The Sri Lankan Ceylon Tea
The Sri Lankan tea trade now makes up one of the fourth biggest tea exporters in the world. Sri Lanka was originally called Ceylon, and was actually quite a big coffee exporter until the plant was ruined, with devastating effect, from a fungal disease called Hemileia Vastatrix.
In 1867, James Taylor started the first Sri Lankan tea platation in Ceylon. It is astounding to think that Sri Lankan tea now accounts for other 25% of the countries GDP. From one tea plantation we now have over 4% of Sri Lanka covered in tea plantations.
Processing Of Sri Lankan Tea
Sri Lankan tea is all hand picked and no machinery is used. This avoids any coarse leaves or twigs to be added to the mix, which can take away from the taste of the tea. The main reason for the sucess of growing Sri Lankan tea is the eviroment in which the crops live. The rainfall needs to be more than 100-125 annually, and the best quality tea is found at altitudes over 2100m.
The Sri Lankans are very proud of their production of tea and pay very close attention to detail and care, of both the soil (with regular application of fertiliser) and the leaves, which are pruned where needed. If the way the leaves are hand picked was impressive then the processing plants are equally astounding.
The Processing Factory
The processing plants are in multi storey buildings, with each floor being responsible for different stages of processing and fermenting. The top floor is where the leaves are placed in troughs, known as withering, which removes excess moisture from the tea leaves.
Once withered, the tea leaves are then rolled, twisted and parted, to react with the oxygen. Finally at the fermentation stage, the leaves are fired.
The Taste Of Sri Lankan Tea
Sri Lankan tea comes in many different tastes and qualities depending on where the tea is produced. This all depends on the altituide surrounding the area of the plantation. Sri Lankan tea can be split into various factors.
Nuwara Elya
Teas in the Nuwara Elya region, are premium quality teas. The tea has a unique flavour which is considered to be delicate and fragrant. This is considered the champage of ceylon teas.
Dimbula
When the coffee trade died out in Ceylon, Dimbula was one the first areas to become part of the tea trade. This Sri Lankan tea is refreshingly mellow but can change depending on the season it is harvested.
UVA
This exotically aromatic tea is a favorite for many blends.
Kandy
The Kandy Sri Lankan tea is a full bodied tea. This is considered a mid country tea.
Sri Lankan tea is a real rags to riches story with the devistating loss of the coffee plantations and the rise of the tea industry, which now plays such a great role in the Sri Lankan economy.