Ceciliyan

Ceciliyan is a tea estate situated in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, at an altitude of 276 metres above sea level. The operating company is not publicly recorded. The estate is documented as a supplier to Finlays, the British-headquartered tea and horticulture group with extensive sourcing operations across South Asia and East Africa.

Terroir & Climate

At 276 metres altitude, Ceciliyan occupies the low-grown category of Sri Lankan tea production. Estates at this elevation typically experience warmer, more humid conditions than their counterparts in the high-grown districts of the central highlands. The growing cycle at lower elevations generally proceeds more rapidly, with faster leaf development and shorter intervals between plucking rounds. These conditions tend to favour higher yields and robust vegetative growth.

Sabaragamuwa Province, located in the south-central part of Sri Lanka, spans a range of elevations but remains substantially warmer and wetter than the island's famous Nuwara Eliya and Uva districts. Estates in this zone often benefit from consistent rainfall and stable temperatures throughout much of the year, conditions that typically support year-round production with less pronounced seasonal variation in flush character than is observed at higher altitudes.

Tea Produced

Ceciliyan produces black tea. Low-grown Ceylon teas from estates at comparable elevations generally yield a cup that is full-bodied, brisk, and deeply coloured, with a robust, straightforward character well suited to blending. The faster-growing leaf typical of warmer zones tends to produce liquors with strength and astringency rather than the delicate aromatics associated with high-elevation gardens. Teas from Sabaragamuwa's lower reaches are often employed in breakfast blends and value-segment retail packs where consistency, colour, and body are prioritised.

Supply Chain & Market Position

Ceciliyan is recorded as supplying Finlays, one of the world's largest tea traders and a key intermediary linking origin estates to major retail, foodservice, and brand customers in Europe, North America, and beyond. Finlays sources from hundreds of estates across multiple origins, blending, packing, and distributing tea on behalf of supermarket own-labels, established brands, and foodservice operators. The presence of Finlays as a documented buyer indicates that Ceciliyan's output enters global commodity and blending channels rather than being marketed as single-estate or boutique lot.

• Recorded supplier to  Finlays

Location & Neighbouring Estates

Ceciliyan lies at 6.5353, 80.3843 in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. Its 276 m elevation is the 26th highest of 75 estates we map in Sabaragamuwa Province. The nearest estates in the TeaTrade directory, measured point-to-point from these coordinates, are:

• Haughton — 6.3 km away
• Evergreen Group, Karawita — 6.7 km away
• Wewelkandura — 7.2 km away
• Aennen — 7.3 km away
• Kalawana, Rain Forest — 7.9 km away

Estates at a Similar Altitude to Ceciliyan

Elevation shapes how slowly leaf matures, so we match Ceciliyan (276 m) with estates within 150 m of its height that are not its neighbours. Each is shown with its own 2025 climate. Ceciliyan recorded 3,214 mm in 2025, 34% more than the 2,391 mm average across these estates: at the same height, local weather and exposure matter as much as elevation.

Estate	Where	Elevation	Rain 2025	Mean high
Dampahala	Southern Province, Sri Lanka	282 m	2,210 mm	28.8 °C
Putharjhora Tea Garden Pvt. Ltd.	JALPAIGURI, India	283 m	3,002 mm	27.7 °C
Biyolta	Southern Province, Sri Lanka	267 m	2,647 mm	28.6 °C
Harmutty	India, India	291 m	1,622 mm	30.5 °C
Good Young Co. Ltd.	Longtan Dist, Taiwan	301 m	2,475 mm	26.4 °C

Ceciliyan Compared with Sabaragamuwa Province

In Sabaragamuwa Province, Ceciliyan is drier than 65% of the others by 2025 rainfall; higher than 66% of the others by elevation; warmer than 58% of the others by daytime temperature. The table sets Ceciliyan against the 74 other estates we map in Sabaragamuwa Province, so you can see whether it is typical for its region or an outlier.

Measure	Ceciliyan	Region median	Region range
Elevation	276 m	164 m	26 to 1,355 m
Annual rainfall (2025)	3,214 mm	3,412 mm	2,018 to 4,839 mm
Mean daily high	29.6 °C	29.5 °C	21.5 to 30.9 °C
Mean overnight low	21.8 °C	21.9 °C	15.7 to 23.0 °C

Observed Climate at Ceciliyan (2025)

ERA5 reanalysis data modelled for Ceciliyan’s coordinates recorded 3,214 mm of precipitation across calendar year 2025. The wettest month was November (516 mm) and the driest was February (39 mm). Daytime highs averaged 29.6 °C and overnight lows 21.8 °C over the year; April was the warmest month and January the coolest.

Metric	2025 value
Annual precipitation	3,214 mm
Wettest month	November (516 mm)
Driest month	February (39 mm)
Mean daily high	29.6 °C
Mean overnight low	21.8 °C

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Ceciliyan located?

Ceciliyan is in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, at coordinates 6.5353, 80.3843, at an elevation of about 276 metres.

What type of tea does Ceciliyan produce?

Ceciliyan is recorded as producing black tea.

Which buyers does Ceciliyan supply?

Public supplier disclosures record Ceciliyan as supplying Finlays.

How much rain does Ceciliyan receive?

ERA5 reanalysis data for the estate's coordinates recorded 3,214 mm of precipitation in 2025, peaking in November (516 mm).

How does Ceciliyan compare with estates at a similar elevation?

Ceciliyan recorded 3,214 mm in 2025, 34% more rain than the 2,391 mm average of estates at a similar elevation.

Data sources: public supply-chain disclosures (Ethical Tea Partnership member lists, Rainforest Alliance certificate holders and retailer supplier disclosures); climate figures are ERA5 reanalysis modelled for the estate’s coordinates via Open-Meteo (calendar year 2025); coordinates and elevations from geocoded records. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].