Ceylon tea is tea from Sri Lanka. The island went by the name Ceylon until 1972, and its tea never dropped it. Nearly all Ceylon tea is black tea. Depending on where on the island it grows, it can taste light and fragrant or strong and dark, and it makes one of the best bases around for kombucha and flavored blends.
Like Assam and Darjeeling, Ceylon takes its name from the place it grows. Its flavor, its caffeine and the way you brew it all come back to one fact: it’s a black tea from Sri Lanka.
Ceylon’s Origin Story
Sri Lanka grew coffee before it ever grew tea. In 1867, a Scottish planter named James Taylor planted tea on 19 acres of the Loolecondera Estate, near Kandy. Around the same time, a fungus called coffee leaf rust reached the island, and over the next decade it destroyed the coffee farms. Planters needed a new crop, Taylor had already proved tea would grow, and the Ceylon tea industry took off.
Today Sri Lanka ranks among the world’s biggest tea exporters and ships its tea to around 150 countries.
Is Ceylon tea black tea?
Almost always. About 90% of the tea Sri Lanka makes is orthodox black tea. Orthodox is the slower, more skilled way to make black tea. The other method, CTC, turns out tea faster and cheaper for the mass market. Sri Lankan growers also still pick their leaf by hand.
A handful of small producers on the island make white tea and a few other styles too, but they make up a sliver of the total. If a label just says Ceylon, you can count on it being black tea.
Our Ceylon Black Tea is exactly that: long-leaf black tea from Sri Lanka and nothing else.
Ceylon Black Tea
The long, dark, wiry leaves of this complex and mysterious tea bring a bold and unabashed strength only found in a premium long-leafed Ceylon. Its infusion produces a deep, malty fruit flavor akin to the experience of sipping an aged Chianti red wine. Full of subtle spices, fruit flavors, and the assertive robustness characteristic of a powerful black tea, this admired Sri Lanka-born classic holds its own.
What does Ceylon tea taste like?
That depends on where it grows. Sri Lanka has seven tea regions, and altitude and the island’s two monsoon seasons give each one its own flavor, aroma and color. The higher the garden, the lighter and more delicate the tea.
Nuwara Eliya, where gardens climb past 6,000 feet, makes the lightest, most refined cup. Dimbula pours golden orange and tastes mellow. Uva brings a distinct, exotic aroma and a smooth sweetness. Kandy brews coppery and full-bodied.
Our Ceylon Black Tea sits at the bold end. It brews dark and malty, with a fruity depth that reminds us of an aged Chianti. Todd H., one of our customers, calls it “another strong tea” with “a robust flavor, unique to its own.”
Does Ceylon tea have caffeine?
Yes. Ceylon is a black tea, so it carries about as much caffeine as any other black tea, around 45 mg in an 8 oz cup. That’s roughly half what you’d get from a cup of coffee.
If you’re cutting caffeine out completely, skip Ceylon, and skip the blends we build on it below.
How do you brew Ceylon tea?
Heat your water to 203°F, just shy of a full boil, and pour it over 1.5 teaspoons of leaf for every 8 oz. Steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Start at 3 and keep going if you want it stronger.
Ceylon is bold enough to stand up to milk. We like it with a splash of milk and a little sugar or dark honey. We even like it as a black tea latte with foamed milk and dark brown sugar.
Can you make kombucha with Ceylon tea?
Yes, and it’s one of the best teas for the job. A SCOBY needs real tea leaves to thrive, and plain black tea is the classic pick. Its tannins give the culture plenty to feed on and help it grow strong and healthy.
Brew with straight Ceylon Black Tea, not the flavored blends below. Added flavors and oils, like the bergamot in Earl Grey, can throw off fermentation and damage your SCOBY over time. Save the fruit and spice for the second fermentation.
New to kombucha? Our guide What is Kombucha? What is a SCOBY? walks you through your first batch. Our Kombucha SCOBY comes with starter tea, enough to brew up to a gallon.
Where else you’ll find Ceylon in our teas
We use Ceylon as the base for several of our blends. It’s strong enough to give fruit, spice and bergamot something to stand on.
Super Fruit Ceylon Black Tea mixes Ceylon with acai, blueberries, ginger, apple and beetroot for an exotic berry flavor with a little kick of spice. Robert S. wrote, “I have made this tea hot and cold and I am not sure which way I like more.”
Both of our Earl Greys combine Ceylon with Yunnan black tea from China and bergamot. Premium Earl Grey keeps it classic, with smooth chocolate notes and fruity citrus. Creamy Earl Grey adds vanilla and blue cornflowers for a silkier cup with a crème fraîche finish. Brew both a little lighter than straight Ceylon: 1 teaspoon per 8 oz at 203°F for 2 to 3 minutes.
Cinnamon Roll Black Tea pairs Ceylon black tea with cinnamon pieces. It drinks bold and spicy with creamy undertones, and Christine B. likes to add “a small amount of cream.”
Want to taste Ceylon on its own first? Start with our Ceylon Black Tea, which comes as a 5-cup sample, a 4 oz pouch or a 16 oz bulk bag.