Ceylon Tea Types

The most famous types of Ceylon tea are black, white, green, and oolong. All of them surprisingly comes from the same plant but are different because of the way they are processed differently.

1. Black tea

Black tea is the most popular form of Ceylon tea. To make black tea, the leaves of Sri Lankan tea are hand-plucked by the masterful female tea pluckers. The handpicking ensure that they pick only two leaves and a bud in large quantities. These leaves are then withered, rolled and fermented, then dried and sifted.

After the sifting is done, the leaves are separated into different grades. The largest wiry leaves are called Orange Pekoe, followed by lots of different grades, until dust grade.

Every Black Tea has a different colour and intensity.

2. Green tea

Green tea is another popular category of Ceylon tea. It’s gaining more popularity now. The overall process of making Green tea is somewhat different from Black tea, even though it comes from the same kind of plant. For the processing of Green tea, the leaves are unfermented to maintain their antioxidant characteristics. The leaves are then picked, withered and heated, then rolled before drying and sifting. One great quality of Ceylon Green tea is that it is also pure and clean, just like Black tea.

3. White tea

White tea is a unique type of Ceylon tea. For this reason, it’s also the most expensive. The harvesting process is what makes it special. For White tea, only the buds are plucked, that too very delicately at dawn. These buds are not fermented at all and are hand-rolled individually. White tea is the only type of tea that is handmade. The colour of the White tea is subtle and light. It has less caffeine and more antioxidants than green or Black tea. This makes White tea one of the healthiest beverages. White tea is also called “Silver Tips”, and can be found in loose leaf or pyramid bags at all the tea shops in Sri Lanka.

Source: Internet