sasri2016 – Macwoods Tea Factory

This was the day, that I actully did get to tea factory. There are three phases to making the tea.

1. Collecting the tea leaves,
2. Drying the leaves, shredding them to smaller particles
3. Fermenting the leaves (black tea is fermented, green tea is not)

Got a short tour to tea factory, from a lady who was quite good and clear in english.

At the tea tasting, you could also buy a piece of cake for 45 rupies.

A 10 tea package pack costed about 4000 rupies, depending on the flavour.

Ellakaboole (?) did mean like "fresh fruit" in Sri Lankan.

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.

happy as I am - Harmony and thoughts with wine

Sometimes wine makes you get "brilliant" ideas, which you will regret next morning. I hope this is not one of them. ;-)

I am wondering respect. There are so many kinds of respect. People give respect for so many different reasons to other people. For looks of another, for wits, knowledge, experiences, skills. It is a good thing, that people respect each other, because that is one way to harmony. And it's not easy to live in harmony, between human beings.

I have a person in my circles, whom I did respect for the wits. She is clearly very intellect one, no doubt. Let's say, I give her 3 levels of respect for that. But when I heard that she has good values, that instantly added st least one level. When I heard more about it, I understood that she is even passionate about her values, it adds one more level to her pile.
I started to understand how much I appreciate people, who have deeper values, than just superficial things. Wits couldn't be categorized as superficial quality, but it's not that deep either. Superficial people can have wits, while deeper people can - and often do - too.

But is it good thing to be passionate about your values, or anything really? Well I think it is, maybe I feel like that,  because I think I am passionate myself. But isn't that a bit in contradiction with harmony? Harmony is something much more peaceful. Yes, but you also need change. Let's say that you are in hell (nice picture that we start this with), wouldn't you need an enormous amount of passion to try to change hellish thinks, you experience there? ;-) What I am really saying, is that we need passion to make changes. Sometimes change to better can be made in ordinary, common way of things, but often real and big changes really need passion to be executed. People can't "just make those things" - you need passion to make all that effort that is required to accomplish it.

Anyways, it's important to find your place in the world. Currently - in this moment - I am in such a harmony with the world  and this actual place where I am, in this specific location and much more further than my mind can dwell, so I just have to say, people should feel like this in their everyday life! I know it would make me happy to see my friends in harmony like this!
This harmony is something you can not buy! I did buy two glasses of wine, which you could call cheating! :-) but like we all know, alcohol is not giving you real harmony, it cheats your body to think a bit like that. But as I found the feeling, that I am in the right place of the world right now - and hence the feeling of harmony - before I did drink (and not drive) - I don't think this is really due to consumption. Though I know that reading the "way of tea" -book has quite an inspirational effect on me.

One certain way to know that you have found a piece of harmony, is that you are not bothered by small things. You are happy the way you are and the place where and when you are. If I would speak about Tao or "Li" - which I will not - I would say that is one really important thing and sentence, in any kind of seeking of truth,  better your self, to find your self or just getting enlightened by any wisdom. I haven't actually red that from anywhere, but maybe I should have.
Maybe universe wants me to be here also, as much I do as myself - and not just me! Do you how comforting and moving thought that is? It's not just that you want to be here and you have the feeling that you are in the right place, but that you also know that everything else wants you to be there. Worldly matters don't really upset you, when you have that feeling and knowledge.