Easily accessible via bus, the Dambatenne tea factory is the most popular tea factory on the island and comes highly recommended. Built in 1890, the factory remains in action to this day where tours are available to visitors who wish to learn about the processes involved, including the fermentation, rolling, drying, cutting, sieving and grading of tea. The tours makes for a truly educational experience and sitting down at the end to sip on your own freshly brewed cuppa makes a perfect way to end the unique trip.

If you have a thirst for knowledge, the Ceylon tea museum is a visit you’ll not want to miss out on.

The museum itself is located within the refurbished vintage Hantane tea factory, south of Kandy. There is much to see and learn, including exhibits about the leading tea pioneers, antique tea-processing items and interesting guides. Once you’ve finished in the museum you can head up to the top floor to enjoy your free, freshly brewed tea in the lovely tea room.

To get a true glimpse of a Sri Lankan tea estate head to the Pedro tea estate located near Nuwara Eliya where you can take a guided tour of the 130 year old factory which still contains much of the original 19th century machinery.

It’s worth noting that photo taking is not permitted inside the factory and the processing of the tea actually takes place at night time in the cooler temperature so you’ll not see any of the processes happening during your visit, although the guided tour shows you all around the factory.