Ruhuna
Sri Lanka’s southern low-grown district, producing the darkest and heaviest tea on the island. Thick, malty and deeply coloured, it is what most of the world actually means by Ceylon tea, and it is the elevation band that dominates export blends.
Character
Dark, thick and powerful, with far more weight than the high-grown districts. Low-grown Ceylon has a strong following in the Middle East and Eastern Europe and very little recognition in the speciality trade.
- Flavour
- Chocolate, Earthy
- Aroma
- Malty, Caramelised
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich, Drying
- Complexity
- Straightforward
- Notes
- dark malt, treacle, dried fruit
- Aftertaste
- Heavy and drying, standing up to generous milk.
Bold intensity: full-bodied, astringent or bitter enough to lead the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Sri Lanka
- Region
- Ruhuna
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- Year round
- Processing
- Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 1 authored infusion
Gongfu brewing (gaiwan)
4–5 g/100 ml · 90–95 °C · 5 authored infusions
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Sabaragamuwa tea
Sri Lanka’s two low-grown districts, producing very similar dark heavy tea for the same export markets. The district is rarely stated and the teas are largely interchangeable in blends.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Yingde Hong
Shares 6 descriptors with Ruhuna: chocolate, full bodied, drying, rich, malty and caramelised.
- Assam
Shares 5 descriptors with Ruhuna: chocolate, full bodied, drying, rich and malty.
- Assam second flush
Shares 5 descriptors with Ruhuna: chocolate, full bodied, rich, malty and caramelised.
- Irish Breakfast
Shares 5 descriptors with Ruhuna: chocolate, full bodied, rich, drying and malty.
- Lao Cha Tou
Shares 5 descriptors with Ruhuna: chocolate, earthy, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Menghai shou pu-erh
Shares 5 descriptors with Ruhuna: earthy, chocolate, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Scottish Breakfast
Shares 5 descriptors with Ruhuna: chocolate, full bodied, rich, drying and malty.