Ceylon Green Tea
Country of Origin: Sri Lanka
Region: Dimbula
Shipping Port: Colombo
Grade: Small gunpowder
Altitude: 5000 - 6400 feet above sea level
Manufacture Type: Special gunpowder green tea
Cup characteristics: A green tea with surprising body and a captivating taste that has an intriguing hint of oakiness.
Infusion: Greenish full bodied slightly high-fired character.
Ingredients: Green tea
Information:
Gunpowder tea is produced like green tea but after the steaming process the tea is tightly rolled into what appears to be pellets. When boiling water is poured over the leaves they quickly expand and in some cases can almost fill the cup. Royal Gunpowder is an especially good green tea for the following reasons:
- The base tea comes from some of the best estates in Sri Lanka
- The tightness of the rolled pellets gives excellent flavour when made into tea.
- The region where the tea is grown - Dimbula - is a high grown area producing full-bodied flavory tea. In Dimbula the peak quality time is during February when northwest monsoons create dry weather conditions in Dimbula.
Royal Gunpowder tea is manufactured in very limited quantities due to the time and diligence required to manufacture this high quality tea. It is very difficult to achieve such a tight roll of leaves; but this process allows this particular type of tea to able to be stored for a long time without any deterioration in quality.
Tea was planted in Sri Lanka by the British in the 1860’s after coffee rust wiped out the then primary agricultural coffee crop. At that time the British East Indies Company had a near monopoly on tea, with most of Britain’s needs coming from China. Relations between China and Britain were quite rocky during this period (on account of the opium trade) and tea in Sri Lanka looked like a great way to diversify supply risk by ‘the company’. This gunpowder tea is made in the Chinese tradition but the benefits are superior quality tea.
Hot tea brewing method: When preparing by the cup, this tea can be used repeatedly - about 3 times. The secret is to use water that is about 180’F or 80’C. Place 1 teaspoon in your cup let the tea steep for about 3 minutes and then begin enjoying a cup of enchantment - do not remove the leaves from the cup. Once the water level is low - add more water, and so on and so on - until the flavor of the tea is exhausted. Look at the pattern of the leaves in the brew, not only do they foretell your fortune but you can see the bud and shoots presenting themselves, looking like they are about to be plucked. Alternatively as with all top quality teas, scoop 2-4 teaspoons of tea into the teapot, pour in boiling water that has been freshly drawn (previously boiled water has lost most of its oxygen and therefore tends to be flat tasting), steep for 2-4 minutes (to taste), stir (virtually all the leaves will sink), pour into your cup but do not add milk or sugar since green tea is enjoyed ‘straight-up’.