Blue Moon is a flavoured loose-leaf tea from Bluefield, the tea estate at Ramboda in Sri Lanka's hill country. It blends Pure Ceylon black tea with green tea, a "1001 night" flavouring, rose petals, marigold petals, apple pieces and blue mallow flowers, so the dry leaf is flecked with pink, gold and blue and the cup is floral and lightly fruity over a Ceylon tea base.
What is in it, exactly as the box lists it: Pure Ceylon Black Tea and Green Tea with 1001 night flavour, rose petals, marigold petals, apple pieces and blue mallow. Both teas contain caffeine, so this is not a caffeine-free infusion, and the apple pieces are worth knowing about if you avoid fruit.
How to brew it. The box pictured here prints no brewing directions, so treat this as a general guide for a black and green blend: about one level teaspoon per cup, water just off the boil, and three to four minutes. Brew it for less time if you prefer the green tea and the flowers to come through; drink it plain, or with a slice of lemon, rather than with milk.
Who makes it. The label says the tea is harvested, processed and packed by the Bluefield Tea Factory on the Nuwara Eliya road at Ramboda, the working factory and tea garden many visitors stop at on the drive between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya. The back of the box tells the brand's story: that Bluefield Tea Gardens was started by a banker, Maurice Worms, who acquired forest land in 1841 and began growing tea there. It also carries the Lion Logo, the Sri Lanka Tea Board's "Ceylon Tea, Symbol of Quality" mark for pure Ceylon tea packed in Sri Lanka, with the packer's licence number TC/E/PR/NE/1283.
In the box. 100 g of loose tea in a rigid presentation box with a black lift-off lid and a red band, printed with a full moon over the Bluefield factory. It makes a good gift for someone who likes flavoured teas; for plain single-grade teas from the same estate, look at Bluefield's Orange Pekoe and Pekoe.
