Tea Plantation



Tea Plantations of Sri Lanka

Far from being just a scenic wonder, the panoramic tea gardens of Sri Lanka provide a countless number of blends and single garden tea of premium value. Most are situated at elevations between 3,000 and 8,000 feet, which span the lush mountains of the central highlands and the fertile plains of the southern inland areas of the island. Sri Lankan tea possesses unique and specific characteristics of quality and taste attributed to geographical origin and unique manufacturing practices.


Low-grown teas, at an elevation below 2000 feet, produce good colour and strength and are popularly drunk with milk. Mid-grown teas, grown between 2000 to 4000 feet, are rich in flavour with good color. High-grown teas, from heights of 4000 feet and above, are considered premium, and exude beautiful golden liquor and an intense, powerful aroma. Some estates also produce silver tips that give very pale straw-colored liquor, best drunk plain.


Sri Lankan tea is also grown under the highest social and environmental standards; excellence in process and purity of product are reflected by world class certifications. Several plantations are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited and GLOBAL GAP compliant.


Nuwara Eliya

From the mist wrapped mountains of Nuwara Eliya that rise from the centre of the island to soar over 6000 feet above sea level, where the morning air is cool and bracing and the nights cold and touched with frost, come the lightest and the most refined tea to fill the connoisseurs’ cup. Nuwara Eliya is the champagne province of the country’s tea lands with flowery pekoes that are best imbibed light.


Uda Pussellawa

This region is twice blessed. It’s blessed during the months of June and September when the southwest monsoon arrives; a cold and dry spell to spur the tea bush to sprout the leaves that will produce a medium-bodied rosy tea graced with subtle character. Then it’s blessed again between November and January when the northeast monsoon’s yearly visitation brings rain in its wake and makes the tea darker in colour and stronger in flavour, adding more tang.


Dimbula

It is cool and dry between December and March and then the heavens open up to send in the rains between May and September. Two different climates within each year dictate Dimbula’s tea produce; a host of natural flavours with a hint of jasmine spiced with cypress. The tea when brewed displays a hue of a reddish, golden orange. And when tasted, it’s surprising to find a taste refreshingly mellow. Defined as ‘high grown’ tea, it is probably, the most famous Ceylon Tea of all.


Uva

It’s the climate that makes Uva tea highly prized. The mountainous terrain is exposed to both monsoon seasons; the annual northeast and the southwest monsoons. But when the winds reach these climes and howl around its high towers, they blow bereft of moisture – a spent force which had discharged its water content in the hills below. The dryness gives Uva tea a special concentrated aroma and a distinct exotic flavour.


Kandy

This mid country tea grown at 2,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level produces robust, full-bodied teas. Ideal for those who love their tea strong, bursting with flavour: the perfect wake-up tea for winter mornings, or when the heart needs a perky sprint.


Sabaragamuwa

It’s not only in the mountains that Ceylon Tea brews best. The region of Sabaragamuwa, geographically placed at a lower elevation, musters a tea that is second to none. The climate which is hot and humid in the open air and moist and cool where the surrounding foliage is dense, serve to produce a dry tea leaf of a dark reddish black hue. The result: a scarlet coloured, full-bodied strong tea in your morning tea cup.


Different Types of Tea

Name Image About
Silver Tips The finest buds of a special cultivar which turn velvety-silver when dried. Extremely rare, and usually handpicked before sunrise, they offer the gentlest fragrant brew.
OP - Orange Pekoe Contrary to popular belief, Orange Pekoe refers to a leaf size and not a flavour. Orange Pekoe tea has a strong scent and a smooth flavour with a sweet finish.
BOPF - Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings Uniform, black-leaf tea particles which are smaller than BOP but without tips, hailing from higher elevated regions. Bright in colour with a strong taste that retains most characteristics of BOP. Ideal for tea bags
FBOPF EX.SP. - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning Extra Special A whole-leaf black tea that tends to be expensive due to the abundance of leafy, long tips. Yields an exquisite cup with a mild caramel flavour.
Golden Tips Very rare pale golden velvety whole buds taken from select plants, has a very delicate brew with a mild floral bouquet.
Gunpowder This green tea dates back to the 1800s and the name originates from the fact that the tea is rolled very tightly into small pellets befitting ammunition used in old muskets.
For more information visit this link: Ceylon Tea