A Tale of Tea Leaves
My eye-opening experience with the Sri Lankan tea plantation workers
by Harriet Lewis
Women work to harvest leaves at a Sri Lankan tea plantation.
When Alan asked me what I wanted for my 60th birthday, I answered immediately: A trip to Sri Lanka. Two of our oldest and dearest friends live there, and over the course of our 25-year friendship, they’d invited us to visit them countless times. Until now, our hectic schedules had prevented us from making the journey, so this year, I was determined to make it happen.
And I did: In March, we finally made our way to the tiny, teardrop-shaped island nation formerly known as Ceylon. Knowing the long, violent history of Sri Lanka’s civil war (which officially ended just a few months after our visit), Alan and I weren’t quite sure what to expect. So we were more than a little surprised to discover a land of striking physical beauty—especially in the southwestern part of the country, which is home to lush, verdant hills and seemingly endless acres of fragrant tea plants.
We enjoyed a closer look at those plants during our stay, when our friends took us on a tour of a local tea plantation. I was fascinated to learn just how many steps are involved in the tea-making process: The leaves can only be picked at certain times, then they’re weighed and left to ferment (the most critical step of the process, as heat and humidity levels must be carefully controlled) before they’re dried and sorted by color and size.
The real highlight of our visit, though, was meeting several of the plantation’s workers. All were women, and petite ones at that (the tallest was only 5’2”; at 5’7”, I felt like a giant in comparison). But their short stature belied their considerable strength, which became apparent as soon as they demonstrated how they harvest the tea: They place each hand-picked leaf into a large wicker basket worn on their backs … and suspended from a strap on their heads. Amazed, I asked one of the women if I could try on her basket—and nearly fell over backwards once I’d gotten it on! It was certainly an eye-opening experience—and now, when I savor my morning tea, I have a much greater appreciation for how it came to be in my cup.