Information Density: Sri Lanka Tea Board – Signal Evidence & AI Readability

[H2] Symbol of quality
The finest cup of tea, guaranteed.In over one hundred and fifty years, the name Ceylon had become synonymous with the world’s finest tea. In the world’s eye and tongue, Ceylon was tea and tea was Ceylon.
What Rolls Royce is to cars, Rolex is to watches, Havana is to cigars and Scotland is to whisky; Ceylon is to tea.
The legendary lion of the Sri Lankan flag was introduced to the Ceylon Tea logo, to guard this commitment – the symbol of quality.
[H2] To earn this validation:
The tea must be exclusively packed in Sri Lanka. Overseas packers, importers and distributors cannot use the Lion logo on their packaging, even if the contents are 100% Sri Lankan.
A special, independent panel of tea tasters, sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, is responsible, together with an analytical laboratory, for assessing the quality of Ceylon Tea prior to auction and export.
The franchise rights for the use of the Lion logo is awarded to exporters for their branded products, but requires them to conform to the strictest guidelines.
These, and a long list of other prerequisites are enforced to safeguard the good name of Ceylon Tea that continues to satiate both the haughty royals and demanding billions.

[H2] Flirt with new tea recipes

[H3]
Iced Tea Lemonade

[H5] Iced Tea Lemonade
Bring the litre of water to a boil, remove from heat and add tea leaves. Keep for 3-5 minutes. Stir and strain into a container, add the cold water and the cooled sugar syrup. Pour in the lemon juice and mix well. To serve, pour over ice cubes.

[H3]
Chocolate Tea

[H5] Chocolate Tea
Place all the ingredients in a pan except the garnish and simmer until the chocolate is fully dissolved. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes, then let it cool and strain. Freeze for one hour. Break up the frozen mixture and process in a blender until slushy.

[H3]
Pineapple Tea Punch

[H5] Pineapple Tea Punch
Bring the water to a boil, add tea leaves and let it infuse, then add nutmeg and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Stir and strain into a punch bowl, add sugar and let it cool. Mix in the fruit juice. When ready to serve, mix with chilled soda and pour over ice cubes.

[H3]
Lemongrass Tea Sorbet

[H5] Lemongrass Tea Sorbet
Bring water to boil, add sugar and lemongrass and let it infuse for 15 minutes. Add tea leaves and keep for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine meshed sieve and let it cool. Add lemon juice and place in freezer until frozen hard (about 8 hours). Process in small quantities in a blender until slushy and creamy. Place in cool goblets and serve immediately, garnished with fruits, mint leaves etc.

[H3]
Tea Wine

[H5] Tea Wine
Boil the water, add tea leaves, and let it brew for 10 minutes. Do not strain. Add all the other ingredients, except arrack and keep it covered for 10 days. Stir well and keep it for another 4 days. Strain, filter and keep it for another week. Then add arrack and keep it for 1 or 2 weeks.

[H2] Blog / social media

[H5] News & highlights

[H4] The Birth of Ceylon Tea

[H4] Health and Healing with Green Tea – Relief from 4 Common Ailments

[H4] Creative Ways to use Tea in your Cooking

[H4] Tea Traditions from Around The World

[H3] 1867 - 1877

[H3] 1877 - 1887

[H3] 1887 - 1897

[H3] 1897 - 1907

[H3] 1907 - 1917

[H3] 1917 - 1927

[H3] 1927 - 1937

[H3] 1937 - 1947

[H3] 1947 - 1957

[H3] 1957 - 1967

[H3] 1967 - 1977

[H3] 1977 - 1987

[H3] 1987 - 1997

[H3] 1997 - 2007

[H3] 2007 - 2017

1867 to 1877

1877 to 1887

1887 to 1897

1897 to 1907

1907 to 1917

1917 to 1927

1927 to 1937

1937 to 1947

1947 to 1957

1957 to 1967

1967 to 1977

1977 to 1987

1987 to 1997

1997 to 2007

2007 to 2017

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[H1] Story of Ceylon Tea

James Taylor arrived in Ceylon in 1852, settling down at the Loolecondera Estate, Galaha. He begins a 19-acre tea plantation on the Loolecondera Estate in 1867, laying the foundation for what would become Sri Lanka’s largest export industry for over a century.
In 1872, a fully equipped tea factory began operating on the Loolecondera Estate.
In 1873, Ceylon Tea made its international debut when twenty-three pounds of tea produced by James Taylor reached London.

During the 1880s, tea production in Sri Lanka grew rapidly with planters from all over the hill country visiting Loolecondera to learn the basics of growing and manufacturing tea. By the late 1880s, almost all the coffee plantations had been converted to tea as it was seen as a more lucrative alternative.
With the development of technologies such as the Sirocco tea dryer in 1877 and the tea-rolling machine in 1880, commercial tea production was now viable.
In 1883, with the backing of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the first of many public Colombo tea auctions was held on the property of Somerville & Co.
In 1884, the Central Tea Factory was built on the Fairyland Estate (Pedro) in Nuwara Eliya.

In 1891, Ceylon Tea was sold at the London tea auctions at an astonishing price of LKR 36.15 per lb.
In 1892, James Taylor, the pioneer of the tea industry in Ceylon, died at the age of 57.
In 1894, the Colombo Tea Traders Association was founded, followed by the formation of the Colombo Tea Brokers’ Association in 1896.

This period witnessed a significant increase in production. By 1899, nearly 400,000 acres of land was already under tea cultivation.

1915 was a historic year as Mr. Thomas Amarasuriya was appointed as the first ever Sri Lankan Chairman of the Planters’ Association.

The Tea Research Institute was set up in 1925 to improve production techniques and maximise yields. As a result, by the end of this period, Sri Lanka was producing more than 100,000 metric tons of tea, mainly for export.

In 1932, the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board was established.
Higher standards were prescribed to prohibit the export of inferior quality teas.
The world’s largest tea bush which yielded four pounds of tea leaves in a day was found in Ceylon in 1934.
In 1935, Ceylon became a founding member of the International Tea Market Expansion Board (ITMEB).

In 1940, the Tea Research Institute made a breakthrough in the control of the leaf eating Tea Tortrix Caterpillar. This was done by intentionally spreading a parasite, Macrocentrus homonae, introduced from Java.
In 1941, M/s Pieris & Abeywardena, the first Ceylonese Tea brokerage firm was set up.
In 1944, the Ceylon Estate Employers’ Federation was founded.

In 1951, Export Duty was levied on tea.
In 1955, the cultivation of the first clonal tea fields began. This is a method of controlling plant breeding to produce the best strains of tea.

The State Plantations Corporation was established in 1958.
In 1959, an Ad Valorem Tax was imposed on teas sold at the Colombo auctions.
The very first Instant Tea plant was set up by Halssen & Lyon of Germany at Agarapathana in 1963.
In 1965, Sri Lanka became the largest exporter of tea in the world!
To celebrate 100 years of Ceylon Tea, the first International Tea Convention was held in 1966.

The Sri Lankan government nationalised and took over privately held tea estates in 1971-72.
In 1976, the Sri Lanka Tea Board, the Janatha Estate Development Board, and the Tea Small Holding Development Authority were established. Export of tea bags too began in this year.

Sri Lanka was the official supplier of tea at the Moscow Summer Olympic Games in 1980 and the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in 1982.
In 1981, Sri Lanka began importing tea for blending and re-exporting.
The production and export of green tea started in 1982.
In 1983, the CTC (Crush, tear and curl) tea processing method was introduced in the country.

To commemorate 125 years of Ceylon Tea, an international convention was held in Colombo in 1992. The Tea Research Board was formed. Export duties and Ad Valorem Taxes were abolished.
In 1993, state-owned tea estates were returned to the private sector.
In 1997, tea exports from Sri Lanka reached 250,000 metric tons.

With the closure of the London Tea Auction in 1998, the trade in Ceylon Tea centred solely on the Colombo Auction.
In 1999, the Sri Lanka Tea Board globally trademarked the Lion logo as an emblem of 100% Pure Ceylon Tea.
The production of Ceylon Tea exceeded 300,000 metric tons in 2000.
2001 saw the setting up of a Tea Museum in an old tea factory in Hanthana, Kandy.
In 2002, the Tea Association of Sri Lanka was formed.

In 2008, the export revenue from Ceylon Tea reached USD 1 billion.
In 2011, the Sri Lanka Tea Board obtained the necessary Geographical Indications (GI) certification for Ceylon Tea, meaning that only tea produced in certified regions of the Island and meeting stringent quality norms could be marketed as ‘Ceylon Tea’. This was an important step in ensuring quality and preventing counterfeiting. Sri Lanka also became the first country to be recognised as a producer of Ozone-friendly tea.
The year 2017 marked the 150th year of Ceylon Tea. Since James Taylor established the first commercial plantation in 1867, the Sri Lankan tea industry has come a long way, now generating over USD 1 billion in export revenue and employing over 1 million citizens.

[H1] From Leaf to Sip

[H4] No greater love story was ever brewed
From handpicking the choicest leaves to its withering and rolling; from blowing it cold and hot for that tangy personality,
until we separate the finest for you – Ceylon Tea is a labour of love.

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[H2] Love at first pluck
[H3] The chosen leaves
The first secret is in the art of plucking. To ensure the excellence of the final product, skilled hands aided by trained eyes pluck only unopened buds accompanied by two leaves sprouting from the springs of each tea bush.

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[H2] Preparing for the long run
[H3] The withering
These chosen leaves are then brought in baskets to the factory and placed on troughs to dry and wither, just as wine is deposited in casks to mature until perfection. Air is circulated to decrease their moisture content to optimum levels to enhance their aromatic appeal and flavour.

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[H2] Finding the heart of the flavour
[H3] The rolling
Once the withering process is finally through and done, the withered leaves enter the third stage. It’s called rolling. They are fed to rolling machines to break their stubborn cell structures of resistance, to open their hearts and seduce them to release the natural essence contained within.

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[H2] Things are heating up
[H3] Blow cold, blow hot
Next, they must go through fermentation, the process of oxidation; exposed to air which will brown them to a perfect tan. Then after being blown cold they must be blown hot. They must go through the furnace of fire, pass through a chamber of hot air, and emerge with the mettle of their flavour tried, tested and proven. It’s this that will set them apart.

[H2] Let the ceremony begin
[H3] The final preparation
The tea is still not ready for your cup.
The tea is now placed on a vibrating mesh and sorted according to size and grades, before they are weighed and packed separately to be presented to the world as the pride of Ceylon Tea: the enchantment that will fill your cup.

[H2] A Life of Tea

[H4] Perfection is passion at work

Sri Lanka does not rest on her tea leaves. She has not taken and does not take, her supreme good fortune for granted but strives to ensure her tea’s excellence is not only presently maintained but enhanced by ensuring its effort is not despoiled by pollution, corruption or short-sightedness – environmentally or socially.

Hand-plucked
Unlike most tea producing countries in the world, Ceylon Tea still follows the old-fashioned way. With only the choicest leaves of the day – one tender unopened bud together with its accompanying twin tea leaves – are hand-plucked. Not puckered by a mechanised process that indiscriminately collects the leaves in one fell swoop.
Diversity
Variety is the beauty of Ceylon Tea. Its seven tea regions, with seven soils and seven climes produce a diversity of flavours, aromas, strengths and colours. A magnificent assortment, ensuring that there is a perfect brew for everyone.
Ethical
The Ceylon Tea industry is strictly regulated. Its code ensures not only the protection of the soil and environment but also the wealth and welfare of the people who produce it. The growers are ensured with remunerative prices for the tea they produce whilst the labour forces receive a comprehensive package which includes free housing and free health care.
Commitment
From picking to blending, from packaging to marketing, from distribution to sale, over a million of the Lankan workforce – that’s approximately 5% of the total population – are involved in the process that brings the finest to your cup. Their livelihoods depend on it. Thus their passion and their commitment to brew its continuing success.
Ozone-Friendly
Sri Lankan tea growers adhere to international standards and to the best recommended practices of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. The seven tea regions have all been certified by the Rainforest Alliance. In 2011, Ceylon Tea was presented with the honour of labelling its produce ‘Ozone-Friendly Ceylon Tea’– a singular honour no other tea-growing nation can still lay claim to.
Ecology
In 2016 Sri Lanka signed the Paris Accord on climate change and ratified it in September of the same year. But long before that, the island has shown the world its commitment to safeguarding its environment; the proof of which lies in the tea fields that extend from the southern foothills to the central highlands, covering nearly 500,000 acres.

[H2] Sustainability

[H4] If not now

The tea industry has continuously been adapting and changing to cope with turbulent political, socio-economic climates. Sri Lanka’s tea industry has invested heavily in sustainability and global best practices. Owing to its alliances with international conservation bodies and hundreds of individual initiatives being practiced on estates and smallholder farms, Ceylon Tea has earned a reputation as a brand above commerce.

Fair Trade Certification
The Fair Trade Premium charged for FT certified tea is invested in the social, economic and environmental development of tea-manufacturing communities.
Ethical Tea Partnership
This partnership improves and encourages the safety and health of workers, and prevents discrimination and harassment as well as child labour within the industry.
Rainforest Alliance
While conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods, the RFA works towards building strong forests, healthy agricultural landscapes and thriving communities through creative, pragmatic collaborations.
Organic Certifications (USDA-NOP, JAS, EU & NASAA)
Organic farming discourages environmental exposure to pesticides and chemicals, helps combat erosion, builds healthy soil, fights the effects of global warming, supports water conservation and water health, and promotes animal health and welfare while encouraging biodiversity.
Carbon Neutral Certification
Sri Lanka Tea Board is resolute about reducing its Carbon emissions and carbon offsets to counteract the CO2 emissions that have not yet been eliminated. An initiative aimed at accepting and responsibly addressing the industry’s involvement in global warming, and one day soon becoming ‘Carbon Neutral’.
Ozone-Friendly Tea
The Ozone-Friendly Pure Ceylon Tea certification acknowledges the first and only 100% Ozone-Friendly tea in the world. Ceylon Tea works tirelessly to ensure that these eco-friendly guidelines are adhered to throughout the production process, because nothing but the finest tea on Earth should touch your lips.
Not all Teas are Created Equal
The Ceylon Tea Lion logo captures the legacy and essence of tea grown in Sri Lanka. Inspired by its rich heritage, the motif of the celebrated Lion guarantees that it is 100% Pure Ceylon Tea, grown, picked and packed in Sri Lanka, conforming to the highest quality standards mandated by the Sri Lanka Tea Board. Every batch of tea that bears the Ceylon Tea Lion logo is traceable to its origins, ensuring absolute accountability and transparency with every sip.

[H2] An island made for tea
From the seven tea regions of Sri Lanka, come the seven flavours of Ceylon Tea. Each blessed with its distinctive appeal to seduce and pamper palates that demand an array of choice.
Lightest to strongest, full-bodied to mild mannered, a cup of Ceylon Tea is nothing but the finest.

[H2]

From the mist wrapped mountains of Nuwara Eliya that rise from the centre of the island to soar over 6000 feet above sea level, where the morning air is cool and bracing and the nights cold and touched with frost, come the lightest and the most refined tea to fill the connoisseurs’ cup. Nuwara Eliya is the champagne province of the country’s tea lands with flowery pekoes that are best imbibed light.

This region is twice blessed. It’s blessed during the months of June and September when the southwest monsoon arrives; a cold and dry spell to spur the tea bush to sprout the leaves that will produce a medium-bodied rosy tea graced with subtle character. Then it’s blessed again between November and January when the northeast monsoon’s yearly visitation brings rain in its wake and makes the tea darker in colour and stronger in flavour, adding more tang.

It is cool and dry between December and March and then the heavens open up to send in the rains between May and September. Two different climates within each year dictate Dimbula’s tea produce; a host of natural flavours with a hint of jasmine spiced with cypress. The tea when brewed displays a hue of a reddish, golden orange. And when tasted, it’s surprising to find a taste refreshingly mellow. Defined as ‘high grown’ tea, it is probably, the most famous Ceylon Tea of all.

It’s the climate that makes Uva tea highly prized. The mountainous terrain is exposed to both monsoon seasons; the annual northeast and the southwest monsoons. But when the winds reach these climes and howl around its high towers, they blow bereft of moisture – a spent force which had discharged its water content in the hills below. The dryness gives Uva tea a special concentrated aroma and a distinct exotic flavour.

This mid country tea grown at 2,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level produces robust, full-bodied teas. Ideal for those who love their tea strong, bursting with flavour: the perfect wake-up tea for winter mornings, or when the heart needs a perky sprint.

It’s not only in the mountains that Ceylon Tea brews best. The region of Sabaragamuwa, geographically placed at a lower elevation, musters a tea that is second to none. The climate which is hot and humid in the open air and moist and cool where the surrounding foliage is dense, serve to produce a dry tea leaf of a dark reddish black hue. The result: a scarlet coloured, full-bodied strong tea in your morning tea cup.

Rained on by the southwest monsoon, warmed by the tropic sun, the island’s low lying area’s tea have continuously showed their colours by producing leaves with a distinct blackness which imparts a strong and rich taste to rival the best the rest of Lanka can offer. From the south comes a tea full-bodied in its timbre with its flavour vibrant and strong.

[H2] Types & Grades

[H5] SILVER TIPS
The finest buds of a special cultivar which turn velvety-silver when dried. Extremely rare, and usually handpicked before sunrise, they offer the gentlest fragrant brew.

[H5] OP – Orange Pekoe
Contrary to popular belief, Orange Pekoe refers to a leaf size and not a flavour. Orange Pekoe tea has a strong scent and a smooth flavour with a sweet finish.

[H5] FBOP – Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe
Similar to Broken Orange Pekoe but bigger in size. It is a coarser, semi-leaf tea with a small portion of tips that produce a mild yet flavourful brew.

[H5] BOP1 – Broken Orange Pekoe 1
A well twisted semi-leaf tea, generally from the low country. It has a uniquely delicate and malt-like taste with an aftertaste that resembles caramel.

[H5] PEKOE
Pekoe refers to tea made from the just-unfurling buds of the tea bush. Pure pekoes are tightly rolled into a near spherical shape and need extreme care when manufacturing.

[H5] BOP - Broken Orange Pekoe
A popular leaf size and the main broken grade.
This tea infuses faster than whole-leaf varieties, giving way to a liquor that strikes the right balance between taste and strength.

[H5] BOPF - Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings
Uniform, black-leaf tea particles which are smaller than BOP but without tips, hailing from higher elevated regions. Bright in colour with a strong taste that retains most characteristics of BOP. Ideal for tea bags.

[H5] DUST 1
The smallest of particles that infuse swiftly, resulting in optimum strength, colour and body. It is most suited for commercial brewing.

[H5] FBOPF EX.SP. - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning Extra Special
A whole-leaf black tea that tends to be expensive due to the abundance of leafy, long tips. Yields an exquisite cup with a mild caramel flavour.

[H5] GOLDEN TIPS
Very rare pale golden velvety whole buds taken from select plants, has a very delicate brew with a mild floral bouquet.

[H5] FF1 - Flowery Fannings 1
Short wiry particles mixed with medium-sized curly leaves and comprising of some tips.

[H5] GUNPOWDER
This green tea dates back to the 1800s and the name originates from the fact that the tea is rolled very tightly into small pellets befitting ammunition used in old muskets.