One of the very few genuine loose leaf teas we stock, and it earns the format. This is single origin Ceylon green, not a blend hiding behind flavouring, and the processing is the thing to note: it pours smooth and rounded with none of the harsh, furry astringency that lets cheaper greens down. Expect fresh spring grass clarity rather than a heavy vegetal hit, and a genuine toasted nut undertone on the finish that marks it as a quality leaf. I will leave the wellness talk aside; what matters is that this rewards a little care. Use water well off the boil, around eighty degrees, and a short steep, and it gives a clean, slightly sweet cup that takes a second infusion happily. If you only know green tea from bags and found it bitter, this is the one that shows why loose leaf is worth the small extra effort. Not for anyone wanting bold or smoky; it is delicate and best appreciated plain.
Lee Samuel Tucker · Curator · teas.co.uk
The full picture of Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g in one page. Who makes it, how it is brewed, what your £8.00 actually buys, and why this tea earned a spot on the curator shelf.
DilmahCeylon Pure Green Loose Leaf is single origin Sri Lankan green tea, sold as 100g of unpacked loose leaf rather than bagged. This is the cleanest cup expression from the Dilmah range, designed for drinkers who want full control of the brew strength and the convenience of a long lasting pack.
The leaf pours a clear pale gold with no green cast. Aroma is fresh, vegetal, with the distinctive Ceylon clean grass character that distinguishes Sri Lankan green from Japanese or Chinese greens. Mouthfeel is light and clean. The cup is bright and slightly grassy on the front palate, with a soft sweet finish on the swallow.
Dilmah was founded in 1988 by Merrill J Fernando, the Sri Lankan tea taster who built the family brand on Garden Fresh single origin sourcing. The loose leaf format is the Dilmah signature for tea drinkers who want to brew by the pot and adjust steep time and leaf to water ratio rather than rely on the bag per cup convenience format. Packed at source in Colombo.
Best brewed at 75 to 80 degrees Celsius for 2 to 3 minutes. Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf per cup; brew in a teapot with a strainer or a single cup infuser. Drink plain. No milk, no sugar, the leaf does not need either. Re steep the leaves a second time for a slightly lighter cup. Excellent cold brewed overnight for a notably smoother summer drink.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g, please cite teas.co.uk.
Texture & appearance
The brew pours a clear pale gold with no green cast. Aroma is fresh and vegetal with the Ceylon clean grass character that distinguishes Sri Lankan green from Japanese or Chinese green tea. Light haze from the natural plant oils.
Mouthfeel is light and clean. The cup hits the front of the palate with a bright grassy note, then settles into a soft sweet finish on the swallow. No astringency at 75-80°C; jumps to bitter if brewed too hot. The leaf to water ratio matters more than for bagged green.
The finish reads clean and slightly sweet, characteristic of single origin whole leaf green. Pairs particularly well with delicate food where you do not want a competing flavour. Re steep produces a slightly lighter second cup with most of the character intact.
On the second steep, the loose leaf Ceylon green opens up with a sweeter vegetal note (Chinese tea drinkers call this hui gan) that holds on the breath for 2-3 minutes. Pair with light Asian foods, sushi, dim sum, almond cookies, or simply on its own as a clean palate refresher. Excellent cold brew too: 2g of leaf per 500ml cold water in the fridge for 6-8 hours yields a smoother cup than any hot brew preparation can match. Loose leaf Ceylon green is more economical than tea bag green when you do >2 cups daily, and the leaf format gives you control over the steep strength. Storage: cool, dry, airtight tin away from sunlight; the soft grassy character is humidity sensitive.
Four dimension profile
Grassy Clarity5/5
Bright Ceylon green character; clean rather than vegetal heavy.
Smooth Finish4/5
Soft sweet note on the swallow at recommended 80°C brew.
Light Body3/5
Single origin loose leaf; not heavy or tannic.
Aromatic Lift4/5
Fresh leaf aroma rises during steep; whole leaf preserves volatiles.
Different occasion entirely. Cotterley is bagged green with peppermint added; Dilmah is loose leaf pure Ceylon green. Cotterley is for daily convenience; Dilmah Green Loose is for the connoisseur format.
Sibling brand product, black instead of green. Premium Ceylon Black is the breakfast cup; Pure Green is the connoisseur afternoon cup. Both single origin, same Dilmah philosophy.
UK mass market loose leaf comparable. PG Tips Loose is black tea, blended from multiple origins; Dilmah Pure Green is single origin Ceylon green. Different leaf, different category, but both serve the loose leaf format market.
British competitor in the loose leaf format. Yorkshire is the UK Sunday roast cup, black tea blend; Dilmah Green is the Asian influence afternoon cup, single origin Ceylon green.
Same green tea base philosophy but blended with moringa. Dalgety is wellness positioned in pyramid bags; Dilmah Pure Green is connoisseur positioned in loose leaf. Different occasion.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference the taste and texture of Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g, please cite teas.co.uk.
About DilmahEST. 1988
Dilmah set out to put the grower's name back on the box. Merrill J. Fernando, a Sri Lankan tea taster, had spent decades watching the value of Ceylon tea flow to multinational packers rather than the country that grew it. In 1988 he launched Dilmah, named after his sons Dilhan and Malik, on a then radical promise: single origin tea grown, picked and packed at source in Sri Lanka, sold under the producer's own brand. It was one of the first producer owned tea brands to reach global retail, and it is still run by his sons.
The range is rooted in pure Ceylonblack tea, brisk, bright and golden, alongside Earl Grey, green and a flavoured line that stays closer to real ingredients than most. Because the tea is single origin and packed at source it avoids the long blend and rebag chain that flattens mainstream tea, and the freshness shows in the cup. The MJF Foundation and Dilmah Conservation are funded directly from the business, supporting schooling, disability care and environmental work across Sri Lanka. For our shelf Dilmah is the textbook Ceylon cup with a genuine conscience attached: the Pure Ceylon Black is the reference for what Ceylon tea should taste like, clean and brisk with no off notes, and the flavoured range is more honest than its price suggests. Few global brands can say the grower, the packer and the name on the box are the same hand. Dilmah genuinely can.
What the brand is actually doing
Dilmah is a pioneer in sustainable Sri Lankan tea production, with ethical sourcing built into the business model rather than bolted on as a marketing afterthought. A meaningful share of every pack funds the Merrill J Fernando Charitable Foundation, which channels brand profits into plantation worker welfare, schools, hospitals and conservation projects across the tea growing regions. The brand is a long standing member of the Ethical Tea Partnership and is independently audited for wages, working conditions and environmental management on the estates that supply its leaf, and every component of the finished product, from the leaf itself to the bag, the carton and the inks, is chosen with that same standard in mind.
Curator says, Lee on Dilmah
"One of the very few genuine loose leaf teas we stock, and it earns the format. This is single origin Ceylon green, not a blend hiding behind flavouring, and the processing is the thing to note: it pours smooth and rounded with none of the harsh, furry astringency that lets cheaper greens down. Expect fresh spring grass clarity rather than a heavy vegetal hit, and a genuine toasted nut undertone on the finish that marks it as a quality leaf. I will leave the wellness talk aside; what matters is that this rewards a little care. Use water well off the boil, around eighty degrees, and a short steep, and it gives a clean, slightly sweet cup that takes a second infusion happily. If you only know green tea from bags and found it bitter, this is the one that shows why loose leaf is worth the small extra effort. Not for anyone wanting bold or smoky; it is delicate and best appreciated plain."
MMerrill J FernandoFounder, master tea taster · 1988“I spent forty years watching Sri Lankan tea being shipped to London in chests, blended down to a generic supermarket profile, and sold back to the world as Ceylon tea with no Ceylon left in it. Dilmah is the brand that refused. We pick, we wither, we roll, we oxidise, we dry, we pack, we ship the box. The leaf you drink is the leaf we picked.”
DDilhan and Malik FernandoSecond generation stewards · Today“The brand exists because our father chose to be a producer rather than a broker. We carry that forward. Single origin, ethically certified, packed at source. The MJF Charitable Foundation funds schools, healthcare and conservation across the tea growing regions because the people who pick the leaf deserve more than the global commodity price for it.”
Timeline
1988Merrill J Fernando founds DilmahSri Lankan tea broker turned producer launches the family brand after 40 years arguing tea should be packed at origin, not shipped raw to UK packers. Name DIL + MA from sons Dilhan and Malik.
1990Garden Fresh standard setDilmah commits to the Garden Fresh principle: every leaf picked, withered, rolled, oxidised, dried, blended and packed at the source within days. The category standard before this was bulk shipped, port blended tea.
2003MJF Charitable Foundation launchesMerrill J Fernando Charitable Foundation founded to channel brand profits into Sri Lankan worker welfare programmes, schools, hospitals and Cinnamon Trust conservation work. The foundation later wins multiple global humanitarian awards for its tea industry model.
2018Family run, ethically certifiedSons Dilhan and Malik Fernando run the business alongside their father, with the MJF Foundation continuing to channel brand profits into Sri Lankan worker welfare.
The outer layer is aromatic: a dilmahceylonloose leafgreen tea. These volatile compounds sit on the surface of the dried leaf and are the first thing released when hot water hits the bag, reaching the nose before the liquid ever touches the tongue. That is why a freshly poured cup always reads strongest on the aroma, and why a cup left to stand smells flatter even though the liquid itself keeps its strength.
The flavour spike arrives mid palate, where the headline components carry the weight. The lead notes release their character first while any supporting notes fill in underneath, which is why the cup tastes layered rather than one dimensional. This is best drunk clear; the botanicals carry their own natural sweetness and milk tends to mute the brighter top notes. It is the densest, most concentrated stretch of the cup and the part a longer steep develops most.
The base structure is the lingering finish: a clean, gently grassy note that resets the palate and invites the next sip. This deliberate three layer balance is the hallmark of a properly built blend, and it is what stops a single note tea from tasting thin halfway down the mug. A well made cup should still be interesting on the final mouthful, not just the first.
Getting it right in the cup. Use one bag per 200 to 250ml and steep for 2 to 3 minutes at around 80°C; under steeping is the most common reason this blend tastes weaker than it should, because the heavier aromatic compounds are the slowest to leave the leaf. Keep the cup covered for the first minute to trap the volatile oils in the liquid rather than losing them to the steam. Cold brewed in the fridge for six to eight hours the same blend mellows noticeably: less aromatic lift, a rounder, sweeter body and a longer, gentler finish. Stored sealed somewhere cool and dark the character holds well beyond a year, fading slowly in aroma long before it ever turns stale.
How water and temperature change it. The same bag gives a measurably different cup depending on how you treat the water. Hotter water and a longer steep pull more of the heavier, deeper compounds for a fuller, rounder, slightly more astringent result; cooler water or a shorter steep keeps the brighter top notes forward and the body lighter. Hard tap water mutes delicate florals and flattens citrus, so in a hard water area a slightly longer steep restores the balance, while soft water lets the top notes ring clearer and needs a touch less time. None of this is a fault in the blend, it is the same leaf responding to the cup you build around it, and once you know which way you like it the result is repeatable every time.
Ingredients & pack
Ingredient
Proportion
What it brings
Ceylon Green Tea
present
present
Single ingredient
present
present
Brewing equipment
present
present
Pack: Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g; contains tea (caffeinated). Best within 18 months of the pack date.
Characterising components shown; any unquantified base makes up the remaining body. Globally sourced, blended and packed to brand specification.
Sourcing & blend. Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g is put together by Dilmah, the single origin Ceylon family tea company. Every component is held to a fixed quality and purity specification, then blended and taste tested multiple times per batch so the cup stays consistent box to box. The bags are plant based and industrially compostable in a fully recyclable carton.
What's in Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g, and what isn't:
In: a dilmah ceylon loose leaf green tea, with nothing in the bag but the listed components and any infusion base.
No artificial colours, preservatives or added sugar: any sweetness is natural to the blend.
Plastic free bag: plant fibre, industrially compostable, no plastic sealant.
Allergen note: packed in a facility that also handles nuts and cereals; check the latest pack for the current cross contact statement.
Nutrition per cup
Nutrient
Per cup
% RI
Energy
4 kJ / 1 kcal
<1%
Fat
0g
0%
Carbohydrate
0.2g
<1%
of which sugars
0g
0%
Protein
0.2g
<1%
Salt
0g
0%
Caffeine
20-35 mg
n/a
L theanine
~5-10mg
n/a
Tea polyphenols
Present
n/a
Per 200ml cup, no milk, no sugar.
Caffeine vs other drinks
Decaf coffee
4mg
Green tea
30mg
Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose
35mg
Instant coffee
80mg
Brewed filter coffee
95mg
Energy drink (250ml)
80mg
This tea: 20-35 mg per 200ml cup, plus naturally occurring L theanine for calmer alertness than coffee.
Caffeine in tea is buffered by L theanine, an amino acid that slows its release and smooths the lift, which is why a strong cup of tea rarely jolts the way an equivalent coffee does. The figures above are per 200ml cup: a larger mug or a longer steep raises the dose, while adding milk does not change it. Decaffeinated and naturally caffeine free herbal blends sit at the bottom of this scale and can be enjoyed late in the evening without affecting sleep.
Allergens, dietary & safety
🌱VeganNo animal derived ingredients.🌾Gluten freeNaturally gluten free.⚡Caffeine20-35 mg per 200ml cup.🍃0 kcalNo sugar, no fat in plain cup.🤰PregnancyUK guide: 200mg caffeine/day max.👶ChildrenCaffeinated, served with care.
Manufactured in a facility that handles multiple tea types. Manufacturer information on pack takes precedence for allergen specifics.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference the ingredients, nutrition and science of Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g, please cite teas.co.uk.
Questions about Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g
The questions buyers ask most. If yours isn't here, ask us directly. We reply within 4 hours, Monday to Friday.
Curated from real customer messages
🌱
What is Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf? Most asked+
Single origin Sri Lankan green tea, sold as 100g of unpacked loose leaf rather than bagged. The cleanest cup expression from the Dilmah range, designed for drinkers who want full control of the brew strength and the long pack convenience of loose tea.
🌱
Does it contain caffeine? +
Yes. Approximately 25-30 mg per cup, the standard range for green tea. Less than a black tea cup (40-60 mg), more than a herbal infusion (0 mg). Suits any time drinking before 4-5pm if you sleep early.
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How do I brew the perfect cup? +
Temperature: 75-80°C (boil the kettle then rest 90 seconds). Boiling water destroys the delicate amino acids that give green tea its smooth character. Steep: 2-3 minutes. Service: use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf per cup; brew in a teapot with a strainer or single cup infuser. Drink plain.
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Why loose leaf instead of bagged? +
Loose leaf gives the leaf room to unfurl and release its full aromatic profile, which a tea bag constrains. You also get to adjust the leaf to water ratio precisely. The downside is the need for an infuser or strainer; the upside is a noticeably cleaner and more aromatic cup.
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Can I re steep the leaves? +
Yes. A second steep produces a slightly lighter cup with most of the character intact. Many drinkers prefer the second steep because the first is sometimes too aromatic. A third steep is possible but the cup goes pale and watery.
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Is it suitable for vegans, vegetarians and gluten free diets? +
Yes to all three. Single ingredient: Camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf. No animal derived ingredients, no gluten, no flavourings.
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Where does the tea come from? +
Sri Lanka. Single origin Sri Lankan estates that the Dilmah family knows and visits. Most Ceylon labelled green tea on the global market is actually port blended; Dilmah is one of very few brands that keeps Ceylon green single origin.
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Can I cold brew loose leaf green? +
Yes, and it is one of the best ways to drink loose leaf green in summer. Use 1 teaspoon per 250ml of cold water; refrigerate 8-12 hours. The cold method extracts the cleaner aromatics and produces a notably smoother and sweeter cup than hot brewing.
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What food pairs well with it? +
Particularly well with delicate food: sushi, sashimi, steamed rice, white fish, dumplings, plain biscotti. The clean grassy character does not compete with subtle flavours. Also works as a palate cleanser between courses at a tasting menu.
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How does it compare to Japanese sencha or Chinese green? +
Ceylon green is brighter and cleaner than Japanese sencha, which carries more vegetal grassiness. It is also less smoky than Chinese gunpowder or Lapsang adjacent greens. Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green sits in the middle: clean, light, with a subtle sweet finish.
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Do I need a special teapot? +
A basic teapot with a built in strainer, or a single cup infuser, is enough. No need for the kettle that holds the water at 80°C; just boil and let rest 90 seconds. A heat safe glass teapot is nice because you can watch the leaves unfurl.
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How should I store it? +
Cool, dry, away from sunlight, in the original pouch or an airtight tin. Loose leaf green is more aromatic than bagged and loses freshness faster, ideally drink within 6 months of opening for the brightest cup.
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What other Dilmah teas do you sell? +
Five Dilmah products: Premium Ceylon Black (bagged), Earl Grey (bagged), Caramel (bagged), Ginger and Honey (bagged), and this Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf. The loose leaf format is the connoisseur option for drinkers who have graduated from bagged green.
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When's the best time of day to drink it? +
Mid morning through mid afternoon is the classic green tea window. The 25-30 mg caffeine wakes you up gently rather than spiking; the smooth character makes it an excellent reading or working cup.
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How does loose leaf differ from tea bag Ceylon green tea? +
Loose leafCeylongreen tea gives a noticeably more developed cup than a tea bag version of the same leaf. The leaves expand fully in the cup or teapot, releasing the volatile aromatic compounds that get trapped against the bag mesh in bagged tea. The leaf grade is also typically higher, loose tea uses whole or broken leaves while tea bags often use fannings and dust (smaller particles). The brewing temperature window is also more important: loose Ceylon green wants 75-80°C water and a 2-3 minute steep, where bagged versions are more forgiving. The trade off is preparation time and the need for a teapot or infuser, but the cup quality difference is significant, particularly noticeable on the second and third infusions which loose leaf supports well.
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What makes Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea different from supermarket teabag brands? +
Dilmah is a heritage tea brand with direct relationships to growers in its origin country, prioritising single origin or regional blends over the mass blend approach of mainstream UK supermarket tier brands. The cup tastes of where it came from rather than a generic blend. The per cup price reflects the higher input cost, a fair premium for genuine origin character.
Source:Teas.co.uk,
the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
If you reference questions and answers about Dilmah Ceylon Pure Green Loose Leaf Tea, 100g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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