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Ceylon Tea

Ceylon teas, black tea grown in Sri Lanka, are known generally for their simple, elegant and straightforward liquors. Sri Lanka, once known as Ceylon, refers only to the tea's country of origin and not to the characteristics of any particular tea estate or region.

To have a better idea of the individual taste characteristics of a Ceylon tea, you must know from which of Sri Lanka's tea growing districts the tea originates. The three regions that produce fine Ceylon teas are: Uva, Dimbula and Nuwara Eliya. Each region sits on at a different elevation, a different part of the island and subject to the various amounts of rainfall or lack thereof. Teas from Uva which grow on the Eastern half of the island at an elevation of 3500 in a region subject to a dry season and monsoons produce a stong and full-bodied liquor that is quite aromatic. Dimbula teas grown at a lower altitude, a cool climate with relatively low humidity on the Western side of the island are known for their light flavor with strong aromatic notes and lack of astringency. Nuwara Eliya come from slopes high above Dimbula sitting at 6000 to 7000 feet above sea level. Teas from Nuwara Eliya are considered the "Champaign" of Sri Lankan teas and sought for their light-bodied, lightly astringent pale liquor woodsy flavor and sweet notes.

Tea is not native to the island of Sri Lanka but because the British thirst for tea was not being adequately met by Chinese production in the early 1800 the British began to cultivate tea for their own consumption in colonial Sri Lanka, Ceylon, as well as in India. Because this tea was largely for export and British consumption the vast majority of it was processed into black tea.