Our guesthouse is up in the hills as we had been warned that there was terrible pollution and traffic congestion in Kandy and so there is.  Nevertheless, having been tempted by the beauty of the lake and the buildings surrounding it, we decided to do some exploring.    After a quick foray into a couple of  streets we made a hasty retreat into the faded splendour of the Queen’s Pantry Shop for a restorative cup of tea as we had now decided to leave the city, head for the hills and learn all about tea.

The Ceylon Tea Museum  is a delightful surprise.  Set in grounds that are landscaped with different varieties of tea, the large retro corrugated iron factory retains the original wooden floors, drying racks and airing rooms along with the old machinery.  It is all very well cared for and there is a guided tour around the machines and the collection of objects relating to tea preparation and consumption.

We learned about the history of tea production and how it had begun in Ceylon as a result of the coffee blight which had destroyed the plantations by 1869, two years after the first experimental tea had been planted. At the end of the tour we had yet another cup of excellent tea.  Finally we bought some packets of tea in the shop.