Today, I captured the scent of Ceylon. After yesterdayâ??s disappointing experience with the rather noseless Dimbula, I was hardly expecting much from a cup of Pettiagalla. But what a change was in store.
Pettiagalla is one of the most established tea gardens in the Dimbula district. My tea bible, Le Livre de lâ??Amateur du The by Sabine Yi, Jacques Jumeau Lafond and Michel Walsh, calls it one of the Great Lords of Ceylon and says it produced a very aromatic tea. And aromatic it was indeed. I bought a sample size from Special Teas and brewed the recommended heaping teaspoon into siz oz water for four minutes. The cup was a dark red, almost brown with a strong nose that, in my mind, screams of Ceylon. A floral fragrance with something sweet in it. Not much of that scent came across in the mouth, where the tea was satisfyingly sweet. Perhaps the enchanting scent of this Pettiagalla promises more than the sip delivers, but it nonetheless makes for good drinking. Definitely Turner’s Colour Beginning.
