Dellawa Special

Morawak Korale  

The estates have changed over the years in name and with some duplicated. There is another estate close to Ratnapura called Delwela which is not to be confused. The tea factory is situated in the village of Dellawa, which is in the district or province of Morawak Korale and is situated in an undulating hilly area of the Southern lowlands which is in the foothills of the Sinharajah forest range, an area of old rain forest which represents what the hills covered in tea to-day would have looked like some 160 - 170 years ago. An attempt by the British was made in about 1840-50 to plant coffee here but without success. This lowland area running down to Galle has been extensively planted in new clonal tea by large numbers of private planting families and it has been a very significant production area earning high prices for the very black sheeny teas produced in this hot sweltering lowland region. Undoubtedly it contributed to the privatization of the main body of estates by showing how successful private management could be compared to the Nationalized estates.
The very black sheen to the tea is achieved A) by the influence of young clonal bushes and B) by the very high photosynthesis of the leaves on the bushes that is achievable here.
Much of the demand for this tea was originally from the middle East countries but its fame and attraction has spread far and wide. Yields of made tea are high and profitability has been high compared to the old estates in the hills, however inevitably it too will need to be totally replanted in the near future and that cost is one that the estates will have to be facing up to now.
Several estates have specialized in producing unusual teas that contract the black twisted large grade with the silvery tip or gold tip in the case of Golden gardens. The colour of the tip is a result of clone and rolling practice. This area is known for its ability to achieve a much lighter rolling without damaging the ultimate made tea and this lighter rolling promotes a greater output of tea whereas in the highlands no tip will be observed with an OP grade.
Most of the leaf comes in from a number of smallholders in the area who are well disciplined in plucking and know the value of that discipline in achieving the history of high prices for these teas. The estate has been in the top five estates for the are together with Uruwalla and Galaboda for a number of years now achieving some Rs. 48/= above the low grown average.

Amongst the grades produced FF.EX.SP is the one that we have chosen to carry

Estate: Basically as has been explained above it is a factory unit reliant upon a number of small holding around it for its leaf therefore this is not the highland resident population situation with extensive housing units, hospital etc. The inhabitants are Sinhalese who occupy the area in the traditional village and town manner with central hospitals and schools provided by the government.

Proprietor: Mr. Anil Alwis

Tea-Maker: Mr. Kaluarachi

Liquor: A very specialist tea with excellent silvery tip streaking through the leaf producing a dry slightly sweet mellow taste with a dry length and some body.

Brewing: Brew as normal with freshly boiled point of boil water and brew for 3 - 5 minutes according to your palate.

 Packs Available: Loose tea - 125 g Carton, 1 Kilo Foil Pack

Pack Identification Colour:  Dark blue