Ceylon Highlands

Sri Lankan Black Tea

Grown in the scenic Uva highlands of Sri Lanka, with a spectacular view of Ella Rock above and the sounds of Ravana Falls below, this is Ceylon tea at its finest. The crisp, cool air of the central highlands translates to an extremely fresh and high quality tea. A robust, flavorful, yet smooth black tea with notes of malt and pine wood.

We love how versatile our Ceylon Highlands is, making for an excellent morning tea to give you an energy boost, but also a lovely cold-brew afternoon refresher. We recommend it as a gateway into the world of pure, loose leaf teas for beginners, as it is both familiar yet exciting. 

Tea Specs

ORIGIN  Amba Estate, Uva, Sri Lanka | 1030m Elevation | 10% Revenue Share

PICKED  May 2022

LEAF  1 bud 2 leaves | Broken Orange Pekoe

CRAFT  Picked, withered, rolled (chopped, bruised, broken) & dried

NOTES Bright, Citrusy, Malty, Pine Wood

BENEFITS Energy and focus

CAFFEINE Yes

Brew Instructions

Teas in Sri Lanka are typically brewed Western style. We recommend a long, drawn-out brew until the liquor turns an enchantingly deep red. You can add milk and sugar, but we feel it is a standalone tea worthy of drinking straight. Our Ceylon Highlands also makes for a great iced tea on hot summer days. 

Western Brew (Mug / Teapot): 3g (1 Tbsp) | 350ml | 95°C | 3 min | + 1 min for additional brews | Can steep ~ 3 times 

*Make sure to check out our tea infuser for easy brewing 

Cold-Brew (Pitcher): 12g | 750ml | Room temp | 8 hours in fridge | Strain & Serve with ice. Lemon slices optional.

*Recommended with our cold-brew bottle

Farm Story

Started by four partners with a focus on sustainability, Amba Estate is an organic farm producing artisanal teas, coffees, and spices. In addition to salary, benefits and overtime, Amba gives 10% of all its revenues back to its employees. Unlike other producers, Amba also empowers their staff through rotational work - meaning tea pickers can also wither, roll and dry the leaves. This gives them a full-circle sense of pride for what they've created.

Amba's farms are 100% organic: No chemicals, artificial fertilizers, or pesticides are used. To maintain and enhance soil fertility, Amba uses green plant material from the estate's ground and manure from their own herd of ‘rescue cows’, as well as shade trees that naturally induce nitrogen-rich soil.

We stayed at Amba and instantly fell in love with the people and their story. After tasting their teas and tisanes, we sourced our absolute favorites: This Ceylon highlands and Hand-cut Lemongrass. As well as their handmade coasters.

Our Ceylon Highlands is a premium "Broken Orange Pekoe" (a classic grade of black tea in Sri Lanka), handpicked and rolled in small batches using a custom mini-roller that can only process up to 15kg per batch (by comparison, the largest rollers in the big factories can process up to 1,000kg per hour!)