The first
arabica coffee plants introduced to Ceylon may have arrived from
Yemen via
India, by Muslim pilgrims in the early 17th century. However, the
Sinhalese were unaware of the use of berries in preparing a beverage. The Dutch undertook the first attempt at systematic cultivation of coffee in 1740. Prior to commencing large-scale coffee cultivation, the Dutch conducted preliminary trials at the Highwalton Estate in Matale in 1740 to assess the suitability of Sri Lankan climatic conditions and soil fertility for coffee saplings. It was initiated by
Governor Baron van Imhoff and his successors;
van Gollenesse and
Loten. However, it was confined to the low-country and was relatively unsuccessful with low levels of production. By 1762, annual coffee production was only 100,000 pounds. The British, who first arrived on the island in 1796 and took control in 1815, continued experiments with coffee production. These early ventures, mainly in the coastal areas around
Galle, failed due to the unsuitability of the area for coffee cultivation. The first to successfully grow coffee on a commercial scale was
George Bird, who established a coffee plantation in
Singhapitiya.
Edward Barnes, who became
Governor of Ceylon in 1824, established another plantation in
Gannoruwa in 1825 (now a part of the
Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya). These were followed by a number of other government officials establishing plantations in the region. The only native to grow coffee on a commercial scale was
Jeronis de Soysa and about a quarter of the total production was from the
smallholdings of native farmers. Most of these early ventures were economically unsuccessful, due to a number of factors including unsuitability of the lowland areas, competition from the
West Indies, lack of cultivation skills and poor infrastructure. The first plantation in the mountainous Kandyan area, was established in 1827 which, a few years later, spread to many other areas in the country, becoming profitable. At the initiative of the British colonial administration, Sri Lanka experimented with coffee as a plantation crop in the 1830s. Sri Lankan coffee cultivation and export prospered when the
West Indies ended slavery, which affected its extensive coffee production. Further expansion occurred when the British government in Sri Lanka sold government lands they had obtained through the
Crown Lands Ordinance.
Tamil labour from
South India was recruited by the 1830s. During the period 1830–1850, coffee production assisted in the country's development and a capitalist society emerged. The
Bank of Ceylon supported the proliferation of coffee estates, which resulted in infrastructure development within the
Kandyan Provinces. During the period of worldwide economic depression in 1846, production declined, conflicts arose, and taxes were levied to compensate the losses to the economy, due to the falling price of coffee. Labour conscription was introduced in 1848, causing a rebellion, which was later quelled. However, the plantation era transformed Sri Lanka; nearly one-third of the plantation area was owned by the local people. With high demand and prices for coffee in the European market, coffee planting increased. Investors flocked to Ceylon from overseas and
around of rain forest was cleared to make way for coffee plantations. The term "Coffee rush" was coined to describe this developing situation in 1840. By 1860, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Indonesia, were the three largest coffee-producing countries in the world. In 1869, the coffee industry was still thriving in Ceylon, but shortly afterwards, coffee plantations were devastated by the fungal disease
Hemileia vastatrix, also known as
coffee leaf rust (CLR), affecting not only Sri Lanka but other areas in
Asia over the next 20 years. The planters nicknamed the disease "Devastating Emily". Production dipped rapidly and by 1900, coffee was only being cultivated on and was replaced by
tea. ==Production==