Ruhunu Lumbini Estate OP1 Loose Leaf Black Tea

🍵 The Estate — An award-winning low-grown Ceylon black tea from the Lumbini Estate in the Ruhunu district of southern Sri Lanka, orthodox-processed to OP1 grade for a long, beautifully formed leaf

🍵 The Liquor — A bright, coppery infusion with reddish highlights and a thick, velvety mouthfeel that sets low-grown Ruhunu teas apart from the lighter, more brisk styles of high-grown Ceylon

🍵 The Flavour — Bold and full-bodied with a brooding, rich depth and a smooth, rounded plum-like note, finishing with long, satisfying layers of gentle astringency

🍵 The Occasion — Equally rewarding black or with milk; substantial enough for a hearty breakfast and characterful enough to hold its own as an afternoon cup for those who prefer real depth in the cup

The Lumbini Estate sits in the Morawak Korale district of southern Sri Lanka, in the low-grown Ruhunu region — an area less well known than the celebrated high-grown districts of Uva and Dimbula, but producing Ceylon black teas of remarkable depth and individuality. Where the thin, bright briskness of a high-grown Ceylon is shaped by cool altitude and dry wind, the character of Ruhunu comes from warmth, humidity, and rich southern soil. The result is a tea that is altogether more powerful, more textured, and more complex.

The Lumbini Estate was founded in 1975 by Dayapala Jayawardana, who planted his first tea fields in the valley with a clear ambition: to produce a tea that honestly reflected the bold, full-flavoured character of the Ruhunu region. His son Chaminda later brought the estate to international attention, and in August 2006 Lumbini was awarded a One Star rating by the Sri Lankan Tea Board — recognition requiring excellence across tea quality, estate productivity, hygiene practices, production achievement, and social responsibility. It is a distinction that reflects the care put into every batch.

The OP1 grade means large, whole leaves harvested after the bud has opened — a longer, wiry leaf that, in Ruhunu's warm and humid conditions, turns intensely black on withering and is particularly well suited to the orthodox rolling process. The leaf brew to give a bright, coppery liquor with reddish highlights and a depth that is immediately apparent in the cup. The mouthfeel is thick and velvety — a quality the Ruhunu region is specifically known for — with a brooding richness that gradually reveals a smooth plum-like note. The finish is long and satisfying, with a measured astringency that gives the tea real backbone without ever becoming harsh.

This is a Ceylon black tea that holds its own without milk, showing genuine complexity, but it is also outstanding with a splash of whole milk, which softens the astringency and draws out the rounded, fruity depth of the leaf. For those transitioning from strong breakfast blends to single-estate teas, this is an ideal starting point — structured and satisfying but with a character all its own.

Since 2008, High Teas London has been one of the country's leading independent tea specialists. With over 350 teas and infusions and one of the largest collections available anywhere in the UK, we have spent more than fifteen years seeking out teas that genuinely deserve their place on the shelf. The Lumbini Estate OP1 is a tea we return to again and again — a proper, honest cup with real provenance behind it.

Ingredients: Black tea (Lumbini Estate, Ruhunu, Sri Lanka).

Brewing Note: Lumbini Estate OP1 is a robust, full-flavoured tea that responds well to a proper brewing approach. Use freshly boiled water and allow one heaped teaspoon of leaf per cup. Steep for three to four minutes for a bright, lively cup with the plum notes clearly present, or extend to five minutes for a deeper, more assertive brew with greater body and a longer astringent finish. This tea takes milk beautifully — a good splash of whole milk softens the astringency and rounds out the fruity depth of the leaf. If you are drinking it black, the shorter steep time is recommended. This is not a tea that benefits from rinsing; simply let the full leaf do its work.