A toast to Cinnamon and Tea: unveiling stories, voices and textures
Bird calls beckon and dark and mysterious plantations and misty, wind-swept slopes spreading as far as the eye can see, offer a unique experience to the twin ‘treasures’ of Sri Lanka – cinnamon, the spice and tea, the herb.
This immersive experience is not in the wet climes of medium-elevation hill regions or in the rainy and windy central hills.
It is right here in Colombo – ensconced within ‘Genesis’, the Centre for a Sustainable Future in Colombo 10, where long years ago was born the Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company under the vision of Founder Merrill J. Fernando.
Cinnamon down the ages and (below) tea factory machinery. Pix by Priyanka Samaraweera
While Merrill strove to offer the finest Ceylon tea, garden fresh and unblended, and to do so with ethics and integrity, son Dilhan, Chairman and CEO of Dilmah, has taken the baton a tad further to include cinnamon.
The ‘Genesis Tea & Cinnamon Experience Centre’ is a revelation, without physically visiting areas where tea and cinnamon thrive. As its website states “it is more than just a gallery; it is a gateway to the stories, voices and textures that shape our communities”.
The 30-45 minute experience begins with a rich tapestry of history. Unveiling myth, legend and antiquity shrouding cinnamon, information can be garnered from the colourful panels – cinnamon being mentioned in the Bible (“Moreover, the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure Myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half as much…..and thou shalt make it an holy ointment…..); also in Chinese texts; and how it was highly sought after from antiquity by the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs.
Associated with luxury, opulence and sensuality, another nugget highlights cinnamon’s use in witchery, black magic and religious ceremonies as an incense and by the wealthy as a perfume….…“The eccentric Roman emperor, Nero (37-68 CE – Common Era), is said to have burned a year’s supply of cinnamon to the city of Rome, in the funeral pyre of his wife, Poppae Sabina, whom he murdered in a fit of rage.”
From the world scene, the viewer is moved to Ceylon’s rich cinnamon heritage which attracted King Solomon of Israel (10th century BCE), who is said to have voyaged through the Gulf of Aqaba towards the Indian Ocean, in search of this spice, while Arab, Persian and Greek traders did the same.
More recently, British captive for 19 years in Ceylon, Robert Knox, has described cinnamon in his book ‘An Historical Relation of Ceylon’.
The exhibits do not just detail history but also showcase the tools used, how cinnamon is produced and what its health benefits are.
Casting eyes at current times, the value comes under the spotlight – Sri Lanka exporting cinnamon worth US$ 149 million in 2023, the largest exporter and producer of ‘true’ cinnamon.
Cinnamon is mainly grown in Kandy, Matale, Belihul Oya, lower Haputale, Sinharaja Forest Range, Sitawaka-Avissawella, the south and the Sabaragamuwa Province, where Dilmah’s Kahawatte Plantations are located.
Spotlight on tea
Next begins the immersion in tea, with the panels portraying the beginnings – the ‘legendary’ but accidental discovery by Chinese Emperor Shen Nong around 2,700 BCE and this herb’s journey across the world and to Sri Lanka in the 1800s.
The Boston Tea Party will keep the viewer riveted – when the Dutch took tea to North America in the 18th century, but North Americans resented the ‘British Tea Act’ and threw 342 chests of tea into the sea, in the Boston Harbour in 1773, dubbed the ‘Boston Tea Party’ which subsequently led to the American Revolution and the formation of the United States of America.
Other highlights dot the panels with a snippet being Sri Lanka sending 50kg of Pekoe from Nuwara Eliya’s Pedro Estate for the tea festivities during the coronation of King Charles III in May 2023. Incidentally, Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince Philip had visited this estate during their tour of Ceylon in 1954.
The tea section also exhibits models of the equipment used in manufacture.
The history and importance of the spice and herb invaluable to Sri Lanka given pride of place right here in Colombo at this centre!
The ‘tour’ culminates with a tasting session. The centre located at No. 52, Maligawatte Road, Colombo 10, is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10.30-11:30 a.m. and 3.30-4.30 p.m. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays. It costs US$ 15 per adult while children below the age of 12 gain free entry. More details from: https://genesis.dilmahtea.com/tea-cinnamon-experience-centre/
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