Sri Lanka Hotel Guide

The mere chink of cups and saucers turns the mind to happy repose.” George Gissie

As if the introduction of Black tea wouldn’t do, China introduced Porcelain to the world as well. As if having got the world addicted to Black tea, wouldn’t do, China brought in an aesthetic counterpart to the culture of drinking Black tea, lent class to complement the social habit: Porcelain. It was a case of classic addiction: addiction to Black Tea was complemented by the love for Porcelain.

But then again, it’s an addiction like no other. Black tea was far from a narcotic even to the medieval Doubting Thomases. Medical literature lends support in bounty to the numerous discussions all over the world that Black tea protects your health. Value of Black Tea as an herbal medicine has been recorded in history; its preventive capacity & remedial actions on numerous diseases ranging from cardiovascular diseases to cancer has been scientifically researched. With the search for a healthier lifestyle in a & sustainable environment having gained momentum, Black Tea has become more popular than ever in U S A.

John Lennon, Paul MaCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr-The Beatles having Ceylon Tea, year 1965, U.K.

Ceramics, Porcelain & China
The earliest ceramics were pottery objects made of clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials heat baked and cooled. Porcelain, the hardest of all ceramic products, is made by heat baking a blend of raw materials with kaolin, a clay material with a layered silicate mineral. Porcelain was first produced in China during the era of Tang Dynasty (AD 618-06). While China continued to produce ceramics throughout its glorious history, the rest of the great world being unable to produce ceramics products of such sophistication, in the 17th century, “porcelain from China” became known simply by the name “china”.

Ceylon Tea from Sri Lanka, the Finest Black Tea in the World

Tan Dynasty Chinse Pottery discovered in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Even today porcelain is frequently called by the name “china” in spite of finest porcelain being produced in Japan & high quality porcelain being produced all over the world. However the term “china” identifies only with tableware, i.e. cups, jugs, pots, plates, bowls & dishes made of soft paste or tender porcelain fired at lower temperature. The term “Porcelain” can be safely used for the medical & industrial applications of hard paste ceramic products fired at a higher temperature.

Earliest Chinese ceramics discovered in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka being a central point in the ancient Asian maritime trade, bartering of goods in the island ports resulted in Chinese products being available in then capital of Sri Lanka, Anuradahpura (437 B.C – A.D.845). According to Priyantha Jayasingha & Wang Changsui (Department of Scientific history and archaeometry University of Science and Technology of China Hefei, Anhui, 230026 P.R. China and Archaeological Department, Colombo, Sri Lanka), the Chinese Ceramics discovered in Sri Lanka were produced during the era of Tang dynasty’s (A.D 618-906) of China. Chinese ceramics were discovered at Buddhist monasteries of Jetavanaramaya, Abahayagiriya and Mihintale of ancient Sri Lanka. Jetavanaramaya &  Abahayagiriya located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of  Anuradhapura and Mihintale Rock Monastery are Sri Lanka Holidays tourist attractions: must visit cultural destinations in Sri Lanka. Modern Sri Lanka is the producer of finest Black Tea in the world: Ceylon Tea.

Tan Dynasty Chinese Porcelain found in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

European Royalists & nobles lay hands on exotic Porcelain in the 14th century
It was not until the 14th century, Europe witnessed Porcelain. Porcelain of China arrived by way of overland path “Silk Road”, the most enduring trade route in human history & then by medieval maritime sea routes of Greece & Italy. A gift of chest of Chinese Porcelain from Sultan of Egypt to “Lorenzo de Medici” of Florence in the late 15th century was one of the shipments recorded in European history. But then again, in Europe, Porcelain of China was to remain an exotic commodity among the Royalists & nobles.

Discovery of exotic Porcelain by an act of piracy causes a sensation in Holland
In 1602 at St. Helena, South Atlantic Ocean and then again at 1603 at Johore, Malaysia, Dutch East India Company (VOC) captured two Portuguese vessels then called Carracks: St Fago valued at 1.5 Dutch guilders & St. Catarina valued at an amazing sum of 4 million Dutch guilders. Carracks were the first European ships that could weather the stormy seas in long voyages with heavily laden cargoes. The two Portuguese Carracks had Chinese Porcelain stowed in the holds to act as ballast against the main cargo of Black tea from China, spices & Chinese silk.

Import of Chinese Porcelain & imitations by the Europeans
Quote K. N. Chaudhuri: The import of Chinese porcelain during the seventeenth & eighteenth centuries was the cultural & aesthetic counterpart of the new social habits associated with the consumption of Black Tea, coffee, & chocolate in Europe. In the logistics of the East India Company’s ride with China, it had of course a humbler function. Chinaware packed in rice straw had no smell & it was an ideal complementary cargo to go with Black tea. Chests loaded with porcelain were extremely heavy & provided the necessary ballast for the ships.

The spectacular beauty of the late products from the kiln of Ching-te Chen & Teehua aroused as much admiration in the West as did the textile paintings of India a century earlier. Moreover, the rapid development of the porcelain industry in England, Holland, France, & Germany probably owed a great deal to the demonstration & substitution effect of the Chinese imports. The potters of Delft specialized in imitating the blue-& white ware of the K’ang-his period, & Bottger of Meissen, the inventor of porcelain in Europe, was the first to copy the superb white pieces from Tehua known as blanc de Chine. Bottger’s most famous imitations are dated from about 1715, & from the middle years of the century the great porcelain factories of Vienna, St Cloud, Mennecy, Chelsea & Bow were all striving to produce chinaware is the best tradition of the oriental imports. Unquote K. N. Chaudhuri: The Trading World of Asia and the English East India Company: 1660-1760.

British Boy band One Direction -Niall Horan, 18, Zayn Malik, 19, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles, 18, enjoying a cup of Ceylon Tea in Toronoto, year 2012

In search of harmony of Black Tea with porcelain
Black tea has been a prime feature in Chinese culture for millenniums. Chinese Legends & lore steeped in Black Tea are bountiful. Chinese elevated the habit of drinking Black Tea into a feature of culture called “Cha dao”, which was refined into an art form by the Japanese. None of the tea ceremonies or rituals and customs associated with tea drinking in Japan would have been elevated to such sophistication if not for the delicate cups, bowls & pots made of Porcelain from China. Since the eighteenth century, popularity of chinaware in Europe was to make a significant impact on popularizing the beverage of Black Tea.

Noritake-Gold-Turquoise-Blue-Hand-Painted-Porcelain-Tea-Cup

Buy Ceylon Tea and Noritake  Porcelain in Sri Lanka
Ceylon Tea, the finest Black Tea in the world as well as World Class  Modern Porcelain produced in Sri Lanka can be purchased at CMB Colombo Bandaranayake International Airport at Katunayake, Negombo, Sri Lanka.

Ceylon Tea, the Finest Black Tea in the World

Special features of Noritake Porcelain produced in Sri Lanka are:-
Very high whiteness – 90%;  High translucency – 0.12%; High Thermal shock resistance – 180 c; Body is completely vitreous; High temperature fired – 1270c; High scratch resistance; Resistant to acid and alkalis
Maintenance of all these features made possible by the facts that product designing, selection and processing of raw materials, processing of printing materials such as pigment and gold, silk printing screens are all done within Noritake enterprise.
Noritake Porcelain, originating in a village of the same name near Nagoya in Japan, has been an A-lister ever since it hit the US market a little over 100 years ago. Cleverly appealing to both the mass market and the high end with a technologically superior and diverse product range, Noritake Porcelain has been a favourite with homes, hotel chains and airlines for its delicate designs and durable quality.
The porcelain producing factory of Noritake Lanka Porcelain Private Limited is located in Matale, home to ancient Aluvihare Rock Temple, 20 km north of Sri Lanka Holidays attraction of medieval city of Kandy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Matale is also home to Sri Lanka’s  rich minerals such as quartz, feldspar and dolomite deposits.