Above the town of Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka's tea gardens climb to some of the island's highest ground, between 6,500 and 9,000 feet. At that elevation the weather shifts constantly between sun, rain and cloud, and that instability is part of what gives Ceylon tea from this district its character. This orthodox black tea comes from those gardens.
It's graded Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe, a step between Flowery Orange Pekoe and Broken Orange Pekoe: the leaf is broken into smaller pieces than FOP but not as fully broken as BOP, which gives the brew more strength and character than a whole-leaf tea while keeping some of its finesse.
Ceylon tea has a fairly short history. Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, grew coffee until 1869, when coffee rust wiped out the crop and left the economy in trouble. A Scotsman named James Taylor experimented with tea instead, built a factory in 1872, and made the first sale of Ceylon tea that same year. Tea growing spread across the island from there, and today anything sold as Ceylon tea has to meet quality standards set by the Sri Lanka Tea Board.
In the cup this one is golden-coppery and light, with floral notes running through lemon and orange brightness, honey, a milky softness and a faint coffee note. Steep it in freshly boiled water for three to five minutes and drink it with milk, sugar, honey or lemon, or take it black. The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company packs it fresh to order at its factory in Kent. Black tea of this kind is traditionally credited with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and some people drink it as part of an active lifestyle, though that's a habit rather than a guarantee.
