Sri Lanka is paying some foreign debts with tea, rather than cash. But an abrupt ban on chemical fertilizers has hurt crop yields and tea pickers are losing hours and wages as food prices double.

As a lifelong forest-bather whose childhood nickname was Tree (I was tall, with the surname Wood), I thought I knew green. But here it’s varied and intense in the tea bushes that hem each slope.

Journey into the clouds along Sri Lanka’s tea trails. ... Drivers stop to break from tedious road conditions, and tuck into tree-plucked mangoes, red lychees and boiled corn on the cob.

Tea tourism is big business in Sri Lanka — and a major source of revenue for Amba. The estate typically sees about 2,000 visitors a year, Bell says.

What do you get when you put 70 foreigners in charge of 25 tuk-tuks? Charles Starmer-Smith finds out as he leads Team Telegraph on a wild and wonderful 10-day ride and explores Sri Lanka's tea ...