Sri Lankans and tea always go hand in hand. When my mother used to travel, she carried about 7-10 boxes of the assorted Dilmah fruit tea bags for her friends abroad. The milk tea was the champion for us.  We never understood the huge hype about the flavoured and coloured cups of fruit and herb teas.

However, with the exposure to cafes in the country, we realized the importance people give to tea. The bulletin board dedicated to around 10 kinds of teas was mesmerising. It could be green tea, jasmine tea, English breakfast, Moroccan mint and lime, you name it!  

We decided to give these ‘cuppas’ a shot and here are the shortlisted favourites. 

The Earl Grey

There is something so soothing in this plain black tea that calms my mind. Although it is just like Sri Lankan plain tea in colour and texture, any avid tea drinker can tell the difference in the taste. Being so regal and flavoursome, the Earl Grey reminds you of something the Queen would drink on her trip to Ceylon. It definitely has more ‘kahata’ than the normal tea bag and is preferred without milk. 

Jasmine green tea

Green tea has a strong taste that doesn’t really work well with most people’s taste buds. The jasmine flower had erased any strong flavours to give this tea a calming taste, much similar to its smell. This tea is for those of you who dread drinking a bitter cup of green tea. Although this jasmine concoction may be a little bland for flavour opting people, it works well for us during times of stress and also works well to get rid of a bloated tummy after a heavy pasta meal!

Peach tea

Being fans of peach iced tea, we knew that a warm alternative wouldn’t fail our tea taste buds. Although some of us prefer the iced tea version, the warm cup does indeed soothe the soul with its English tea party vibes. The best part about this cup of tea is that the taste and smell of the peach are balanced out to be a friendly additive to the tea and so you don’t forget that it’s a cup of tea and not a fruit drink. If you’re planning a tea party for your ladies, this is the perfect choice of tea.

 
Masala chai

No readymade chai latte beats the Indian masala chai made at homes or at Indian restaurants. Their tea, served in silver aluminium cups, is nothing short of splendid. You might wonder why the Indians want to spice up their teas like their curries, but once you give this a try, you will know the answer to that question. It has a warm and aromatic smell and the cardamom and ginger complement the tealeaves so well. We would travel all the way to India to try their chai in clay and aluminium pots on the streets (#bucketlist). 

Apple and cinnamon green tea
 
Another attempt by the green tea industry to  lure people to try green teas. After around 6 months of a friend ranting about the apple and cinnamon, we decided to give it a try. It is much similar to the peach tea, but with a cinnamon twist. Although the friend said we shouldn’t try it with sugar, we did mix in 2 spoons of sugar.  At first, there was confusion as to whether it was the smell or the taste of cinnamon that lured us. We still think that it’s the delightful cinnamon aroma (there was more sniffing than drinking). Personally, the apple is just third wheeling. 

So points for trying out these diverse types of tea but heart of hearts, we tend to come back to the‘kiri theka’ at the end of the day. We’re guessing that it’s just too entrenched in our system as Sri Lankans?