sasri2016 - Ceylon tea

This is my first meet with my own bought ceylon tea.

First tea I brought on this trip were already on my first visit to Majestic City in Colombo. There was a some kind of a luxury tea shop (with probably high prices, but seemed still okay to get something even for budget traveler). I bought a pack of five different Ceylon teas, eached packed into their own package, so I could taste them. Packages were colored like this:

• Red: Nuware Eliya
• Brown: Matale
• Black: Ruhunu
• Blue: Dimbula
• Green: Uva

I had no way to make them (as they were sliced tea leaves, that were not in a ready to use tea bag) in Colombo hotel, although I had a tea/coffee maker in my room there. So in Mirissa hotel, I asked them to make my breakfast tea from “Uva” package and gave it to them night before.

When I got to breakfast next morning, they made the tea pan from my Uva tea. That was surprisingly light and not so dark tea. I simply loved it! Adding honey to this tea, would probably suite like fist into the eye.

I did the same procedure next day (last night actually) and I am now at the breakfast, in the hotel's lobby.
This time I gave them Dimbulla tea (from the blue package). This is not as good as the Uva tea. This is also milder and not so heavy as ceylon tea often is. I don't say that this isn't okay, but as Uva was so amazing tea, this was kind of a disappointment after that one.

- Updated at the end of the trip -

I still like Uva tea most. Though one tea, which probably was flavored, was quite good. It had sugar in it, but combination was strangely working. I did get it as a surprise offering from Bala at Sea Zone hotel (you can read about it in my Nilaweli post).

People mostly use Dilmah tea bags here, which I really don't like that much. I think that some people in Finland might like it. Too dark and strong for me. It doesn't offer the light sweetness at all, but only the sour part. Like one acupuncturist said to me, I eat too much sour things and should eat more things like salad leaves. 

Did you know, that China had six necessities of life, which palace could not tax? These were firewood, rice, cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Guess which was the seventh necessity added to the list? Yes, tea of course.