Ceylon black tea

Oxidized tea
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LeoFox
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Fri Apr 09, 2021 6:29 pm

I thought it would be nice to have a thread on Ceylon Blacks.

Here is a map of growing regions from http://fairlytea.com/home-2-2/tea-growi ... of-ceylon/
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General Characteristics

My understanding is that tea was introduced onto the island around the 1840s - mostly assam material from Bengali region. Tea industry took over a little later after disease destroyed the coffee industry. After liberation in 1940s, government nationalized the plantations, resulting in loss of quality over many decades. More recently, they were commercialized again, but it has not helped the quality with loss of much expertise

In general, tea is not submitted to ctc method. Lower elevation teas tend to be more mild than assam teas - and don't seem to take milk as well. Higher elevation teas are more floral- but with introduction of machines that press the leaves hard and destroy the buds, most of these teas are not so flowery anymore.


This is from https://shop.dilmahtea.com.au/blog/post ... ea-regions
High grown Ceylon teas are found at elevations that are 4000-6000ft above sea level. These teas make up for the majority of Ceylon tea production. High grown teas are more aromatic compared to others, and are lighter in both taste and colour due to the constant cool and windy climate. The monsoons affecting the hillside of Sri Lanka causes different patterns of precipitation, resulting in subtle differences in the tea, even within the same region.

Mid grown teas of Sri Lanka are primarily located within and around the district of Kandy, at about 2000ft. They are medium bodied and have a brisk but light taste with a rich flavour. Mid grown teas are known for their bright burgundy colour. The peak season for the growth of these teas is during spring, although unlike with both high and low grown teas, these bushes grow all year round, due to having low monsoon impact.

Low-grown teas constitute the largest proportion of Ceylon tea and are also the fastest growing among the bunch. The teas grow at an elevation of about 300ft above sea level. The distinct dark colour and strong taste of low grown tea is a result of extreme heat and humidity levels of the region.
Brewing method (will update over time):

1.5g / 80 mL boiling water for 3 min. I tend to start with this and adjust.

Have also found good results with gongfu (5g/150 ml boiling starting at 15s)
Last edited by LeoFox on Sat Nov 26, 2022 1:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Victoria
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Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:37 pm

Nice idea to start this thread @LeoFox. I seem to remember reading something about Sri Lanka being the third largest tea exporter in the world, and suppling Lipton with its base material, is this what you remember @mbanu? The highest grade Ceylon tea I’ve had was shared by @Pan at a tasting here a few years ago. Maybe Pan can let us know what tea it was, I can’t remember which one it was.
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LeoFox
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Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:03 am

I've been doing some side by side tests in gaiwan with high vs medium elevation teas. I would say a big difference is that the high elevation stuff is not very astringent and more floral. The lower elevation can be very astringent, and benefits from a few drops of milk.

The flavor profile is somewhat consistent - I get this dried banana and yam taste hahaha.
Pan
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Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:20 pm

@Victoria that one was from Rathnapura Uva district I forogt the name of it. From the and the white tea we had was from the Galle, from the Ruhuna district it was the Virgin White tea. And yes you are right they did/do supply Lipton, in fact Sir Thomas Lipton used Sri-Lanka as his base I belive.

What I often found interesting was that many of the teas are trimmed to be bushes and only one (being a 200 year old abandoned plantation) is where the tea plants are allowed to grow much like the ones in Yunnan. The one that is nearly 200 years old and allowed to grow naturally. I hope to try some of their teas especially the wild tea from the 200 year old plantation.

https://ceylonwildtea.com/wild-handmade-teas/

@leofox thats a good brewing method, I find also that the tea bags really limit the flavor and other characteristics of Ceylon tea. When I brew in either a gaiwan or especially yxing find not just that banana and yam flavor but I also taste cane syrup and campour.
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LeoFox
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Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:37 pm

Pan wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:20 pm
@Victoria that one was from Rathnapura Uva district I forogt the name of it. From the and the white tea we had was from the Galle, from the Ruhuna district it was the Virgin White tea. And yes you are right they did/do supply Lipton, in fact Sir Thomas Lipton used Sri-Lanka as his base I belive.

What I often found interesting was that many of the teas are trimmed to be bushes and only one (being a 200 year old abandoned plantation) is where the tea plants are allowed to grow much like the ones in Yunnan. The one that is nearly 200 years old and allowed to grow naturally. I hope to try some of their teas especially the wild tea from the 200 year old plantation.

https://ceylonwildtea.com/wild-handmade-teas/

@leofox thats a good brewing method, I find also that the tea bags really limit the flavor and other characteristics of Ceylon tea. When I brew in either a gaiwan or especially yxing find not just that banana and yam flavor but I also taste cane syrup and campour.
Oh which yixing do you use?

That wild tea is tempting!
Pan
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Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:10 pm

@LeoFox

I use dark yxing clay which gives me those flavors though id like to try with zini or similar.
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LeoFox
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Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:43 pm

Learning to brew this ceylon "intuitively" in a gaiwan. No idea how much leaf or time. Just using eyes and nose.

As @Baisao says, it is a little like archery.
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LeoFox
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Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:58 am

Making a funny blend with ceylon tea for lunch.

Low land every day Ceylon tea
1x rose from hojo
1 sliver of ceylon cinnamon

Very fruity and honey like infusion!

@mbanu have you been drinking ceylon recently?
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mbanu
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Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:28 pm

Yes, but not any single-estates. I'm trying to stick to my effort to drink down my tea stash a bit more before buying too many new teas, so for Ceylon I've been drinking a Rickshaw blend that is usually the base tea for my Hong Kong milk tea experiments and another tin of Constant Comment that I realized I had after finishing off the first tin and then remembering that Bigelow has a 2-tin minimum purchase for their loose teas. :)
Pan
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Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:40 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:43 pm
Learning to brew this ceylon "intuitively" in a gaiwan. No idea how much leaf or time. Just using eyes and nose.

As Baisao says, it is a little like archery.
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that looks wonderful! Where did you get the tea from? looks quite exquisite, I love the form and shape of the leaves, reminds me of medium aged sheng.
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LeoFox
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Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:57 pm

Pan wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:40 pm
LeoFox wrote:
Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:43 pm
Learning to brew this ceylon "intuitively" in a gaiwan. No idea how much leaf or time. Just using eyes and nose.

As Baisao says, it is a little like archery.
Image
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that looks wonderful! Where did you get the tea from? looks quite exquisite, I love the form and shape of the leaves, reminds me of medium aged sheng.
It is from Sabaragamuwa region - sold as single estate by elephant chateau.
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LeoFox
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Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:19 pm

Pan wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:20 pm
What I often found interesting was that many of the teas are trimmed to be bushes and only one (being a 200 year old abandoned plantation) is where the tea plants are allowed to grow much like the ones in Yunnan. The one that is nearly 200 years old and allowed to grow naturally. I hope to try some of their teas especially the wild tea from the 200 year old plantation.

https://ceylonwildtea.com/wild-handmade-teas/
Is this company still going?
Pan
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Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:51 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:19 pm
Pan wrote:
Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:20 pm
What I often found interesting was that many of the teas are trimmed to be bushes and only one (being a 200 year old abandoned plantation) is where the tea plants are allowed to grow much like the ones in Yunnan. The one that is nearly 200 years old and allowed to grow naturally. I hope to try some of their teas especially the wild tea from the 200 year old plantation.

https://ceylonwildtea.com/wild-handmade-teas/
Is this company still going?
Interesting you ask, I checked a bit ago and they are still going as their main line called forest hill tea

https://www.instagram.com/foresthilltea/?hl=en though don't know who they sell from nowadays.
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LeoFox
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Fri Jul 16, 2021 9:30 pm

Some nuwara eliya black for archery practice
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LeoFox
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Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:36 am

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