CARNIVAL

Who doesn't love carnival season? Traditionally, most carnivals of international renown are held in February, just before lent. (With one notable exception being Caribana in Toronto, held during summer.) From early beginnings as a religious celebration, carnival season has spread throughout much of the world, taking on particular and often peculiar local customs with it. For example, in Ivria, Italy, men of the town pelt one other with oranges. In Solsona, Spain, townspeople hang a stuffed donkey from a pole that... uhm... relieves itself on the crowds below via a carefully placed water pump - woops! and of course who can forget Rio - Carnival capital of the world! Ah yes, people love a great carnival. Well, to help carry on with the world's traditions, we thought we'd create something unique ourselves - Carnival blend. A sumptuous combination of pomegranate, vanilla and tiny confetti candy, this is the tea to reach for when the music starts pumping.

What type of tea do we use, how do we flavor the tea and why do we use natural flavors?

Firstly... we only use high grown teas from the top 3 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva. These three high-grown districts produce flavorful teas that have classic Ceylon tea character which is noted by floral bouquet and flavor notes, touches of mild astringency, bright coppery color and, most importantly - perfect for use as the base tea of our flavored teas. (We have tested teas from various other origins around the world as base stock for our flavored teas, but none of these teas made the grade.) Dimbula and the western estates of Nuwara Eliya have a major quality peak during Jan/Feb, whereas Uva and the eastern estates of Nuwara Eliya have their peak in July/Aug. This dual peak period allow us to buy the best for our flavored tea blends several times during the year, ensuring top quality and freshness.

Secondly... we use flavoring oils not crystals to give the tea drinker an olfactory holiday before indulging in a liquid tea treat.

Thirdly... we specify natural flavors. High quality tea tastes good and natural flavors do not mask the natural taste of the high grown Ceylon tea. (The norm for many making flavored tea is to use overpowering artificial flavors, which can be used to hide lower quality tea). Natural flavors do not leave an aftertaste giving the tea a clean and true character. It should be noted that natural flavors tend to be somewhat soft and the flavors slightly muted, but for many this is a refreshing change and one of the desired attributes of our naturally flavored teas.