Ella Gap Oolong (Sri Lanka)

2 oz. (25 cups) A rare, hand-rolled Ceylon oolong, Ella Gap Oolong consists of one-leaf-and-bud, which are gently withered overnight after plucking, then steamed. The tea has full bodied floral, grassy-buttery and honey notes, with a hint of the wintergreen that Uva teas are famous for. (This flavor, which comes from a silicate in the soil, is increasingly rare, due to planting of clones and overuse of fertilizers on larger estates.) Ella Gap Oolong is grown on the edge of the Uva highlands, looking through the famous Ella Gap to the hills of Kataragama and the plains of Yala. Brewing instructions Amount: 2 grams (1 tsp) of loose tea per 8 oz. of water Temperature: 190 ̊ (Small bubbles and a moderate amount of steam) Steep time: 3 minutes About Our Sri Lankan Tea Formerly called Ceylon, the island of Sri Lanka has produced some of the finest tea in the world for the last 150 years. While the tea industry survived Sri Lanka’s 30-year-long civil war intact, it has also bolstered the entire country’s continued economic recovery since the war's end in 2009. Our Ceylon tea comes from Amba Estate, a small tea garden and organic farm nestled at 3,300 feet, high above the Ravanna-Ella waterfalls in the Uva mountains of Sri Lanka. Working with the local community, its 30 full-time workers produce a range of artisanal, hand-rolled teas. Amba’s products are made using local ingredients according to the season to create a unique combination of flavor, color and aroma. And unlike almost any other tea estate, Amba shares 10 percent of its revenue with employees. In a country recovering from a decades-long civil war, Amba has another rare distinction: Its staff is nearly equally split between Sinhalese and Tamil workers.