Such a drink as tea - has long been a tradition of consumption in countries around the world. Only Russia and the CIS countries annually purchase about 50 thousand tons of tea products in Sri Lanka( Ceylon), which speaks of its unthinkable popularity. Ceylon grades receive the highest ratings of experts, surpassing by many criteria even Indian( Assamese), from which they were withdrawn. And to fully appreciate the quality of tea from Sri Lanka, not only to taste, but also with knowledge of the case, it is worth getting acquainted with it and the basic tea intricacies closer.
History of Sri Lanka and the technology of growing Ceylon tea
Nowadays Ceylon( modern name - Sri Lanka) is associated in most people with tea. However, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the enterprises of this region specialized exclusively in the production of coffee for export and were headed by British colonialists. For the first time, the tea plantation in this area was planted by a Scottish-born man, James Taylor, in 1967, equaling only 8 hectares of land, and was a trial lot, on which there were no high hopes. The entrepreneur's main focus was still on growing coffee beans, not tea.
Two years later, insects spoiled coffee plantations, and to save the enterprise from collapse, it was decided to make up for the loss of tea plantations that grew quickly, yielding throughout the year. Tea from Ceylon liked the Europeans, and in a short time gave a big profit to Taylor, than coffee. The tea business began to grow rapidly, to develop: in less than ten years the volume of production was increased to 400 hectares, by the beginning of the 20th century.- up to 120,000 hectares. During this time, eminent tea producers, such as Thomas Lipton, moved to Sri Lanka, whose business is doing well now.
To Ceylon tea was fragrant, invigorating, quality, it is grown, collected in a special way:
- The best sorts of tea are grown at an altitude of 1000-2700 m above sea level, so they are most strongly absorbed by solar heat. These are high-mountainous and a number of medium-sized kinds of tea.
- High-mountain teas grow at an altitude of 1200 m and above, are considered the best. In Sri Lanka, such plantations include Nuwara Eliya, the source of Ceylon tea leaves of the highest class. Along the highland are the teas, from the plantations Alas, Dimbula. In total, such varieties account for about 27% of total tea production in Ceylon.
- The average elevation is planted at 600-1200 m, for such teas only 19% of total exports are accounted for. These are teas of medium and high quality, rich, with excellent taste, often with original taste characteristics. These include the plantation areas of Kandy, Halle.
- Lowland grows on flat plantations 600 and below meters above sea level. These are teas of low, medium varieties, which are often used for making mixtures, filling, flavoring products. These include the plantations of the Ratnapura district.
The quality of tea also depends on the correct application of the processing technology. So, from the moment of ripening to packing, the tea leaves undergo the following stages of exposure, which affect the flavor, aromatic value:
- Tea collection. During the harvest, according to the technology, it is necessary to remove only the upper two leaves and the kidney. Only tea from the upper leaves can be considered high quality. The lower parts of the tea plant are also often used, but in the production of low-quality tea, small leaf or blend( blend).Withering of tea. This is the process of primary processing of tea leaves, during which the leaves are slightly dried under the influence of freely circulating warm air.
- Twisting of tea. This effect on the structure of the leaf, followed by the release of tea enzymes, which give the tea flavor, tart taste and twisted form. From the correctness of the implementation of this stage( from how the leaves are twisted) depends on how long the tea can remain in good condition.
- Fermentation of tea. The process of sheet oxidation( absorption of oxygen by it) under the influence of a damp cool climate, the result of this stage is the primary darkening of the leaf, the bitterness appears. When making green tea, this stage is skipped.
- Drying the tea. It is a run of raw materials through a stream of hot air for the purpose of final drying. In this case, tea will finally get its dark shade.
- Sorting of tea. Running finished tea products through vibrating nets of different levels of porosity, in order to screen out different sizes of sheets. This forms small-, medium-, large-leaf tea, which is then packed and sold.
Classification of tea by leaf type
The word "baihovy" comes from the Chinese "buy-hoa", which means "white cilia"( it refers to the kidneys - tips that come across in the tea gatherings), and stands for loose teas that must be brewed. According to the size and integrity of the sheet, they are divided into:
- Large leaf tea - whole first, second, third or fourth tea sheets of high or medium quality. They are represented by the classes "Orange Peco"( "royal", high-quality) and "Peco"( lower quality).
- Middle leaf tea - broken or cut sheets and tips( not opened buds).It is represented by the class "Fluveri Broken Orange Peco".
- Fine leaf tea - small broken leaves, seeding or dust. It is used alone or for the production of packaged products. It is represented by tea classes "Broken Orange Peco", "Broken Orange Peco Fannings", "Broken Orange Peco Dast".
Advantages of large-leaf black tea
All sorts of Ceylon large leaf tea are produced by the same technology, and the plants themselves have high quality and pronounced flavor. However, large leaf tea has some advantage over other types of this product:
- This tea is more qualitative, has astringency, as the leaf and all its aromatic substances remain intact, small and medium leafy - these are just fragments, often stems, leaf crumbs.
- The presence of a large number of "screenings", which is a broken tea, may indicate a wrong treatment, which directly affects the quality.
Use and harm of the drink
Positive moments:
- tea invigorates;
- activates the metabolism;
- normalizes the work of the cardiovascular system;
- normalizes the digestive tract;
- tea improves the nervous system;
- good prevention of cancer;
- is useful in pregnancy;
- produces a rejuvenating effect;
- tea helps to reduce weight.
Negative:
- hot tea is harmful to the stomach and esophagus;
- may lead to yellowing of the teeth;
- in large quantities can cause insomnia, headache;
- excess tea can lead to an increase in pressure( green - to a decrease), stress on the heart;
- causes increased isolation of gastric juice, and therefore harmful to the peptic ulcer;
- binding, astringent properties of tea can aggravate constipation;
- may aggravate fever.
How to brew a black tea
- Scald a brewer.
- Put tea in it( 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of tea).
- Boil water, do not hold for long in a boiling state.
- Pour boiling water into the brewer.
- Cover with a lid, and on top with a napkin( not a towel).
- Insist 5 minutes. Tea is ready!
If you want to learn more about how to insist Ceylon tea with large leaves, see the tea ceremony with your own eyes, understand how to best extract an aromatic bouquet from it, see the video link below. It contains step-by-step instructions on how to properly brew this useful, strong and very fragrant drink:
Rating of tea, according to experts
| No. | Name of tea | Rating of tea( max = 6) |
| 1 | "Matre de The Noir" Ceylon with tipsy " | 5,25 |
| 2 | " RISTON CEYLON PREMIUM ".Orang Pekoe-standard | 5 |
| 3 | "NUWARA ELIYA Mlesna" | 4.75 |
| 4 | "AHMAD TEA".OP-Standard | 4,5 |
| 5 | Greenfield Magic Yunnan | 4,5 |
| 6 | Dilmah( THE SINGLE ORIGIN TEA 100% PURE CEYLON) | 4.25 |
| 7 | AKBAR | 4.25 |
| 8 | CrownRussian Empire "(May) | 4.25 |
| 9 | LIPTON YELLOW LABEL TEA | 4.25 |
| 10 | Brooke Bond | 3.75 |
| 11 | TWININGS( ENGLISH BREAKFAST TEA / Englishtea for breakfast ") | 3,5 |
Where to buy and how much is in Russia
Ceylon tea is very popular in Russia, is the main importer of tea products from Sri Lanka, and therefore this drink can be purchased in any grocerystore. However, if the purpose of the purchase is to collect high quality, then it is better to look for such tea at specialized points of sale or trusted online stores, here are some of them:
| Addresses of outlets and online stores in Moscow | Estimated price, rub / 100 g of tea |
| "Two tastes."TC "Troika", pav.234 | 80-182 |
| «Radhika».Ul. Electrode, 2, page 36 | 300-420 |
| SmartTea. Prospekt Mira, house 4, page 1 | 160-220 |
| Tea shop "The Green Monkey".Stavtea.ru | 200-350 |
| The trademark "Vintage".Tea-coffee.info | 180-260 |
| Trademark «Betford» Betford.ru | 140-280 |
| Internet supermarket «Edamol».Edamoll.ru | 170-190 |