Ceylon Green Jasmine Tea

Sri Lanka can be referred to as the Garden of India with not only its beautiful tea plantation but also growing many other fruits, vegetable and flowers. Its verdant forests are home to many small-hold farmers producing flora of exceptional quality.

When I first tried this Ceylon Green Jasmine I had mainly only drunk Chinese or Malaysian Jasmine Tea, so when my friend Lal Alawattegama sent me this sample from his brother’s tea factory, I was most interested to try it. I am so glad that I did, this is one of the best Jasmines that I have ever, ever tasted and Lal passed on the delightful description of the manufacture of this tea and I quote, semi-verbatim below.

“After the tea is rolled and dried, we spread it out a sheet on the ground. Over this we place another sheet upon which we pile four times the weight of Jasmine blossoms to tea on top. We then cover the Jasmine blossoms with another sheet and leave the tea to infuse the scent of the petals overnight. We then add a few of the Jasmine blossoms to the tea to make it look appealing.”

I was impressed by this simple but very effective method of making a Jasmine as it involves no augmentation whatsoever and the two products used are 100% natural. As most people know tea is a very hygroscopic product and will easily pick up the flavours of anything pungent that is near to it. Lal’s brother uses this characteristic to its full advantage.

The green tea base is a beautifully rolled, fancy ‘gun-powder’ type leaf.