Sri Lanka - A Nice Cup of Tea - Ceylon Tea

You would probably think that as the home of Ceylon Tea that hotels, resturants and cafes in Sri Lanka would just 'know' how we Brits like 'A Nice Cup of Tea' - but no!

A Nice Cup of (Ceylon) Tea Many Sri Lankas drink their national brew hot, black and sweet, and some; like the English in the early days of tea drinking, drink their tea out of the saucer, slurping (quite loudly) as they go. Others have adopted the modern English way of taking tea.

When you order your tea, you are taking a chance unless you are very specific in some places. To get your favourite beverage as you would expect in the UK, in a pot of boiling water with a couple of teabags or a couple of spoons of loose leaf tea with a jug of room temperature fresh milk and white granulated or lump sugar arriving at your table at the same time ready to assemble a great cup of Ceylon Tea. If you leave it to chance, you may recieve any combination of the following: pot of tea, pot of hot water, tea bag(s), empty cup (DIY), cup of hot water, cup of hot sweet black tea; jug of hot or cold watered down evaporated milk, jug of hot or cold fresh milk; brown, palm, golden, white granulated or lump sugar.

Take it from me, I've had it, a cup of tea from a 2 to 3 cup pot containing a single teabag with hot watered down 'evap' is not a good cup of tea as we know it by any stretch of the imagination. I'm sweet enough so I don't take sugar eliminating one part of the equation!

Bottoms up!

Happy tea drinking in Sri Lanka.

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.