tea.ceo How to brew Ceylon tea
Ceylon is not one tea. It is the black tea of an island with seven growing regions at three altitudes, and the leaf from the top of the hills has as little in common with the leaf from the bottom as a Darjeeling has with an Assam. What they share is a brightness, a coppery colour in the cup and a method that forgives a good deal.
What you need
2.5 grams of loose Ceylon leaf per cup, a rounded teaspoon, or one teabag. 220 millilitres of water per cup, which is a standard teacup rather than a mug. Fresh water: the Sri Lankan exporter whose guide this follows is firm that re-boiled water and hard, calcified water both spoil the cup, and that mineral-free water gives the cleanest result.
The method
Bring the water to a full boil, 100°C; Ceylon is black tea and wants it. Warm the pot, add the leaf, pour the water on and leave it two to three minutes for a broken-leaf grade, which most Ceylon is: BOP, fannings and CTC all fall in that window. Two minutes gives a bright cup; three gives one with the body for milk. Strain and drink.
Milk, lemon or neither
The exporter's guide leaves it to you: sugar optional, milk or lemon if wanted. The island's own convention is that low-grown teas from Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa, dark and strong, take milk, and high-grown teas from Nuwara Eliya and Dimbula, pale and fragrant, are drunk plain or with a slice of lemon. Uva, in between, is the one with the distinctive wintergreen note and goes either way.
The seven regions
The Sri Lanka Tea Board recognises seven: Nuwara Eliya, the highest, grown at around 2,000 metres; Dimbula and Uda Pussellawa, also high-grown above 1,200 metres; Uva, at 1,000 to 1,600 metres; Kandy, mid-grown between 600 and 1,200 metres; and Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa, low-grown below 600 metres. A packet that names its region is telling you how to brew it.
When to drink it
Morning for the low-grown with milk, afternoon for the high-grown without. Ceylon is the tea in most English Breakfast blends and the base of most iced tea, which is the same brightness doing two jobs.
How to brew Ceylon tea: questions
How much Ceylon tea per cup?
2.5 grams of loose leaf, a rounded teaspoon, or one teabag, to a 220 ml cup, following a Sri Lankan exporter's brewing guide.
How long do you brew Ceylon tea?
Two to three minutes in water at a full boil for the broken-leaf grades most Ceylon is sold as. Two for a bright cup, three for one that takes milk.
Does Ceylon tea take milk?
The strong low-grown teas from Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa do; the pale high-grown teas from Nuwara Eliya and Dimbula are better plain or with lemon. The exporter's guide leaves both to taste.
Source: Black Tea Exports, Sri Lanka, tea brewing guide checked against the source
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