A beautiful chai and distinctive because of the use of pepper and red chili in the blend creating a ‘bite’ in the tea.
The base is a Broken Orange Pekoe made from 2 leaves and a top. The tea is very suitable to drink with milk and some sugar, as is usual in chai.
In addition to the black tea, the other ingredients are spices grown on the plantation: cinnamon, cloves, coriander, fennel, ginger, pepper and red chili. To make it a true chai from Sri Lanka, the cardamom commonly used in India has been omitted and the chili added.
Sri Lanka is known for black tea pure or in a blend. Since 2020, CATA was founded, the ‘Ceylon Artisanal Tea Association’ with the goal of making fine specialty teas. One of the forerunners is the Amba Estate.
The Amba plantation is located about 1,000 meters above sea level and it is organic. There is no certification because of cost. The plants are a mix of the Sinensis and Assamica. The plantation is located near the Ravana Falls in the Uva Mountains.
The goal of Amba is to develop the area economically while protecting the beautiful nature around the plantation. Their motto: "If it grows, turn it into a product!". Instead of selling the raw product for a low price to a large party, Amba Estate shows that by taking production into your own hands you can create a product with a much higher value. Amba was the first plantation in Sri Lanka to make hand-rolled black and green tea.
It produces very nice tea!
Amba Estate is a tea plantation with strong ties to the local community. Social entrepreneurship comes to the fore by wanting to improve the lives of the people around the plantation. Uva province is one of the least developed areas in Sri Lanka in terms of income, investment and education. Amba's goal is to create economic activity while preserving nature and the environment.
Economic activity consists of receiving tourists and creating higher quality goods to promote exports. It also invests in medical programs, education (English classes), computers, toys, clothing and events to promote bonding within the community.
Preserving nature and the environment is necessary because in many areas of Sri Lanka, deforestation is a danger, chemical agricultural products, erosion, flooding and rising kidney and liver diseases. At its core, Amba Estate conducts operations with making as little impact on the environment as possible while improving the environment.
