Dimbula

From Kandy to the south, in the central hills, between the two high plateaus, the Nuwara Eliya Plateau and the Horton Plains, lies the Dimbula District, where tea is grown. The name is derived from the valley in the heart of the region, which is surrounded by the sub-districts of Bogawanthalawa, Dikoya, Kotagala, Maskeliya, Nanu Oya, and Talawakele.

It is classified as a high-growing tea (altitude above 4,000 feet) with a humid climate but is also subject to cool dry winds during the first months of the year. These winds create conditions when slow-growing and small-leaved tea bushes are planted every February and March to a particular quality. The complex topography of the region produces a variety of microclimates, which produce differences in flavor, sometimes jasmine mixed with cypress.

All, however, share the Dimbula character: a tea that produces a fine golden-orange hue in the cup, with a distinctive freshness to the flavor that leaves a clean feeling in the mouth after the tea is drunk.