Ceylon tea: the seven regions, the two monsoons and our gardens

What is Ceylon tea?

Ceylon tea is tea grown and made in Sri Lanka, the island once called Ceylon, whose former name the tea world has kept on its labels. Cultivation began there in 1867 in the Kandy region, when the planter James Taylor had tea bushes planted; it took off after the disease that wiped out the island's coffee plants in the 19th century.

The island produces mainly black teas, as whole or broken leaves, but also green teas and a few white teas. Its cup is known for its clarity and coppery colour: this is why so many Earl Greys are built on a Ceylon, such as Grand Earl Grey Ceylan, whose frank base carries the bergamot. Our Earl Grey guide tells the story of that pairing; here, we talk about plain Ceylon, and what changes from one garden to another.

What are the seven Ceylon tea regions?

Sri Lankan exporters recognise seven producing regions, grouped by altitude. The high country brings together Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Uva and Uda Pussellawa; Kandy forms the mid country, with gardens no higher than 1,300 m; Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa are the low country, where gardens go down to sea level. To bear the name of a region, a tea must have been grown and made there.

Each region has its own signature in the cup. Nuwara Eliya, the highest district, gives the palest liquor on the island. Dimbula is recognised by a golden liquor verging on orange, Kandy by a bright infusion with coppery glints. Uva teas are described as smooth and rounded, those of Uda Pussellawa as darker, with a pinkish tint. The low country gives dark, full-bodied liquors: in Sabaragamuwa, the cup turns a yellowish brown with red glints.

Why the season changes the flavour: the two monsoons

In Sri Lanka, a tea's season depends on the two monsoons of the Indian Ocean. The north-east monsoon brings rain from December to March, the south-west monsoon from June to September. The central mountains act as a barrier: each slope receives mostly the rain of one and stays largely sheltered from the other.

When a monsoon crosses the mountains, it has lost its moisture and brings cool, dry weather to the other side. This is the “quality season”: warm days and cool nights, without rain, which refine the aroma of the leaf. In the west, in Dimbula and Kandy, it falls early in the year, until March or April. In the east, in Uva, it arrives with the dry winds from July to September, and gives the teas of this season the almost minty freshness that has made their reputation.

The same garden therefore does not give the same cup all year round. The page for Uva Highlands BOP says so: Mariage Frères selects for this tea a harvest from Uva's best season, when the dry-season winds have concentrated the leaf.

Uva: the gardens of the eastern highlands

Uva, on the eastern slope of the central mountains, is the region most represented among our Ceylon teas. Its capital is Badulla, and it is in the Badulla region, at the Glenanore garden, that Mariage Frères places the teas of the Blackwood estate. Uva teas are known for their lively character, and several of our product pages mention their fresh, almost minty note.

Uva Highlands BOP gives an amber, full-bodied liquor, made for breakfast, plain or with a dash of milk. Saint James BOP, from the Shawlands estate, is powerful and full of flavour, with a frank tannic structure; Saint James · OP, also from Uva, comes in large leaves. Blackwood OP1 offers a rounded, malty cup with a fruity bouquet, which the house likens to açaí and rosewood, while Blackwood BOP, from the same garden, is denser and livelier. Prince de Colombo OP, which its page also links to Uva, is an everyday Ceylon, rounded and full-bodied with fruity accents.

The grade reads in a few letters: OP (Orange Pekoe) means a long, whole leaf, BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) a broken leaf that infuses faster and stronger, OP1 a large, top-grade whole leaf. For a Ceylon without scales, Orange Pekoe Ceylan, from the Blackwood garden, comes in a box of 30 cotton muslin tea sachets.

Ratnapura: a low-country Ceylon from the south-west

Ratnapura is the capital of Sabaragamuwa province, in the south-west of the island, the largest of Sri Lanka's tea regions. Its gardens are at low altitude, and the region is also known for its precious stones: our tea's page recalls that Ratnapura is nicknamed “the city of gems”.

Mariage Frères' Ratnapura comes from the Vithanakande garden. It is a plain black tea of OP grade, with long leaves, whose amber, coppery liquor remains mellow, without harshness. The house makes it a five o'clock tea, plain or with a dash of milk; its page recommends 2.5 g per 200 ml of water at 95 °C and a steeping time of 5 minutes. Alongside the Uva teas, it shows the other face of Ceylon: softer, rounder.

Is there Ceylon green tea and white tea?

Yes, Sri Lanka also produces green teas and white teas, in far smaller quantities than its black teas. Idulgashina Vert is a green tea grown in the island's highlands, with a clear, soft liquor and a fruity flavour. Like any green tea, it calls for cooler water: its page recommends 75 to 80 °C, 2 to 3 minutes, 2.5 g per cup. The other green teas are in the green tea section.

Mariage Frères' Thé Blanc Sacre is a Ceylon white tea made from buds alone, simply withered and dried. Its crystal-clear, velvety liquor opens on a white flower fragrance, then on a forest-floor note. Its tin holds 4 envelopes of 5 g, each for a 200 ml teapot, to be steeped for 7 minutes at 85 °C. Our white tea guide explains how this family is made.

How to choose your Ceylon tea?

For a morning tea that takes milk well, choose a broken leaf from Uva: Uva Highlands BOP, Saint James BOP or Blackwood BOP. For a rounder cup, to drink plain during the day, pick a whole leaf, Blackwood OP1 or Prince de Colombo OP. For the afternoon, Ratnapura offers the softness of a low-country Ceylon.

The Ceylon black teas on our product pages are steeped at 95 °C, with 2.5 g per 200 ml, but their steeping time varies from 3 to 5 minutes depending on the tea: follow each one's page. Our guide to steeping times and temperatures compares these settings with those of other families, and the Ceylon tea section brings together all the island's gardens in stock.