Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Tea
Known as Ceylon until 1972, the island of Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean a mere 19 miles from the southern coast of India. The warm, tropical climate is offset by mountains on the southern end of the island rising to altitudes of over 8,000 feet. Ceylon was known for it's coffee until the mid 1800's when a fungus wiped out the coffee industry and the plantation owners turned to tea. Since then some of the world's most popular Black teas have been grown there. Because of tradition, teas from Sri Lanka are still sold under the name Ceylon.
Ceylon's switch from coffee to tea set the stage for another critical development in the spread of tea culture. A gentleman by the name of Thomas Lipton made a name for himself in the late 1800's by selling teas from Ceylon at half of the market price for Black Tea. He also, almost single-handedly create- a market for "Orange Pekoe" tea. While Orange Pekoe technically just means full leaf, Mr. Lipton's creating advertising convinced generations of tea drinkers to accept no substitute for Lipton's Orange Pekoe tea!!
Today, most tea produced in Ceylon come from lower altitude plantations that run year-round thanks to the tropical climate. In fact, these lowland Assamica plants can flush as often as once a week, producing incredible amounts of tea. These teas are primarily CTC (Cut Tear Curl) machine harvested and destined for iced teas and tea bags. But Ceylon also produces some exceptional orthodox teas grown in mountainous regions of Dimbula, Uva and Nuwara Eliya. Here, the elevation slows the growth of the leaves and results in exceptionally brisk, fruity Black teas with good body and astringency. Example Ceylon Sonata.
Before 1971, more than 80 percent of the tea estate were owned by British companies. That year the Sri Lankan government nationalized the majority of plantations. In 1990, a plan began to re-involve private companies in managing the state-owned plantations. This upheaval and uncertainty has taken its toll on Sri Lankan tea production. Prior to 1993, more than 95% of tea estates in Sri Lanka practiced orthodox tea harvesting and processing techniques. Because these higher quality, larger leaf teas were not as suitable for the tea bags preferred by European tea drinkers, most estates converted to CTC production to increase low cost output. In 1993 the island fell from its status as the largest single producer of teas in the world to number eight.
After failing to compete with India and Kenya in the low-cost production of CTC teas, many estates are now converting back to orthodox production. Today Sri Lanka and Ceylon teas have recaptured a position among the top producing countries in the world and have a market share of roughly 20% of global demand.