FFD The Taste of Ceylon

A SUPPLEMENT TO 2015-16 edition

THE TASTE OF CEYLON ---------------------DISCOVERING SRI LANKA’S TEAS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

SRI LANKA TEA BOARD

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MESSAGE FROM MIKE BUNSTON OBE, HONORARY TEA AMBASSADOR IN THE UK FOR THE SRI LANKA TEA BOARD

DISCOVERING CEYLON TEAS T hroughout the years, the breathtakingly beautiful island of Sri Lanka has been known by many names. Often referred to today as The Pearl of the Indian Ocean or The Teardrop of India, its Arabic name more than 1,500 years ago was ‘Serendib’, from which we inherit ‘serendipity’ with its magical sense of happy discoveries made quite by chance. And the happy discovery, in the middle of the 19th century, that tea could be cultivated here has meant 150 years of indulgent pleasure for tea lovers all over the world. When Ceylon black teas were served at the Paris Exposition of 1900, a visitor to the show commented on “the deliciousness of the beverage”, and it has been said more recently that, “Ceylon tea is Sri Lanka’s gift to the world”.

In the country’s southern mountains, the contours of the lush hillsides are wrapped around with tea bushes that clothe the slopes in a neatly-tailored coat of green. The undulating landscape of tea gardens rolls away in every direction, punctuated by tumbling waterfalls and gushing rivers, craggy outcrops of rock amongst

the rich red soil, tall trees that shade the tea plants from the glaring midday sun and, high in the hilltops, the white factories where the hand-plucked leaves are carefully processed to become delicious black Ceylon tea. From the steamy south-western coastal plains, the bushes clamber upwards to Nuwara Eliya at altitudes of around 6,000 feet. Here, temperatures are cooler and misty clouds swirl gently around the mountain peaks, protecting the bushes from strong sunlight and providing essential moisture to nourish their roots.

Lying close to the equator, the island’s benign climate allows the tea to thrive all year, and the kindly tea plants, the skill of the tea growers and the expert processing of the freshly-plucked leaf shoots give a range of wonderful teas that have a magic all their own.

The teas grown on the lower slopes near the coast are powerful and strong with hints of honey and dark chocolate – perfect first thing in the morning or with chocolate gateau or a generous slice of rich fruit cake at teatime.

Around Kandy, the country’s former capital, the tea’s coppery liquors are a little lighter in the

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“It was my privilege to be made the Honorary Tea Ambassador for the Sri Lanka Tea Board in the United Kingdom.

“My responsibility is to promote the image of Ceylon Tea here in the UK and to emphasise its unique quality.

“I am delighted to be associated with the Guild of Fine Food, publisher of Fine Food Digest, and to be contributing to this supplement focusing on the special attributes of Ceylon Tea. “Sri Lanka is amongst the top four producers in the world but is the only one to produce mainly pure ‘orthodox tea’. This means that the leaves are rolled more gently, thus producing a delicate liquor. This is particularly noticeable in the teas from Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva districts. These have a unique character at certain times of the year when the regions are affected by the cool dry winds that blow in from the coast before the north-east and south-west monsoons drench the hills.

“Although Sri Lanka teas can be drunk with milk, the finest quality teas are best enjoyed on their own.

“The Sri Lanka Tea Board will have a stand at this year’s International Food & Drink Exhibition at The ExCel Centre in London from March 22-25, and I hope to meet some of you there.”

Mike Bunston OBE cup but have strength and body and drink well with treats such as warm scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. The high grown teas, from the topmost slopes, are more delicate, aromatic, subtle and complex and are wonderfully satisfying at almost any time of the day with sweet or savoury foods, or served alone in those moments when only a really good cup of tea will do!

Today, more than 1.5 million people are employed in growing, processing, packing, selling, marketing and exporting the country’s high quality teas. Some of these are processed to make speciality, looseleaf teas which give a wide range of subtle, layered flavours and aromas; some are made specifically for use in tea bags that will brew quickly and deliver more powerful flavours into the cup. Ceylon tea offers something for everyone to suit the time of day, match changing moods, pair with different foods, or simply provide a comforting, calming cuppa.

Light and fragrant, brisk and strong, subtle and complex, juicy and rich, there really is a Ceylon tea to suit all tastes.

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The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas 3

WHAT IS TEA? A ll the different teas that are enjoyed all over the world are made from the leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, the Camellia sinensis or Chinese Camellia.

Other infusions such as camomile, peppermint and lemon verbena are also popular but these are not teas and are made from other plant families. Tea is in a class of its own, and the freshly harvested leaves and buds can be manufactured to make six different categories – white, green, yellow, oolong, black and dark teas.

The tea plant is an evergreen shrub with shiny leaves that have a lightly serrated edge, and small delicate flowers with parchmentthin white petals surrounding sunshine-yellow stamens. It is closely related to the Camellias that grow in British gardens and are covered with eye-catching crimson or white blossoms in late winter. Two branches of the tea plant family are used for commercial cultivation and each has very different preferences in terms of the conditions in which it likes to grow.

The Chinese branch of the family flourishes on the steep slopes of high mountains, where

the cool misty climate encourages only slow development of the delicate new leaf shoots, giving teas that are light, elegant and subtle.

China’s tea mountains and the high altitudes of Darjeeling, Nepal, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka are ideal locations for this high-growing varietal.

The Indian branch of the tea family, found growing in Assam in the early 1830s, prefers hot and humid low-lying regions such as Sri Lanka’s coastal plains and Assam’s sea-level tea fields.

The high temperatures and generous rainfall encourage the assamica plants to grow much faster and the teas they produce are robust and strong.

The speed at which the bushes push out new leaf shoots depends on the altitude and every aspect of the weather – temperature, humidity, rain, wind, sunshine, etc. The world’s finest teas are made from hand-plucked leaves, and in Sri Lanka the harvesting is carried out by women, whose nimble fingers carefully snap off the shoots and place them into baskets that they carry on their backs. The fresh leaves are then taken to the nearby factory where the majority of the leaf is turned into black teas.

Some gardens also produce smaller quantities of white, green and oolong teas. Most of Ceylon’s black teas are made by the traditional ‘orthodox’ method, during which the leaves are machine-rolled to give mostly large pieces of elegant twisted leaf.

A small quantity of the black teas are manufactured for tea bags. The fresh leaf is chopped in CTC (cut, tear, curl) machines whose sharp blades cut it into small particles that can be fed into bagging machines and give fast-brewing, coloury, strong liquors.

The island’s fine white teas are often called ‘silver tips’ because of the elegant, silver-white appearance of the downy buds.

The little white hairs that cover each bud are part of the plant’s defence mechanism and protect the vulnerable baby leaves from insects, the sun’s rays and chilly night-time temperatures. Their pale golden liquors often have hints of oranges and spice, green grapes and crisp green apples.

The green teas are light, bright and clean, sometimes fruity, with a hint of astringency, and Ceylon oolongs are fragrant and gentle.

HOW DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEA ARE MANUFACTURED Type of tea

Manufacturing process

Definition of this category

White

The new buds, or small shoots of one bud and one or two baby leaves, are carefully picked.

The leaves and buds undergo very light natural oxidation

Green

Fresh shoots consisting of two leaves and a bud are plucked. Heat is applied to stop oxidation, the leaves are rolled to develop the flavour, then dried.

Green teas are unoxidised

Yellow

Fresh shoots consisting of two leaves and a bud are plucked. Heat is applied to stop oxidation and, while the leaf shoots are still warm and full of water, they are wrapped or heaped. The leaves are heated for a second time and again wrapped or heaped. The steam captured in the leaves during each wrapping or heaping causes light fermentation and the teas have a more mellow flavour than green teas.

Yellow teas are lightly fermented to give a more mellow flavour than green teas.

Oolong

Fresh shoots consisting of one bud and two, three or four leaves are plucked, lightly oxidised in the sun, lightly oxidised indoors, heat treated to stop any further oxidation, then rolled to develop the flavour, and dried.

Oolong teas are partially oxidised (between 20% and 70%)

Black

Fresh shoots of two leaves and a bud are plucked and allowed to wither (to evaporate some of their water content). They are then rolled or chopped to break the leaf cells and provoke oxidation. They are then left to oxidise until they are dark brown, then they are dried in hot ovens.

Black teas are 100% oxidised

Dark (the most popular of these is Puerh tea from China’s Yunnan province)

Dark teas start as green teas, which are then dampened and compressed into cakes. These are aged for several years in humidity-controlled and temperature-controlled conditions. During ageing, the teas (in which bacteria, microflora, yeasts etc. have become active due to the dampening) undergo oxidation and fermentation, and the character of the tea changes slowly over time from quite astringent and bitter to honeyed, mellow and smooth.

Dark teas start as green tea and then undergo post-manufacture oxidation and bacterial fermentation.

* * The oxidation that takes place in tea leaves during processing is exactly the same as the oxidation that takes place in an apple or a pear once the skin has been cut, turning the flesh brown.

During oxidation, the tea leaves change from green to brown.

4 The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas

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SRI LANKA AND TEA

S

ri Lanka today is one of the world’s most important tea growing regions and produces around 340 million kg each year. However, until the 1870s the country was not famous for its tea but for coffee. Tea was not entirely unknown and was mentioned as long ago as 1796 by a Captain Percival who was serving on the island in the British military. He apparently found that the tea plant “grows spontaneously in the neighbourhood of Trincomalee and other northern parts of Ceylon”. But tea was only mentioned in passing and coffee was the country’s main earner of foreign exchange.

Then in 1869, the planters noticed the first signs of attack on their coffee bushes by the aggressive ‘coffee rust’ fungus, which had first appeared here in 1845 and now spread so rapidly that it wiped out almost the entire crop.

Some of the landowners gave up and returned home to Scotland or England; some uprooted their coffee plants and tried growing cinchona (for quinine), cardamom, cocoa or rubber instead; and some experimented with tea. They were encouraged by the success of a young Scot called James Taylor who had taken up his new post as superintendent at Loolecondera Coffee Estate in 1852. His employers recognised the need for diversification and asked him to plant experimental tea bushes alongside the coffee. The tea grew well and so Taylor planted more, until some 20 acres had been cleared and planted with tea seeds

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acquired from the Botanic Gardens near Kandy.

With little knowledge about tea manufacture and no machinery, he set about processing the teas by hand on the veranda of his bungalow, and invented and built his own processing machinery. He sold his first Ceylon black tea in the Kandy tea market in 1870 and three years later sent 23lb to London for sale in the London auctions. The coffee planters followed suit and by 1875, 1,008 acres had been planted with tea, using seeds from Assam and a mixture of Chinese and Indian seedling plants raised in new nurseries hacked from the jungle. Between 1882 and 1886 there was a rapid expansion of the industry and by 1890 coffee had completely disappeared from the island.

In 1890, Thomas Lipton, a very successful Scottish grocer with a chain of shops throughout Britain, visited Ceylon to buy land on which to grow tea to sell in his stores. He advertised his teas as “Direct from the tea garden to the teapot!” A millionaire from his grocery business, he rapidly became a multimillionaire thanks to his brilliant marketing skills, and his name became synonymous with Ceylon tea.

So, what is it that makes Ceylon teas so special and allows the country to offer such a wide range of very different teas? Many factors play a part in creating these impressively fine teas. Altitude contributes significantly. At low altitudes the warm, humid climate urges the

plants to produce more leaf shoots more quickly, and teas are strong and robust. At higher elevations, the cool air inhibits growth, new buds form much more slowly, and the teas are delicate and light. The flavour and aroma of teas from each region also depend on the position of individual gardens in the central southern mountains. The hills runs north to south, from Dambulla in the centre of the island down towards the south coast, and each side of the range experiences dramatic weather patterns at different times of the year, giving the teas their unique character.

These patterns are caused by two monsoons that drench the land during different months. The north-east monsoon brings relentlessly heavy downpours of rain to the eastern side of the mountains from December to March, leaving the western side bereft of water. During February and March, the tea growing on those western slopes also suffers the onslaught of a cool wind blowing in from the south west. The south-west monsoon brings its torrents of water to the western side of the mountains from June to September, while the eastern side craves rain and suffers the assaults of a powerful, cool, dry wind that gusts in from the north-east.

During the drier, windy period in each region, the tea bushes suffer from stress and grow very slowly, concentrating flavour and quality into the new leaves and buds and producing quite extraordinary ‘peak season’ teas.

The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas 5

THE TEAS OF CEYLON Ceylon teas are categorised by three different altitudes and seven different regions and, just as with wine, the local conditions in each region develop different characteristics in the teas grown there. The ‘low-grown’ teas are cultivated at altitudes from sea level up to 2,000 feet; ‘mid-country’ teas grow on slopes that lie between 2,000 and 4,000 feet; and ‘high-grown’ teas are planted at elevations above 4,000 feet. The seven different regions are low-growing Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa; mid country Kandy; and high-growing Dimbula, Uva, Uda Pussellawa and Nuwara Eliya. Each region has a distinctive logo to differentiate it from the other six.

RUHUNA

This ancient region, with its coastal grassy plains, thick jungles and low hills that rise gently towards the higher inland slopes, has a long and colourful history of repelling foreign invaders and resisting incursions from tyrant kings. Today it is home not just to tea fields but also to rubber plantations, herds of wild elephants, leopards, bears and deer, and giant flamingos which breed here every year on the salt plains. Tea was first planted in the Ruhuna foothills at the beginning of the 20th century and by the 1970s the now famous, strong, full-bodied black teas had become very popular in the Middle East. Today, with neighbouring Sabaragamuwa, the area produces 60% of the island’s teas.

The climate here is warm and humid and, although protected from the worst onslaughts of the south-west

monsoon by the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, there is plenty of rain to water the tea plants.

Some of the tea gardens here are owned by large, private estate companies, but most of the land is farmed by smallholders, who cultivate plots of between 50 and 200 acres and sell their freshly harvested leaf for processing into the private or governmentowned factories. The majority of the teas are carefully processed to give beautiful large-leafed teas known as Orange Pekoes and Flowery Orange Pekoes. Their leaves are wiry and jet black and the neat twists of dry leaf are often mingled with tiny silvery or golden buds, known as ‘tips’. The liquors they yield are rich red in colour and have a thick juicy sweetness, which is particularly popular in Western Asia, the Middle East and CIS countries. Some gardens also make small quantities of excellent ‘Silver Tips’ white teas, and a few factories manufacture small, grainy fast-brewing CTC teas for use in teabags.

6 The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas

The stylish broken teas from the low-grown Ruhuna district, with their chunky, slightly curled, brown-black leaves, are popular around the world for their powerful, full-bodied, thick, juicy liquors that have plenty of strength and character.

SABARAGAMUWA

Also a low-growing region, Sabaragamuwa lies to the east of Ruhuna and the bushes here scramble upwards towards the ancient capital of Kandy, skirting dense forests and climbing through hills and valleys where fast-running streams and cascading waterfalls tumble down through the tea fields. Over the centuries, the countless rivers have washed down quantities of gemstones and so, here and there amongst the tea gardens, are the gem mines where rubies, amethysts, moonstones, aquamarines and blue sapphires have been dug from the ground for more than two thousand years. Some scholars believe this is ‘the land of gems’ described in The Sixth Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor, one of the stories told in the Arabian Nights, the famous collection of Asian folktales.

Here too is Adam’s Peak or Sri Pada, a vast conical rocky mountain at the summit of which is carved a finely detailed footprint. Revered by Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims, it has been a very special place of pilgrimage for hundreds of years.

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Teas grown on the lower slopes are rolled to give stout, mahogany dry leaves that brew quickly and fill the cup with bright coppery red liquor.

The sweet aroma is reminiscent of caramelised sugar and the flavour is strong and satisfying.

Like Ruhuna, the climate here is hot and humid, and the south-west monsoon brings persistent, heavy downpours from June to September. More rain falls in the higher parts of the region than in any of the island’s other tea areas and the plants grow in a steamy rainforest climate. The eastern slopes, on the other hand, feel the effects of the cool drying Cachan wind that blows in from the north-east from June to September, and the low lying areas are warmer and more humid. Because the region covers such a large area where altitudes and weather patterns vary so much, the range of teas from Sabaragamuwa is as rich and colourful as the region’s history. The shiny, jet-black, large-leafed Orange Pekoe teas from the eastern hillsides are bright and strong, but less thick and juicy than Ruhuna teas. The teas from the higher gardens are lighter and more aromatic, while the low grown teas from the coastal slopes are lighter and sweeter than Ruhuna teas and have a slight dryness in the aftertaste.

KANDY

The oldest of the country’s tea plants grow in the hills around Kandy, once the capital of the island. The town nestles in a valley on the western side of the central highlands and was once accessible only by steep mountain passes. It therefore lay undisturbed for hundreds of years, protecting unchanged its Buddhist temples, libraries and ancient Singhalese culture. In the famous Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is lovingly preserved the tooth of Buddha, which is believed to bestow the governance of the island upon whoever owns it. Rituals are performed here three times every day and the holy water used to symbolically bathe the tooth is said to have healing powers.

It was close to Kandy, at Loolecondera Coffee Estate, that James Taylor grew his first experimental tea seeds, acquired from Assam in 1867, and the section of Loolecondera that he planted is known today as No 7 Field.

The mid-grown tea cultivated here is affected by the wet and dry seasons

associated with the south-west monsoon and, during the colder, dryer months in the early part of the year, the fierce dry wind gusts The leaves from this up through the mid-grown region are the mountain passes, causing the plants to colour of dark chocolate scattered with plum-red grow more slowly flecks. They brew a rich and give liquors coppery liquor that is hearty, that are coppery, strong and brisk, and pairs wonderfully with cucumber crystal clear and sandwiches and other have a bright traditional tea-time foods. golden strength and briskness. The more sheltered gardens manage to ignore the windy blasts and produce teas that are strong, flavoursome and richly coloured. The factories in the Kandy area produce a wide range of both orthodox and CTC black teas, and leaf styles range from attractive large leaf grades that brew strong, sometimes malty, full-bodied liquors, to smaller grades that yield more delicate and subtle flavours. Some estates also produce green teas such as Gunpowder, made by rolling the tea leaves into neat little pearls that look just like lead shot, and Chun Mee, hand-rolled into neat dry curves that explain the tea’s English translation: Precious Eyebrows.

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The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas 7

Typical russet brown broken leaves from the high mountain region of Uda Pussellawa brew a strong, full-bodied, vibrant cup that fills the mouth with hints of brown sugar mingled with the floral perfume of an English summer garden.

UDA PUSSELLAWA

This high-growing region is given over almost entirely to tea cultivation but is also famous for its Hakgala Strict Natural Reserve and the leopards that still wander the forests. It lies amongst the eastern slopes of the highlands and the weather here alternates twice a year from very humid and misty to very dry, and it is during the dryer, cooler periods that the gardens produce their finest teas. When the weather is wet and warm, the beautiful dark amber tea liquors are strong and vibrant. During the cooler weather, the liquors are quite strong, have a rosy hue and hint gently at the aroma of roses in full bloom in a summer garden. The teas from this region are often chosen as the base for flavoured teas that balance additional ingredients such as dried fruits and flowers with the subtle but strong tea character.

DIMBULA

Until the failure of the island’s coffee crop in the late 1860s and the beginning of the new tea industry, the high-growing Dimbula region was uninhabited and wild. Known in those days as The Land of Illusions, it was said to be home to demons and evil spirits and no-one dared venture in. And, left alone for so long by hunters and explorers, wild elephants, deer, leopards and pythons had colonised the forested hills and rhododendron woods. But then came the tea pioneers who discovered that the teas grown here had a distinctive delicacy and fragrance quite unlike teas from other areas. Today the gardens sweep across the western slopes of the highlands to the south of Kandy and upwards through peaks and mountain passes

towards the high Nuwara Eliya plateau.

As the region lies on the western side of the highland range, heavy monsoon rains gush in during June and last until September.

In the warm, misty atmosphere, the plants grow a little faster and give liquors that are full of flavour and aroma. But when the weather is dry and cool, the peak quality teas are golden-orange and have a bright, fresh, lively character, sometimes with hints of oak, cypress, spice, citrus fruits, roses or jasmine. The higher the estate, the fresher and brighter are the teas. The stronger Dimbula varieties make superb breakfast teas and drink well alone or with a little milk.

Neat, small leaves from the coolest season yield lively teas with plenty of bright, woody, citrus notes.

The dry leaves plucked during the warmer months give bolder, more intense liquors that drink well at breakfast and afternoon tea.

THE LION LOGO Created and owned by The Sri Lanka Tea Board, the famous Lion Logo assures the buyer of any packet of tea on which it appears that the contents are 100% pure quality Ceylon tea. The logo is based on the ancient heraldic Lion of Ceylon, which also appears on the national flag.

To carry the logo, the tea must have been packed in Sri Lanka, and foreign blenders who mix Ceylon tea with teas from other origins are not allowed to add the Lion to their packets or tins. The Lion Logo may only be used on consumer packs of tea and the brands who use the logo must conform to standards defined by the Sri Lanka Tea Board.

Look out for the Lion Logo next time you buy Ceylon Tea.

8 The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas

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UVA

The tea gardens of Uva lie on the south-eastern slopes of the central massif, while the lower plains are planted with sugar. The region is remote and hard to reach and, in the early days of the tea pioneers, when the new tea gardens were being planted, the journey up through steep winding mountain roads and bridle paths would have taken several days. But the challenging journey and all the hard work to clear trees and prepare the land for baby tea bushes has been richly rewarded over the years, since Uva peak season teas are prized around the world for their unique flavour.

The unusual character of Uva teas is due to the climate, which is affected particularly by the north east monsoon and its related cool, drying Cachan wind that blows through the region in July, August and September.

During wetter, warmer times of the year, the teas are mellow and smooth, and it was

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with those teas that Sir Thomas Lipton was so successful in his stores in Britain and with customers in the US. But when the weather turns dry and cool, the teas develop an unusual, ‘wintergreen’, slightly mentholated character. The dessicating wind interrupts the plants’ normal photosynthesis, the contrast between the hot days and cold nights brings about a chemical change in the bushes, and the two factors together give the liquors their almost medicinal flavour and aroma. The producers change their style of manufacturing in order to capture this special character, rolling the leaves more heavily and producing smaller broken grades, so the dry leaf of the peak season Uva teas are always of a smaller size. Uva teas drink well with a little milk and are a perfect match for the traditional treats served for Afternoon Tea. Some factories in the area also make CTC varieties while others manufacture quite large quantities of green teas.

Picked and processed during the driest months of July, August and September, Uva teas concentrate their unusual mentholated flavour into the bright coppery brew.

During the rest of the year, flavours are strong but more mellow and smooth.

NUWARA ELIYA

The rugged, mountainous region of Nuwara Eliya was always too high for coffee cultivation but, with elevations of up to 8,000 feet, plentiful rainfall and cool air, it is perfect for tea. The first gardens were established here in the mid 1870s and today this is probably the best known of the island’s tea districts. The region takes its name (which translates as ‘city on the plain’ or ‘city of light’) from the small hill station that was built by the English explorer Sir Edward Barnes, who was also British Governor of the island in the 1820s. He and other British settlers loved the stunningly beautiful landscape and the cool climate, and would retreat here when the lower areas became too hot and humid. The house Barnes built, at an altitude of around 6,000 feet, is today the Grand Hotel, a popular spot for tourists who enjoy the sense of luxury, play a round of golf or just relax in the very English Tawny broken leaves garden with a pot of from Nuwara Eliya are locally grown tea. flecked with bronze and, The high altitude, once infused, give a wonderfully delicate sweet moderate rainfall, and cool, sometimes fragrance and a sparkling golden liquor that frosty air produce breathes plump grapes the finest of Ceylon and ripe plums with just a teas. The new leaf hint of spice and citrus. shoots develop slowly and distill into the teas some of the aromas carried by the winds – eucalytus, cypress, and wild mint. Perched at the topmost heights of the Central Highlands, the tea plants are exposed to the effects of the two different weather patterns driving in from both sides of the island. In January and February, and again in August and September, the peak quality teas give pale golden liquors that are exquisitely aromatic and refined, sometimes with citrus notes. The large whole leaf grades are considered to be the very finest of Nuwara Eliya’s teas, but smaller grades such as Broken Orange Pekoe are also popular.

The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas 9

BREWING & SERVING CEYLON TEAS No matter what sort of tea you are brewing, there are a few golden rules that will help you to always get the very best out of the leaves.

BREWING PERFCT TEA

1. Water Fill your kettle with filtered cold water that contains plenty of oxygen. Filtering the water ensure that you remove the chlorine, limescale, dissolved heavy metals and other impurities often found in our tap water that can ruin the aroma, flavour and clarity of your tea. Without oxygen, the water will be dull and flat and the tea will also be dull and flat. Oxygen brings out all the lively flavours in the tea, ensuring that you brew a really great cuppa every time.

2. Quantity of tea Whether you are using tea bags or loose tea, allow around 2.5g-3g of tea to 200ml (7.5 fl oz) of water. If you like your tea lighter, use less; if you like it stronger, use more.

3. Water temperature Different teas brew best at different temperatures (see the table). If you heat your water in a traditional kettle, it’s well worth investing in a tea thermometer to check the temperature of the water each time you brew. Otherwise, you can buy a temperature-controlled kettle that allows you to set the temperature of the water to the required heat for different teas.

4. Brewing time Different teas need to brew for a different amount of time to give their best flavours (again, see the table). Use a timer that allows you to choose minutes and seconds for the perfect brew.

Tea

Recommended water temperature

Recommended brewing time

Black tea, large or whole leaves (Orange Pekoe, etc)

Near boiling

3-5 minutes

Black tea, medium sized leaves (Broken Orange Pekoe, etc)

Near Boiling

3-4 minutes

Black tea, small CTC leaves, loose or in tea bags

Near Boiling

2 minutes

Green teas, Chinese Style (eg Gunpowder, Chun Mee, Jasmine, etc)

70° C

3-4 minutes

Green teas, Japanese style (eg Sencha, Genmaicha, etc)

70° C

1-2 minutes

White teas

80° C

3-5 minutes + 2nd and 3rd infusions

Oolong teas (greener, less oxidised types)

90° C

3 minutes + multiple infusions

Oolong teas (darker, more heavily oxidised)

95° C

3 minutes + multiple infusions

5. Separate the leaf from the liquor If tea leaves or tea bags are left to steep for too long, the tea can become bitter and unpleasant. If you don’t like your tea to taste like this, always lift out the teabag or the wet leaves at the end of the correct brewing time. To make this easier, choose a teapot with a large infuser basket inside. Or use an infuser that fits into mugs, cups or pots and can be easily lifted out once the tea has brewed.

6. Milk and sugar Before adding milk and/or sugar, try the tea on its own first. The addition of milk and sugar often spoils or drowns the wonderful flavours of the tea.

10 The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas

A supplement to Fine Food Digest

DIFFERENT TEAS THROUGH THE DAY

Morning teas Most people like a robust tea first thing in the morning to wake up the taste buds and get the brain working and the body invigorated.

So drink a bright, mouth-filling Uva or a low-grown Ruhuna tea, and add a little milk if preferred.

Daytime teas For a mid-morning cuppa, choose almost any of Ceylon’s black teas for a pick-me-up as the work schedule begins to sap your energy.

At lunchtime, pair a delicious golden Dimbula with your sandwich, wrap or bowl of pasta.

At Afternoon Tea, the perfect pairing for all the savoury and sweet indulgences served on the three-tier cakestand is a strong Uva. If you fancy just a cup of tea on its own, go for an elegant Nuwara Eliya or a Ceylon green or white tea.

Evening teas After dinner, round off your meal with a fragrant, elegant Nuwara Eliya. Or match your after-dinner chocolate treats to a rich, malty, low-grown Ruhuna. Delicious!

TEA AND FOOD PAIRINGS

Tea is like wine, and different types of tea marry well with different types of food.

TEA & FOOD PAIRING Tea

Food

Low-grown Ceylon black teas

Breakfast dishes such as bacon and eggs, sweet pastries with jam or marmalade; beef, chicken, chocolate cakes, fruit cakes, and other rich desserts and cakes.

Kandy black teas

Chicken sandwiches, ham and mustard sandwiches or wraps, gentle curries, shortbreads, lemon cake, custard tarts, etc.

Kandy green teas

Fish, sushi, chicken, salads, creamy cheeses, Asian dishes, etc.

Uva black teas

Beef, chicken, ham, rich fruitcakes, chocolate cakes, gingerbread, scones with jam and clotted cream, fruit compotes, etc.

Dimbula black teas

Spicy sweet foods flavoured with nutmeg or cinnamon, quiche, raw vegetable salads, madeira cake, bananas, carrot cake, etc.

Nuwara Eliya

Summer fruits such as raspberries, peaches, etc, lemony dishes, cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches, egg mayonnaise sandwiches.

Ceylon white teas

Drink alone – too delicate to go with foods.

When drinking particular teas with different dishes, it’s important that the two enhance rather than drown each other, so choose teas that balance well against the food you are enjoying.

The general rule is that stronger teas pair happily with stronger foods and lighter teas are a good match for lighter foods.

Black teas and darker oolongs balance beautifully with sweet foods such as

COMINS TEA HOUSE FINE TEA & BRITISH TEAWARE

croissants or toast with jam or marmalade, rich cakes, scones with jam and clotted cream, and with savouries such as rich pasta dishes, beef or ham sandwiches, etc.

Green teas are a good match for fish, noodle dishes, light creamy cheeses or egg mayonnaise, etc. They are also good with some fruits and light fruity desserts.

White teas are too delicate to pair easily and are best enjoyed on their own.

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A supplement to Fine Food Digest

The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas 11

12 The Taste of Ceylon Discovering Sri Lanka’s Teas

A supplement to Fine Food Digest