The evolution of tea in Ceylon is an extraordinary story. While tea is the obvious focus in this tale, it is in fact the culminating result; the icing on the cake if you will; of what was a remarkable plantation enterprise that commenced under British colonial rule post-1796. Sri Lanka makes some of the best tea in the world, and it's ranked just behind Chinese tea, Indian tea and Kenyan tea. It's not just the large tea estates producing tea, there are thousands of smallholders all contributing to the Sri Lankan tea industry.