Steeped in the art of tea, Zesta, Watawala Tea Ceylon’s flagship, award winning brand is creating delicious experiences for guests of the high end hospitality chain, Shangri La – across all their properties, worldwide. The ‘Zesta Connoisseur Collection’ is a range of 28 carefully curated blends that epitomize the luxury and elegance that is Shangri-La. Part of the Sunshine Holdings conglomerate, the local Zesta is now a world-class brand, particularly, with its partnership with the iconic hotel property. Zesta’s tea masters, together with the Shangri-La team, designed and developed the collection of teas in a range of tastes and flavours, the company said in a press release last week.
“That same evergreen shrub grown near sea level as compared to that grown at 6,000 feet can have all these different flavour profiles,” explains Sidath Perera, one of Zesta’s Tea masters. “And then, by changing elements of the manufacturing process you get even more flavour profiles.” The collection of Zesta Connoisseur has several teas and herbal infusions — English Breakfast (an exceptional, bright, black tea) Moroccan Mint (a Ceylon ‘gun powder’ Green Tea with Peppermint leaves) and Lychee with Rose and Almond (a Ceylon black tea flavoured with Lychee, Rose and Almond). Each is fascinatingly distinct. The range also features herbal infusions like Chamomile and Rosehip and Hibiscus, as well as, flavoured teas such as, Peach and Strawberry which are iced tea favourites. A special feature is a range of four single estate Ceylon teas from Kenilworth, Waltrim, Shannon and Uva Highlands which embody the special taste and flavour characters that made Ceylon tea special.
Sunshine Holding’s Group Managing Director, Vish Govindasamy, detailing the process that went into Zesta being handpicked by Shangri La, said, “The Zesta Connoisseur collection was developed together with Shangri La, based on guest requirements.
A lot of insight into unique and exclusive taste preferences, veering towards artisan, got us experimenting with new blends, especially for the range”. “From artisan to dessert tea, all are part of the collection. So many choices, so many flavours and yet, when it comes to my first cup of tea each morning, it’s always the same: black, stern and bracing,” he added.