Tea from Ceylon
This month has a special focus on Sri Lanka – the beautiful tropical island where the amazing Ceylon tea is produced. Sri Lanka, or as it used to be called, Ceylon, has had a turbulent history over the last centuries. The island has been colonised by several nations and hit by civil wars and natural disasters.
Ceylons tea history
Of course, it was the English who started the tea production in Sri Lanka just as they did in India. However, the Portuguese were actually the first settlers on the island. They were ousted by the Dutch in 1656, who were again expelled by English troops in 1798. The island was of great economic importance due to large quantities of gemstones and pearls.
The climatic conditions of two monsoon times were to prove ideal for the cultivation of tea and soon one tea plantation after another emerged. Within a few years, tea had become the new great crop on the island. Already by 1870 Ceylon had become a very large tea producer and it was the pioneering work of the Scots James Taylor that made it the island’s largest export.
The majority of the tea was sent to England where Ceylon tea made up 37% of the total consumption. It was also during these years that Thomas Lipton, a rich merchant, began to take an interest in tea. He had outlets all over england and he never got out of the way of good business. Ceylon became the most important of the So-called “Crown Colonies” of the English and the income from the island was so great that the English chose to let the Dutch take over Java.
VISUAL JOURNEY TO CEYLON PLANTATIONS
We have two small little movies along with a short introduction to Ceylon tea, so join us on an exciting journey to the world of teen. We visited the island during the rainy season in late 2019 and during filming we were haunted by leeches who climbed out of our legs and bit themselves.
Taste Perch’s Ceylon teas by buying them here.
Should the video not play on this page, you can watch it directly from YouTube –
Should the video not play on this page, you can watch it directly from YouTube –