Region · in Sri Lanka
Sabaragamuwa
Sabaragamuwa is the island's other low-grown region, inland and west of Ruhuna on the flanks of Adam's Peak, and it is the one most often folded into its neighbour. The two share an elevation band and largely share a market. What Sabaragamuwa is credited with is a sweeter cup, and the ground around Ratnapura in particular has a long reputation for it.
What grows here
Low-grown black tea in the same big dark leaf styles as Ruhuna. Two names carry the region. Ratnapura, the district town, sits in the wet southwest and is better known outside tea for gems than for leaf. Balangoda, further inland and higher, is where the ground begins lifting toward the mid country. Sabaragamuwa also runs up the western side of Adam's Peak, which is why that name turns up on packets of tea from here.
The ground
Low country by classification, sea level to about 600 m, but with much of the region sitting at the top of that band and Balangoda higher again. This is some of the wettest land in Sri Lanka, taking rain from both monsoons, and growth is fast and continuous. The slightly higher, slightly cooler inland ground is the usual explanation offered for why Sabaragamuwa reads sweeter and less flatly heavy than the coastal low grown, which is a plausible story rather than a demonstrated one.
What to look for
In the trade this is usually just 'low grown', and a great deal of it is sold as Ruhuna or as unqualified Ceylon, so seeing the region named at all is a sign somebody is paying attention to origin. Treat the sweetness as a tendency rather than a guarantee. The useful questions are the same as in Ruhuna: which grade, which factory and whether the tea was made for strength or for the look of the leaf.
Places in Sabaragamuwa
Named places inside Sabaragamuwa. The ones with a page of their own are links.