Sri Lanka's Nuwara Eliya district sits higher than any other tea-growing area in the country, with gardens commonly planted around 1,900 metres above sea level. The cool air up there carries the scent of eucalyptus and wild mint, and that climate shapes the character of this black tea: a cup that comes out subtly sweet and spicy, with malty, honey-like undertones alongside notes of lemon, milk, mint, eucalyptus, spice and even a faint coffee edge. Colour in the cup is a light amber.
The name Ceylon is a holdover from the British colonial period — Sri Lanka kept the name for its tea even after independence. Tea-growing land covers only around 4% of the island's landmass, yet Sri Lanka remains the fourth-largest tea producer in the world.
This one is often served cold, though it works just as well hot. Iced tea itself dates back to the 1904 World's Fair in St Louis, where a tea merchant named Richard Blechynden began pouring ice over tea leaves to cool down overheated visitors; it caught on as a distinctly American way to drink tea before spreading everywhere. Any tea, green, white, black or oolong, can serve as the base, but this Ceylon black holds up particularly well cold.
Tea & Coffee packs this one fresh to order at its factory in Kent. For a hot brew, use freshly boiled water and steep for three to five minutes; milk, sugar, honey or lemon all suit it well. Like other black teas, it carries a fair amount of caffeine, and it has long been credited with a good supply of antioxidants, believed by some to ease oxidative stress, though that claim is more traditional than proven.
