Sabaragamuwa tea
Sri Lanka’s second low-grown district, producing long wiry leaf and a dark, heavy liquor. Most of it is exported to the Middle East and Russia, where strength and colour matter more than aroma, and almost none is sold under the district name in the West.
Character
Very dark, very strong and openly sweet, made for a market that drinks tea with sugar and expects it to stand up.
- Flavour
- Sweet, Woody, Earthy
- Aroma
- Malty, Caramelised
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich, Astringent
- Complexity
- Straightforward
- Notes
- dark malt, molasses, wood
- Aftertaste
- Heavy and long.
Bold intensity: full-bodied, astringent or bitter enough to lead the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- Sri Lanka
- Region
- Sabaragamuwa
- 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.
- Kandy tea
Two Sri Lankan districts at opposite ends of the elevation range, both sold simply as Ceylon. One is mid-grown and balanced, the other low-grown and heavy.
- Ruhuna
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.
- Aged Liu Bao
Shares 6 descriptors with Sabaragamuwa tea: woody, sweet, earthy, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Aged white tea cake
Shares 6 descriptors with Sabaragamuwa tea: sweet, woody, earthy, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Assam second flush
Shares 6 descriptors with Sabaragamuwa tea: sweet, full bodied, rich, astringent, malty and caramelised.
- Lao Cha Tou
Shares 6 descriptors with Sabaragamuwa tea: sweet, earthy, woody, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Menghai shou pu-erh
Shares 6 descriptors with Sabaragamuwa tea: earthy, woody, sweet, full bodied, rich and caramelised.
- Qian Liang Cha
Shares 6 descriptors with Sabaragamuwa tea: woody, sweet, earthy, full bodied, rich and caramelised.