GRAPEFRUIT

Grapefruit (Latin: Citrus paradisi), one of the world's most popular breakfast fruits can now be found in almost every supermarket from New York City to New Zealand. And, as an important source of vitamin C, eating grapefruits is actually encouraged by virtually every nutritionist in the world - which is strange considering the fruit began its life with the moniker, "The Forbidden Fruit". In fact, the name grapefruit was not coined until 1814. From then it would not be until 1870 that the first grapefruit nursery was cultivated. Now, the state of Florida, the world's grapefruit leader produces almost 2,000,000 metric tons of the fruit annually - not a very forbidden fruit these days! The fruit has a bittersweet citrus character, which blends amazingly with our high grown Ceylon tea. Brew it hot, or cold over ice, add some sugar and watch the flavor open right up.

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 allows 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.