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Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association

CEYLON

Sri Lanka, country with a rich history of tea and home of Ceylon tea. Today, the country is known for some of the best teas in the world. Most of the production here is for the well-known tea bags. Worldwide, however, there is more and more demand for artisanal, hand-picked tea with a wide variety of flavours.

"CATA's aim is to promote the production of handcrafted tea in Sri Lanka: the organisation wants to showcase the diversity of Ceylon tea worldwide through a unique and quality offering."

OWN CHARACTER

Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association (CATA) was founded in 2020 by a group of eight small-scale tea farmers in Sri Lanka. Together, they produce a range of unique teas. Each member works in a different region, resulting in a diverse range comprising different terroirs and flavours. From the hills of Uva and the Knuckles, to the highlands of Dimbula and Nuwara Eliya, the slopes of Sri Pada and the rainforests of Ruhunu : each has its own character.

A UNIQUE OFFER

CATA’s aim is to promote the production of handcrafted tea in Sri Lanka: the organisation wants to showcase the diversity of Ceylon tea worldwide through a unique and quality offering. At the same time, it wants to improve the incomes and living conditions of tea farmers and workers, with great attention to environment and surroundings.

Tea Kulture works with 4 different tea gardens that are part of the Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association.

"From the hills of Uva and the Knuckles, to the highlands of Dimbula and Nuwara Eliya, the slopes of Sri Pada and the rainforests of Ruhunu : each has its own character."

AMBA TEA ESTATE

This organic garden is located at 1,000 metres above the Ravana-Ella waterfalls in the Uva Mountains. Their motto: if it grows, make it a beautiful product! Here, they use only the finest leaves and buds of the tea plant. All teas are made entirely by hand. Moreover, it is one of the first gardens in Sri Lanka to have started rolling tea.
The tea from this farm can be found, not without reason, in some famous shops and restaurants around the world.

FOREST HILL TEA

Forest Hill Tea is located at the foot of Adam’s Peak in Sabaragamuwa province, at an altitude of 900 metres. Their exceptional tea comes from the Warnagala plantation, set up during British colonisation, and which remained untouched for more than a century. The once abandoned plantation is now a thriving forest with great biodiversity. The 10- to 20-metre-high tea trees here grow among the other vegetation. The tea has a unique earthy character thanks to the nutrients absorbed from the deep layers of rich soil.
Here they produce quality tea, entirely by hand, and with great attention to sustainability.

"Artisans, whose heart beats in every drop of Kaley tea, pick only the finest leaves here entirely by hand."

MONKEYTAIL TEA

Gammaduwa Bungalow and Organic Tea Gardens are home to Monkeytail Teas. This is a small social enterprise that aims to offer a unique guesthouse experience, and where some artisan quality teas are produced. All employees, from guesthouse to tea garden and factory, are from the local village.

KALEY TEAS

This tea garden is located in a rural village in the southern lowlands of Ceylon, where sunshine and tropical monsoons alternate. Natural streams feed the terroir of this unique environment. Vast forests surround the tea garden, which also borders Ceylon’s largest rainforest: the Sinharaja.
Artisans, whose heart beats in every drop of Kaley tea, pick only the finest leaves here entirely by hand. Afterwards, the leaves wilt due to the typical forest winds. This produces some unique teas!