dumbara green tea curls
medium body with a heady peach-like flavor. the aroma captures the spirit. 

origin
sri lanka

infusion
mottled silver hued leaves

information
the dumbara valley, situated in the central hills of sri lanka beyond the ancient kingdom of kandy, had its early mention in the 13th century when king wickremabahu III moved his capital from gampola. for 50 years he reigned the country until king buvanekabahu V took over with his kingdom to kotte. it is recorded that the king of kurunegala, prior to the 13th century, moved up to the dumbara valley to avoid invasion by the kings of jaffna and to take advantage of the extremely rich soil and the moderate rainfall of this valley, conducive to an agricultural civilization.

the dumbara valley is the backdrop of the ‘pavilion’, the governors mansion which is situated in the middle of the splendid peradeniya botanical gardens. the valley’s lush vegetation bursts into view across the splendid gardens when you step onto the main balcony of the mansion. beyond the dumbara valley, the knuckles mountain range, with its four distinct elevations adds great charm to an already spectacular view. it is no wonder that this tea tastes so wonderful.

the father of ceylon tea is considered to be james taylor. in 1866, james taylor started collecting tea seeds from the peradeniya botanical garden in kandy and planted them along the roadsides in hedge-like rows. the initial results were considered very favourable and a w.m. leake who was the secretary of the ceylon planters association sent arthur morice to india to study the assam tea districts. concurrent to these efforts, the mainstay (coffee) of the ceylon economy of the time was being devastated by the coffee rust which killed over 85% of the coffee trees; it was imperative to find another agricultural crop. the report brought back to ceylon from india was very favorable and soon thereafter a consignment of assam tea seeds was given to james taylor for cultivation. by 1873 the first consignment of tea was sold in auction in kandy and declared to be equal to the best assam of its day. sri lanka was on its way to becoming one of the top tea producing countries in the world.

hot tea brewing method
when preparing by the cup, this tea can be used repeatedly - about 3 times. the secret is to use water that is about 180’F or about 80’C. take  1 teaspoon for each cup let it steep for about 3 minutes and then begin enjoying a cup of enchantment - do not remove the leaves from the cup. once the water level is low - add more water, and so on and so on - until the flavor of the tea is exhausted. look at the pattern of the leaves in the brew, not only do they tell you your future, but they beckon you to dumbara valley.

iced tea brewing method
(to make 1 liter/quart):  place 6 teaspoons of tea into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea. steep for 5 minutes. quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the leaves. add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. garnish and sweeten to taste. [a rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to double the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water].