Our Ceylon Signature blend is named after Sir Anthony Oliphant, Chief Justice of Ceylon in 1838, who allowed his estate to be planted with tea seedlings, under the supervision of The East India Company.

It was then James Taylor ‘The Father of Ceylon Tea’ who commercialised tea production 30 years later.

Sri Lankan tea was born - bright and vibrant - much like Galle, the subject of the artwork on our Signature Ceylon Tea. On the southwest tip of [now] Sri Lanka, Galle was both an important port (trading cinnamon back to 1400s) and fort, of value to the Portuguese, the Dutch, then the British.

This evocative scene of a view to Galle was painted by Belfast born Andrew Nicholl c. 1850, a teacher of painting at Colombo Academy. Well regarded, Queen Victoria was a collector of Nicholl’s work.