The Gouravilla Tea Estate in Sri Lanka's Dimbula district turns out a BOP worth seeking out on its own merits — broken leaf, so the cup runs stronger and brisker than you'd get from a whole-leaf Flowery Orange Pekoe. Pour it and you're looking at a dark ruby liquor with a toasty, nutty aroma up front. The taste follows through on that: lemon and orange brightness cutting against date and honey sweetness, a nutty backbone, and a finish that leans roasted, almost coffee-like. It's a cup built for people who already know they like Ceylon tea and want the bolder, traditional style rather than something delicate.
Dimbula sits in Sri Lanka's tea country, part of an industry that grew out of necessity — a disease wiped out the island's coffee plantations in the 19th century, and tea filled the gap so thoroughly that Sri Lanka is now the world's second-largest tea exporter. Gouravilla itself has been producing since 1922, when it belonged to George Stuarts & Co.; today it's part of Horana Plantations and turns out roughly 21,000 kg of tea a day. Tea & Coffee hand-packs this particular batch to order at its factory in Pluckley, Kent.
To brew it, use freshly boiled water and let it infuse for three to five minutes. Ruby-dark and full-bodied, it takes milk, sugar, honey or lemon well if you want to soften it, or holds up fine served black.
