Almost 350 years after tea was first sold in England (i.e. in 1657) an elite gathering was hosted to an event - the first of it's kind where those present went through the motions of fine tea tasting and opera, in exclusive venues in London in June 2002.

The name Mackwoods is synonymous with high quality Ceylon tea, as the company has been associated with tea almost since its inception.

Jonathan Swift said that "Tea is water bewitched." This describes the refreshing flavour of Mackwoods Labookellie Tea Centre, surrounded by the lust green tea plantations of Labookellie estate enroute to Nuwara-Eliya. This is a warm and welcome sight for many a traveller, both local and international.

The Mackwoods Labookellie Tea Centre is popular for a freshly brewed premium cup of tea from the misty hills, enjoyed with a piece of rich home-made chocolate cake beside a magical view. The Centre offers true 'tea culture' with an instructive tour around the tea factory to understand the finer points in tea production and its proud heritage. The staff is able to converse in English, French and German. A variety of events such as tea plucking competitions and tea tasting which are enjoyed by a multimedia of international and lolcal visitors rank high in popular whilst the Vesak lantern festival is an example of an event organised for a special occasion.

Founded in 1841 by the British "Merchant & Agent" Captain Wiliam Mackwood, Mackwoods Limited has the distinction of being the second oldest company in Sri Lanka. Surviving two world wars, the Company remained with the Mackwoods family until 1956 when its ownershp passed into the hands of the visionary Sri Lankan entrepreneur N.S.O. Mendis. Under his inspired leadership the company expanded into many areas, and today, Mackwoods is a conglomerate of several companies engaged in such diverse activities as Agribusiness and Plantations, Healthcare, Manufacturing, information Technology and Import/Export Trading. The present Chairperson of the company is the daughter of N.S.O.Mendis, Mrs. Sriyani Nonis, and in the third generation her daughter Mrs. Nirmali Samaratunga, and her son, Dr. Chris Nonis, are on the Board of Directors.

Agalawatte Plantations Limited (APL) - a member of the Mackwoods Group, was adjudged the winner of the National Business Excellence Award for the Agriculture & Platations Sector at the recently concluded National Business Excellence Awards 2006 organised by the National Chamber of Commerce. APL is unque for many reasons - in particular the core values and the heritage of its parent Company - Mackwoods which celebrates its 165th anniversary this year, as well as its strong tradition of looking outwards to the plantation community it serves and the Nation as a whole...

Agalawatte Plantations Limited (APL) was an award winner at the National Business Excellence Awards 2005. APL is unique for many reasons: in particular the core values and 164 year heritage of its parent Company - Mackwoods, as well as its strong tradition of looking outwards to the plantations commmunity it server and the Nation as a whole.

Agalawatte Plantations Ltd (APL) recorded a turnover of Rs. 1.129 Billion in 2005, which was the highest in its history: 3% above 2004.

The rubber turnover increased by a significat 14% as a result of increases achieved in both production and prices. Rubber production improved by 5.4% to 3.49 million kg through increases achieved in yields and productivity levels, notwithstanding the inclement weather conditions which affected tapping.

From the cosy room of the new Labookellie Tea Centre, sipping a steaming cup of tea, I watched through the wide picture window, the mists drifting over the acres of deep-green bushes, outside. It was the formal opening of a re-decorated wing of the Tea Centre.

The Labookellie tea factory is set in a cleft of the escarpment which falls sharply from the plateau on which Nuwara Eliya stands. From the highland country, at different elevations and spread in a patchwork of cultivation, from about 6000 feet to the mid-country plains, lie tea plantations. Motor vehicles chugging up the steep and winding road which cuts through the Ramboda Pass, go through some of the island's oldest and best tea gardens.

Die Teefabrik von Mackwoods gehört zu denen, die trotz Angst vor Werksspionage auch heute noch besichtigt werden kann. Fotografieren ist jedoch in weiten Teilen der Anlage verboten, nachdem US-Amerikaner ein paar Blätter auf dem Boden fotografiert haben und der Fabrik anschließend in einer Fernsehsendung unhygienische Verarbeitungsweisen vorgeworfen wurden.

"We believe in optimism, skill, resilience, and faith in the face of adversity. This is the success story of our business and the prime reason for our existence even after 161 years," said the Chairperson of the Mackwoods Group of Companies, Mrs. Sriyani Nonis. "No one can survive without it."

Mrs. Nonis said adding that "The company has withstood two world wars and has seen the changing demands and vicissitudes of three centuries. "We have served the country through these eras of rapid change, and we have been constantly prepared to adapt, while still maintaining our core business philosophy "Tradition with vision".

Instead we took our time driving from Nuwara Eliya back to Kandy, stopping at the Tea Factory Hotel for tea and chocolate cake(the traditional sidekick) and then stopping a few hours later at the Labookellie Tea Factory for more tea and cake. We got a tour of the tea factory in Labookelie, and, among other things, I learned that...

Labookellie is one of the 700 tea factories in Sri Lanka and are producers of the best tea on this island. It's a multistore building and is just abt. 10 km from Nuwara Eliya in the Rambod sub-district.

Sri Lanka is the world's biggest tea exporter, so it is a must to visit one tea factory, otherwise you can not say you have been in Sri Lanka...

Aside from the tea plantations, tourists can also visit some tea factories in the area. You will soon get used to the unappealing sight of these factories - they are drab two- or three-storied buildings, which somehow look like sinister boarding schools. Notwithstanding the appearance, the fresh tea smell emanating from the factories is truly enticing.

One factory open to visitors is Labookellie, 10 kms along the Nuwara Eliya-Kandy Road. While passing it by bus on your way from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya, ask the conductor to be let off there, leave your luggage in a storage room, and have a look around. You can also purchase some of Labookellie's tea, which is supposed to be among Sri Lanka's best. The tea estate is also an easy taxi ride from Nurelia.

Mackwoods tea plantation was an interesting stop on the road from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. The chocolate cake was extra and the tea tasted good...

I feel particularly fond of this tea for three reasons. Firstly because it is a good tea in itself; secondly because I twice had the privilege of visiting the plantation and factory, near Nuwara Eliya in the central hills of Sri Lanka; thirdly because it brings back such happy memories of a night spent at the splendid Hill Club, also at Nuwara Eliya.

The Labookellie Tea Factory is an extraordinary place - a large wooden building filled with the delicious scent of drying tea leaves. The machinery used for moving, filtering, sorting and packaging the tea all has a delightful Heath-Robinson look to it. The wooden tea-crates awaiting shipment with the company name and content stencilled in black on the sides seem to me ever so romantic - shades of the East India Company, Thermopylae, Cutty Sark and the other great tea clippers. They serve a first-class afternoon tea there too, accompanied with slices of excellent home-made fruit-cake and chocolate-cake...

Think of Sri Lanka, and beaches and Buddhist temples spring to mind. But Ceylon means tea. Under the Lion logo, the island is the largest exporter of tea in the world - Ceylon Tea, as it will always be known.

The story began in 1867 at the Peredeniya Botanical Gardens outside Kandy, and that is the ideal starting point for the amateur of the cuppa. In that year, a Scottish coffee planter called James Taylor took some cuttings from the gardens' Assam tea bushes and planted them over 19 acres of the nearby Loolecoondera estate, where he worked. It was a prescient move, despite the misgivings of his employers. Two years later, a fungus destroyed the island's coffee plantations and brought about the rise of Camellia sinensis. Those humble tea bushes, progenitors of Sri Lanka's wealth, still breathe in the Botanical Gardens amid far rarer and more glamorous specimens. It is a delightful place for a stroll, and to escape the crowds in Kandy.

The ‘Upali Wijewardene Kandos Cup” sponsored by Ceylon Chocolates Ltd is the main event for the April 1 where a number of horses have entered. The “Mackwoods Labookellie Cup” sponsored by Mackwoods Plantations Pvt Ltd., has also been drawn up for this day. The chief guest on this day will be Hon Sarath Ekanayake, Chief Minister Central Province and his gracious lady and several other Ministers will also be present.

Lasciamo i bimbi e proseguiamo per la fabbrica: la Labookellie, consigliata sulla nostra Lonley Planet.

Si tratta di un fabbricato in metallo, posto al centro delle piantagioni. Ogni piantagione forma una comunità, chiamata Estate. Ognuna ha un proprio villaggio per i dipendenti, una scuola e un asilo (quello in cui per caso eravamo finiti), un medico. Insomma sono autosufficienti, e non potrebbe che essere così…