Laurent’s premium tea from Ceylon Blends

At Laurent, the quality of our tea is every bit as important to us as the quality of our coffee, so here is some information on where ours comes from and why we have selected it.

Our search for our own premium tea

While we have many brands and varieties of tea in Australia, there is not much that could be called premium quality by Sri Lankan standards, as true premium tea is only harvested in low volume from select estates and unblended.

High altitude for flavour

After looking at suppliers from all over the world, we settled on Ceylon Blends, who offer hand selected, unblended teas from the best high altitude estates in Sri Lanka. Higher altitude delivers slower growth and ripening so hence a more elegant flavour. Lower altitude teas ripen more quickly, so have strength, but have a more bitter taste and a less desirable flavour. The tea for Laurent is selected at these estates in person, by our fourth generation tea taster, at the times of the year that produce the best flavour.

“Days make” not by the tonne

Our tea is also selected from small “days make” lots of around 300kg, picked on dry and cool days when the flavour of the leaves is at its best and is processed immediately rather than waiting 2-3 days as would normally be the case. Having the leaves fresh in this way preserves maximum flavour.

The “Tasters pouch”. The ultimate way to serve tea

All our teas come in a pyramid pouch. Never to be confused with a tea bag these contain high grade loose leaf tea not the “dust” or “fannings” that are found in most tea bags. The pyramid pouch also has a flat bottom, which allows optimum water access to the tea. This is used by tea tasters, as technically it is even better than loose tea, which needs to be stirred after two minutes, to ensure the water can fully do its job of extracting flavour.

Our teas

Single estate English Breakfast (Pure Ceylon Black Tea)

This is an unblended Orange Pekoe black tea. “Orange Pekoe” is the traditional industry term for the smallest and finest quality leaves. “Orange”, has nothing to do with its flavour, or mean it is flavoured with orange oil but is supposed to be a historical reference to the Dutch Royal Family for whom the finest tea was reserved, when it first came to Europe in 1610. This tea has a coppery full-bodied flavour with a soft musty aroma that you can enjoy at breakfast or any other time of day. The perfect blend of elegance and strength.

Ceylon Blends Earl Grey (Pure Ceylon tea with bergamot)

Named for the British Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2^nd Earl Grey, for whom it was first made, this is a favourite for many. The bergamot oil brings a sunny citrus flavour to long leaf tea which means the bergamot infusion is subtle and partners perfectly with the full body of the tea.

Ceylon Blends Pure Green Tea (Ceylon Gunpowder Green)

This was so named, because its tightly rolled leaf balls resemble gunpowder grains. Green tea contains high levels of antioxidants which can boost health and immunity by reducing the formation of free radicals. It’s a refreshing blend to start the day or re energise but remember, over brewing will make it too strong and bitter.

Ceylon Blends Peppermint tea

Our peppermint tea is made with an ideal blend of premium American mint. Many people find this soothing consumed after meals, as the mint oil is known to aid digestion. This is refreshing as iced tea in summer and comforting hot in winter.

Ceylon Blends Ginger Lemongrass

This classic herbal tea creates a perfect blend of warmth and freshness. Ours is a genuine 50/50 blend of ginger and lemongrass. In other words, a proper ginger lemongrass tea. Because of the high cost of ginger many teas labelled “lemongrass ginger” tea contain up to 90% lemongrass which is much cheaper. A blend of bright lemongrass and ginger which creates a perfect blend of freshness and warmth.

Ceylon blends Chamomile Tea

The finest chamomile comes from Germany which is also the world centre for herbal teas. Made from Chamomile flowers, this brew was known as far back as ancient Egypt for its calming and sedative properties

You can buy our tea at our bakeries

We sell containers of all our main teas at our bakeries, so you don’t have to buy them online. These are air tight and light tight to preserve freshness.

We’ll be running a whole series of articles on tea and coffee over the next 12 months so keep an eye out…