Ceylon Black Tea
Ceylon black tea is black tea that is grown in Sri Lanka (which was known as Ceylon before 1972). It has a citrus-like crisp aroma, and is used both unmixed and in blends. It is grown on numerous estates which vary in altitude and taste. The history of Ceylon Tea goes back to the early 1860s, during which the main crop produced in Ceylon then was coffee. Owing to devastation caused by the coffee-rust fungus, the majority of the coffee plants were killed, which made estate owners to lose interest in coffee and to diversify into the other crops in order to prevent an entire ruin. The father of Ceylon Tea, James Taylor, arrived on the island and begab experimenting with the sowing of the first tea crops in 1867. It was done on 19 acres of land. James Taylor was already experienced in tea cultivation. He had acquired his knowledge in North India. He carried out different experiements on cultivating tea on the verandah of his estate. He rolled the leafs by hand and fired the oxidized leaves on clay stoves over charcoal fire. The tea that James Taylor made was delicious and sold for a very good price in the London Auction. The tea craze hit Ceylon.
Varieties of Ceylon tea
Morawak Korale district tea is grown at up to 2,500 feet
Kandy district tea is grown at 2,500 feet or above
Uva district tea is grown at 2,800 feet or above
Dimbula and Dickoya tea is grown at 3,500 feet or above
Nuwara Eliya tea is grown at 6000 feet or above
Some hints for brewing tea:
The water using for the brewing needs to be fresh and should be boiled. The water that is previously boiled or that has been continuously on boil will reduce the taste of flavour. The teapot should be rinsed with hot water in order to retain the heat of the boiling water used for brewing. Allow the tea to suffuse for 3 to 4 minutes and strain the tea out into cups.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceylon_tea_%28black%29, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceylon_tea_%28black%29