ROYAL CEYLON GUNPOWDER

A green tea with surprising body and a captivating taste that has an intriguing hint of oakiness.

ADD TO CART
100 g	$11.89 / per cup $0.23
250 g	$23.12 / per cup $0.18
500 g	$35.01 / per cup $0.14
1 kg	$66.07 / per cup $0.13

Category: Green

Type: Tea

Pin It

Description
Product Information
Brewing Instructions

Gunpowder tea is produced like green tea but after the steaming process the tea is tightly rolled into what appears to be pellets. When boiling water is poured over the leaves they quickly expand and in some cases can almost fill the cup. Royal Gunpowder is an especially good green tea for the following reasons:

- The base tea comes from some of the best estates in Sri Lanka

- The tightness of the rolled pellets gives excellent flavour when made into tea.

- The region where the tea is grown - Dimbula - is a high grown area producing full-bodied flavory tea. In Dimbula the peak quality time is during February when northwest monsoons create dry weather conditions in Dimbula.

Royal Gunpowder tea is manufactured in very limited quantities due to the time and diligence required to manufacture this high quality tea. It is very difficult to achieve such a tight roll of leaves; but this process allows this particular type of tea to able to be stored for a long time without any deterioration in quality.

Tea was planted in Sri Lanka by the British in the 1860's after coffee rust wiped out the then primary agricultural coffee crop. At that time the British East Indies Company had a near monopoly on tea, with most of Britain's needs coming from China. Relations between China and Britain were quite rocky during this period (on account of the opium trade) and tea in Sri Lanka looked like a great way to diversify supply risk by the company'. This gunpowder tea is made in the Chinese tradition but the benefits are superior quality tea.
Tea Type: Green

Country: Sri Lanka

Region: Dimbula

Grade: Small gunpowder

Altitude: 5000' ft. - 6400' ft. above sea level

Manufacturer Type: Special gunpowder green tea

Ingredients: Green tea

Cup Characteristics: A green tea with surprising body and a captivating taste that has an intriguing hint of oakiness.

Infusion: Greenish full bodied slightly high-fired character.
Brewing Hot

Traditional method (see note below): When preparing by the cup, this tea can be used repeatedly - about 3 times. The secret is to use water that is about 180'F/82'C. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon in your cup let the tea steep for about 3 minutes and then begin enjoying a cup of enchantment - do not remove the leaves from the cup. Adding milk and sugar is not recommended. Once the water level is low - add more water, and so on and so on - until the flavor of the tea is exhausted. Look at the pattern of the leaves in the brew, not only do they foretell your fortune but you can see the bud and shoots presenting themselves, looking like they are about to be plucked.

Modern Method: Bring filtered or freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag or 1 Q3 single serve packet for each 7-9oz/200-260ml of fluid volume in the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the teapot. Cover and let steep for 3-7 minutes according to taste (the longer the steeping time the stronger the tea). Adding milk or sugar is not recommended.

Note: Traditionally, the recommendation has been that green tea be brewed at 180'F/82'C. Regretfully, modern society makes it necessary to consider that water may not be free of harmful bacteria and other impurities. Therefore you need to boil water to kill bacteria. If you wish to use traditional brewing temperatures bring the water to a boil and allow it to cool to the desired brewing temperature - it's the food safe thing to do!

Brewing Cold

Iced tea brewing method (Pitcher): (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 6 slightly heaping teaspoons of loose tea, 6 tea bags or 6 Q3 single serve packets into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 11/2 cups/315ml over the tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into your serving pitcher straining the tea or removing the tea bags. Add ice and top-up the pitcher with cold water. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted with cold water. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)

Iced tea brewing method (Individual Serving): Place 1 slightly heaping teaspoon of loose tea, 1 tea bag or 1 Q3 single serve packet into a teapot for each serving required. Using filtered or freshly drawn cold water, boil and pour 6-7oz/170-200ml per serving over the tea. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Add hot tea to a 12oz/375ml acrylic glass filled with ice, straining the tea or removing the bags. Not all of the tea will fit, allowing for approximately an additional 1/2 serving. A rule of thumb when preparing fresh brewed iced tea is to increase the strength of hot tea since it will be poured over ice and diluted. (Note: Some luxury quality teas may turn cloudy when poured over ice. This is a sign of luxury quality and nothing to worry about!)