Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Reveals the Human Story Behind Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tea Through Jeeva’s Remarkable Family Journey

Written By: Ricky Acharjee

Ricky Acharjee

I am travel writer at Travel And Tour World with 3 years of experience covering global tourism, aviation, hospitality, and destination news. Dedicated to accurate reporting and compelling storytelling, Ricky explores the trends, innovations, and developments shaping the international travel industry while delivering engaging insights for travellers and industry professionals.

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September 3, 2026 11:44 GMT+5:30

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For Velaudham Jeevanandhan, known as Jeeva, tea is far more than part of his work at Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort. It is woven into his family history. Before the resort begins to stir and breakfast guests arrive, he starts his morning quietly with a simple cup of pure black Ceylon tea, served without anything to alter its natural flavour.

That first cup carries him back through generations. His father worked as a field officer on a tea estate, while his grandfather also spent his life among Sri Lanka’s green tea-covered hills. For Jeeva, the aroma and warmth of freshly brewed tea still bring back vivid memories of childhood days spent running between rows of tea bushes.

He remembers turning soft tea shoots into makeshift whistles and watching experienced tea pluckers move steadily across the plantations, their hands working with an effortless rhythm developed over years.

Tea surrounded Jeeva so completely while he was growing up that he never imagined it could one day become his profession. It simply belonged to everyday life, family and home. Only when he reached his thirties did he begin to understand that this lifelong connection was more than a childhood memory. It was a heritage passed down through his family, waiting to become his own calling.

“I didn’t really choose tea, but it was rather a part of my identity already.”

Despite this deep lineage, Jeeva is no purist. His years in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s bustling capital, taught him how a cup of Masala Chai can shift the atmosphere of a room, and he approaches modern tastes like milky boba with curiosity. Yet he believes Ceylon tea holds something these newer fashions can only hope to match: the knowledge earned slowly, over a lifetime.

“This tea comes from people who spent their whole lives learning one thing… You cannot make that quickly.”

In the ten years since joining Anantara, Jeeva’s role has grown far beyond that of a tea sommelier. His signature Tea Quotique experience guides guests through the island’s geography, showing how a single leaf can express entirely different characters depending on where it is grown: the cool, high air of Nuwara Eliya; the salt-kissed breezes of Galle; or the white tea from the nearby Handunugoda estate, where delicate buds and young leaves are still dried the slow, traditional way.

For Jeeva, the real art of tea goes far beyond preparing the perfect cup. It is about creating a sense of calm and giving people space to slow down. He remembers one couple who came to a tasting visibly drained from their day. As Jeeva began sharing stories of his father, who observed every tea plant with the same care and attention he might give to understanding another person, their tired conversation gradually faded. The room became still, and the simple act of learning about tea turned into a quiet moment of reflection.

“My father would look at the plants the way you look at a person when you want to understand how they are feeling.”

In that shared stillness, the husband remembered his own father, a farmer, and the way he once read the land.

“Tea makes a certain kind of quietness, and inside that quietness sometimes people find something they were not expecting.”

Perhaps tea’s greatest value lies not simply in its flavour, but in its ability to create a quiet moment of connection. Even for someone who drinks it without much thought, a familiar cup in the morning can bring comfort, focus and a sense of calm. In Sri Lanka, however, tea carries a far richer meaning. It is part of the country’s heritage, shaped over generations by the knowledge, skill and dedication of the people who cultivate it.

For Jeeva, protecting that heritage means passing on far more than the practical craft of making exceptional tea. He hopes the next generation, whether working at Anantara or across Sri Lanka’s neighbouring tea estates, will also learn the qualities behind the tradition: patience, close observation, care and a deep respect for the soil and landscape. These values have helped sustain Sri Lanka’s reputation for fine tea for generations, and Jeeva believes they will remain just as important in the years ahead.