Ceylon
Ceylon is the tea of Sri Lanka, sold as a national style rather than a single profile, and elevation is the variable that matters. High-grown (Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Uva) is bright, brisk, and citrus-floral; low-grown (Ruhuna, Sabaragamuwa) is dark, bold, and full. The familiar Orange Pekoe is a leaf-size grade, not a flavor, so the cup depends far more on district and elevation than on that label.
The meaningful labels are elevation (high-grown, mid-grown, low-grown) and district (Nuwara Eliya, Uva, Dimbula, Kandy, Ruhuna), not just the Orange Pekoe grade, which only describes leaf size and wholeness. High-grown should be bright and aromatic with a citrus-floral lift, low-grown darker and stronger. Brisk and clean is good, while flat, dusty, or merely bitter is low grade. Single-estate and single-district teas tell you more than a generic Ceylon blend.
Sri Lanka grows tea across distinct elevation bands, and the same island produces very different cups: Uva (eastern, known for a wintergreen-menthol brightness from the dry-season winds), Nuwara Eliya (highest, lightest, most delicate), Dimbula (classic bright high-grown), Kandy (mid-grown and fuller), and Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa (low-grown, dark and strong). Seasonality matters, as Uva's and Dimbula's quality seasons fall at different points in the monsoon cycle. The Lion logo certifies Sri Lankan origin.
Western: 90-95°C, 3 g per 200 ml, 3 minutes; high-grown grades show best just off the boil, while bold low-grown grades tolerate a full boil and take milk well. Gongfu: 4-5 g per 100 ml, 90°C, 15-25 seconds ascending, 4-6 infusions for whole-leaf grades.
Everyday Ceylon blends run €8-20 (about $9-22) per 100 g. Single-district or single-estate high-grown lots reach €20-45 (about $22-49) per 100 g.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Assam
The malty Indian heavyweight against Ceylon's brighter, brisker character.
Nilgiri
The South Indian high-grown cousin, very close in style and the natural cross-border comparison.
Darjeeling
The Himalayan aromatic, a step up in delicacy, muscatel character, and price.
English Breakfast
A blend that often uses Ceylon for brightness; tasting single-origin Ceylon shows what it contributes.
Sri Lanka turned to tea after a leaf-rust fungus destroyed its coffee plantations in the 1870s and 1880s; the planter James Taylor and later Thomas Lipton built the industry that made Ceylon synonymous with tea. The country kept the name Ceylon for its tea exports even after becoming Sri Lanka in 1972, because the brand was too valuable to drop.