Basilur’s Luxury Handmade Tea Collection
At the Basilur Lounge, guests can enjoy a selection of six luxury, handmade teas, each lovingly hand-rolled with tea leaves freshly plucked every morning from our very own Basilur Busch tea estate. These teas are carefully curated using techniques unique to their own and served in 22-carat, hand-painted gold porcelain, as we celebrate their preciousness and scarcity.
At our flagship lounge, guests can explore these teas, each with its distinct flavor profile. They are guided through the preparation of each tea, enabling them to select one that suits their taste. For those seeking further exploration, the tea artisans lead an engaging journey, offering a firsthand view of how each tea is crafted using techniques that blend ancient traditions with modern innovations.
The teas stand out for its remarkable health benefits, thanks to its freshness, minimal processing, hand-rolling techniques, and a scientifically proven, above-average nutritional profile. From the beloved home of Basilur we welcome you to explore and experience this unique journey from garden to cup.
Our Luxury Handmade Tea Collection is among our most treasured offerings. Each tea is carefully handcrafted with love and care by our skilled tea artisans, using single-origin, single-cultivar leaves grown in our very own Busch Tea Garden.
This exclusive collection comprises six exquisite handmade teas, each showcasing a unique flavour profile and artisanal craftsmanship:
- Golden Harvest Handmade Black Tea
- Golden Harvest Handmade Green Tea
- Silver Tips
- Green Needles
- Pot-Fermented Handmade Black Tea
- Royal Violet Tea
What truly sets this collection apart is its unmatched freshness. Every morning, the finest leaves are handpicked from our estate, immaculately processed to develop their unique character while preserving their natural essence, then crafted and served at the Basilur Lounge. This is one of the rare places where you can witness the seamless journey of tea from garden to cup, ensuring you experience tea in its freshest and purest form.
In addition to their remarkable freshness, these teas are celebrated for their distinctive character and exceptional nutrient profile. With some of the highest phytonutrient content found in the finest teas globally, they offer a cup that is not only exquisite in taste but also remarkably beneficial for well-being.
Golden Harvest Handmade Teas
Basilur’s Golden Harvest Handmade Teas are crafted with the utmost precision, beginning at the break of dawn in our Busch Tea Garden, nestled in Baddegama. At precisely 5 a.m., only the finest two leaves and a bud are delicately plucked, ensuring that each selection comprises leaves of just four to five days of age. These single-estate, single-cultivar leaves are handled with extraordinary care to preserve their authenticity and integrity.
A portion of these freshly plucked leaves is set aside to create Golden Harvest Handmade Green Tea, while the remainder undergoes a meticulous withering process to develop the depth and character essential for Golden Harvest Handmade Black Tea. Both teas are then transported from our estate to the skilled hands of our tea artisans at our hand-rolling centres, the foremost of which is housed within the Basilur Lounge at One Galle Face Mall, Colombo.
Golden Harvest Handmade Black Tea
Our master tea artisans undertake a rigorous sorting process to ensure that only the finest leaves are selected for hand rolling. Once chosen, the leaves are expertly rolled by hand, gently breaking their cell walls and allowing their natural juices to coat the surface, imparting a distinctive sheen. The leaves are then rested to ferment, a crucial step in flavour development, before being rolled once more. This careful repetition enhances the complexity of the tea, leading to its final refinement. A final fermentation follows before the leaves are fired, resulting in beautifully long, thin, wiry leaves, ready for brewing.
Despite being a black tea, Golden Harvest Handmade Black Tea is exceptionally delicate due to the artisanal rolling technique and the meticulous care it receives. To best appreciate its refined character, it is brewed at 80°C for two minutes. The resulting cup unveils a golden-orange hue, offering a flavour profile reminiscent of high-grown teas, despite its low-grown origins. Floral, vegetal, and subtly minty notes intertwine, creating a truly exquisite infusion.
Golden Harvest Handmade Green Tea
Unlike black tea, which requires a withering period, Golden Harvest Handmade Green Tea is crafted using the fresh leaf, plucked and processed within the same day. Each leaf is carefully sorted to ensure perfection before being swiftly pan-fired and tossed, halting oxidation while preserving its verdant character. After an initial resting period, the leaves undergo a second pan-firing, followed by a further rest. They are then hand-rolled and fermented in a handmade clay pot within an enclosed space—a traditional method that enhances its complexity. The final stage involves yet another pan-firing before the tea is finally dried, culminating in one of the freshest green teas in the world, going from garden to cup within a single day.
The resulting infusion presents a delicate greenish-white hue, with a mellow yet refined vegetal character, complemented by a deeper, lingering note that adds depth to the brew. It is a cup that embodies the very essence of Sri Lankan green tea.
Silver Tips
Plucked in the evening for overnight withering and oven-fired for 3 hours at 70°C, this minimally processed tea offers a fresh taste profile characteristic of a classic silver tip, with more pronounced flavour notes. The result is a mellow, soothing infusion with a slight floral note, a vegetal aftertaste.
Green needles
The tea leaves are plucked and the bud separated and left to wither overnight to develop character. It is then pan-fired to enhance flavour and finally oven-fired for the finishing touch. It encompasses a floral profile with a subtle steamed note.
Pot-Fermented Handmade Black Tea
This rare and distinctive tea is crafted from exceptionally young leaves, just three to four days old—making it the youngest in our collection. The leaves undergo a meticulous process: first withered and carefully hand-rolled, then placed in a sealed clay pot for controlled oxidation. The porous nature of the clay allows only a delicate circulation of air, ensuring a slow, steady transformation that deepens the tea’s complexity.
At peak oxidation, the tea undergoes final firing to lock in its rich, evolving flavours. The resulting infusion is a striking yellowish-orange, with a subtly floral essence, a bright citrusy profile, and a deep, woody finish.
Beyond its remarkable antioxidant properties, ongoing research in our lab is exploring its potential benefits for gut health, particularly the unique microbiome formation that occurs during fermentation.
Royal Violet Tea
The tea leaves are plucked in the evening to curate the Royal Violet tea, followed by a period of withering to develop its character, this tea is made using only the first two leaves of the red tea plant, the same cultivar used for silver tips. The leaves are hand-rolled, fermented, and carefully fired to complete the process.
The tea has a prominent floral taste with a subtle minty aftertaste.
A Celebration of Craftsmanship and Purity
Each tea in the Basilur Handmade Tea Collection is a testament to the dedication, artistry, and passion of our tea masters. From the tender leaves carefully plucked at dawn to the meticulous handcrafting techniques that shape their final form, every step is a pursuit of perfection. Whether you choose the delicate Silver Tips, the bold and intricate Pot-Fermented Handmade Black Tea, or the uniquely floral Royal Violet Tea, you are experiencing not just a cup of tea, but a story of tradition, craftsmanship, and unparalleled freshness.
At Basilur Lounge, these teas are not merely served, they are celebrated, allowing one to immerse themselves in the rarest of experiences: tea in its purest and most vibrant form, from garden to cup.