loolecondera estate. The contract was for three years as assistant manager, for a salary of pounds sterling 100 a year, from which he had to pay his fare to Ceylon. On October 22nd he set sail to Ceylon, never to return home again. At twenty years he was made the manager of Loolecondera responsible in all for about 1,100 acres.

Quiet as early in the field, and more successfully in a quiet way, were the proprietors of Loolecondera Plantation, Hewaheta - G.D.B Harrison and W, M. Leake. This property was subsequently purchased by Anglo-Ceylon and General Estates company Limited, whose produce in the early 1880’s, under the careful management of James Taylor, acquired a high reputation among Ceylon teas in London. This estate was originally purchased from the crown by James Joseph MacKenzie in 1841 and planted with tea. Taylor, on the instructions of the owner, began collecting tea seeds from Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and planted along the roadside. In 1866, Leake, being the Secretary of the Planters Association, was able to persuade the Government to send Arthur Morice, an experienced Ceylon coffee planter, on a mission to inspect and report on the Assam tea districts. The report got wide publicity. This helped both the Government and the planters of the day to see the potential available in tea in a more definite way.

The report prompted Leake to order for his firm Keir Dundas & Company, a consignment of Assam Hybrid tea seeds in 1866. This was perhaps the first of its kind ever to be imported, which served as the planting material for Ceylon’s first commercial plot. Taylor cleared a patch of 20 acres in mid -- 1867, a year before the Ceylon Company had felled any forest for tea. This is considered to be the oldest field of tea under continuous cultivation in Ceylon.

The first batch of tea manufactured on Loolecondera was marketed in Kandy. A more scientific evaluation of Leake’s tea, along with other Ceylon Company’s teas was made in 1871. The result was most encouraging, and a valuation of 3 shillings 6 pence was confirmed by the London brokers.

This prompted the owners to extend further cultivation of tea with special attention being paid to its manufacture. Taylor by then had mastered the art of tea cultivation, but was not proficient in the making of good tea. A brief visit to India helped him to learn the art of tea manufacture. He also had free access to the expert knowledge of Jenkins, considered a knowledgeable tea planter from Assam, who was given charge of the Company’s operations in Ceylon. Jenkins provided all assistance to Taylor, and above all, inspired confidence in him. Before long, Taylor was able to produce teas equal in all aspects to Assam teas.

Loolecondera by 1888, had become a show piece with its visual impact, and Taylor was able to display to all future tea planters the potential available in tea. Many were the compliments paid to him. The most interesting factor regarding the “original tea plot” planted in 1867 was that the first dose of fertiliser in the form of caster cake was only administered in 1885, but production figures indicated that the bushes were growing vigorously and the yields had been maintained at around 475 pounds of made tea per acre.

Taylor became very fond of the lovely island of Ceylon. In his first holiday out of the country he did not go home, but instead gone to Darjeeling to study tea manufacture. He died on the estate that he loved. His tombstone at Mahaiyawa cemetery, Kandy, carries the following inscription: “In pious memory of James Taylor, Loolecondera estate Ceylon, the pioneer of the tea and cinchona enterprises, who died on May 2nd 1892, at the age of 57."

G. F. Deane who took over the management of Loolecondera after Taylor’s death on 2nd May 1892, reporting on the old fields in 1901says that “yields had increased to 566 pounds of made tea per acre, despite the fields not been fertilised." The yields he said “would have been much higher had some of the plants not been pruned."

Although James Taylor is remembered as the “father” of Ceylon tea, we must not forget his many fellow planters. They fought back from the coffee disaster and brought a new industry in its place. To them, it was all a part of their rugged outdoor life. For their recreation they hunted the leopard, the bear, wild pig, and other animals that roamed the jungles surrounding their plantations.