Location :
Maskeliya, Sri Lanka
Just as significant as the development of the ‘CeylonTea’ industry itself, are the publications that abound,which tell the stories of fascinating evolution ofsame spanning for over 150 years. Particularly, inthe earlier days of the 19th Century, the success ofthe plantation industry of ‘Ceylon’ was a collectiveeffort and not just one of plantation folklore.Railways, roadways, engineering, legislation andso on, all played pivotal roles in advancing theindustry.
According to the records Mocha estate, Maskeliya was originally a coffee plantation founded in the mid 19th century during the period of British rule and owned by Mocha Ceylon Company. In addition to Mocha estate, Glentilt estate located in Maskeliya was too belonged to the same plantation company. However, with the devastation of all coffee plantations in Ceylon by the coffee rust disease, Mocha estate also converted to a tea estate as all other upcountry plantations. Meantime, the management company name also changed to Mocha Tea Company Limited., from its original name. But, the estate’s name remained unchanged to date. According to the records Mocha estate, Maskeliya was originally a coffee plantation founded in the mid 19th century during the period of British rule and owned by Mocha Ceylon Company. In addition to Mocha estate, Glentilt es ate located in Maskeliya was too belonged to the same plantation company. However, with the devastation of all coffee plantations in Ceylon by the coffee rust disease, Mocha estate also converted to a tea estate as all other upcountry plantations. Meantime, the management company name also changed to Mocha Tea Company Limited., from its original name. But, the estate’s name remained unchanged to date.
Until the nationalization of plantations owned by sterling companies in 1975, the estate was managed by Mocha Tea Company Limited, which was under the direct management of George Stuart Company. Thereafter, the management was shifted to an associate company of George Stuart Company, where the top officials of the agency house were British nationals.
Initially, Mocha estate and Adam’s Peak estate had been two different entities. The original tea factory of Mocha estate which was a massive four story building went under water as Moussakellie reservoir was commissioned in 1967. A major portion of earlier Adam’s Peak estate and a part of Mocha Lower division too had gone beneath the water with that move. Gone under the water were not only tea cultivations but also a large number of worker and staff housing, a beautiful typical colonial bungalows that hosted the superintendents of Adam’s Peak estate and Laxapana estates including the access road to Mocha, Adam’s Peak, Moray and Laxapana estates via Maskeliya.
Thereafter, a modernized new Mocha tea factory was constructed and declared open on 30th April, 1968. Later on, remaining parts of Mocha and Adam’s Peak tea gardens were amalgamated to a single unit in 1982. Presently, Mocha estate comprises of four divisions namely, Mocha Upper, Mocha Lower, Midlothian and Adam’s Peak divisions.
Consequent to the nationalization, the estate was managed by Sri Lanka State Plantations Cooperation (SLSPC) and organization created by the government to manage the estates vested in to the state. The government de-vested the state owned estates with private sector, forming several regional plantations companies (RPCs) upon which Mocha estate became the property of Maskeliya Plantations PLC in June 1992 managed by RPK management services of John keels Holdings. Later, under the present RPC Management Services Private Limited, a subsidiary of Richard Peries group of Company In its existent more than one and half century, Mocha Estate till this day bears unmatched unique pride of having hosted a very important personality in the international financial circle.
Mocha Estate produces finest quality “Brocken tea grades” such as Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP), Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings (BOPF) Dust Number 1, etc. by following “Orthodox Rotervane Tea Manufacture” process while complying with HACCP, ISO 22000-2005 and Rainforest Alliance Certification.
This estate admires a very panoramic natural surroundings in south west end of the Hill country, under the shadow of world famous Adam’s Peak mountain range locally known as “Sri Paada mountain”. Being bordered to Adam’s Peak mountain and the Peak Wildness Nature Reserve, many kind of wild animals including the leopard, the wild boar and the sambar deer etc moving around the estate mostly in the night hours in harmony with human life. The estate overlooks the Mousakellie reservoir and the majestic stand of Adam’s Peak is an enchanting view of the superintendent bungalow
Mocha estate reached an ever highest record profit level of Rs. 35 million within the period under review, registering an over 800% increment against the previous, decade long highest record profit made by the estate. True secret behind this remarkable performance displayed by the estate was, none other than the team work executed by the estate’s entire working quad discharging their unanimous support at all levels.
Thus, all the credit of such an exceptional effort should be remitted to all parties in this extraordinary alliance, including the management team, the staffs and most importantly, the worker platoon who achieved the above, under the outstanding leadership along with smarter management skills of the present Superintendent Mr. Ransiri Bulathsinhala.
