Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, has been providing excellent teas since the mid 1800's and is currently one of the largest tea producing countries in the world. Prior to the introduction of tea plants to Sri Lanka, this country was primarily known for its crops of cinnamon and coffee. Due to economic changes, which affected the cinnamon crop, and a fungal disease, which devastated the coffee plants, Ceylon began experimenting with tea plants in 1839. It wasn't until 1867, when James Taylor, a British planter, began a tea plantation in Kandy, that tea was established as a viable industry. His venture was soon followed by other tea gardens in and around the area. Sri Lanka has 6 growing regions: Kandy, Uda Pussellawa, Uva, Ruhuna, Dimbula and Nuwara Eliya. The central highlands of Sri Lanka offer humidity, cooler temperatures and consistent rainfall, all of which provide a favorable environment for high quality teas. A tasty Ceylon tea, that brews to a bright amber color, with the full flowery aroma and mellow fruity taste of the Isle of Sri Lanka. Brew tea at 212º - steep for 3 minutes. This tea is decaffeinated using the all-natural CO2 process. Natural CO2 Decaffeination To decaffeinate tea it is necessary to find a solvent that will remove the caffeine from the leaf, while keeping as many of the healthy benefits and the taste profiles in. The best method we have found is natural CO2 decaffeination. This method consists of putting moistened tea leaves in a chamber, adding CO2 and pressurizing it. CO2, when pressurized, becomes a liquid which effectively removes caffeine from tea leaves, while just as effectively not removing many of the healthy benefits. When the liquid is poured off the leaves and the leaves are dried, the CO2 reverts back to its gas form and dissipates from the leaf. Decaffeinated teas generally still have 1-2% caffeine.
