光明富饒之地--斯里蘭卡(下)

斯里蘭卡盡享大自然的饋贈，當地人民不僅擁有黝黑健康的膚色和浪漫的大眼，他們還享有最優質的紅茶和最迷人的寶石。這期我們就一起到斯里蘭卡挖寶吧！

眾所周知，中國的茶文化源遠流長，不僅見諸於人們的日常物質生活，更是融入到詩詞、繪畫、書法、宗教、醫學等精神文化活動當中。斯里蘭卡也同樣以茶聞名，錫蘭紅茶（Ceylon Black Tea）的大名想必人人都有所耳聞。

英國殖民地時期，斯里蘭卡的主要經濟作物是咖啡，但19世紀中葉的一場枯萎病讓許多咖啡園蒙受滅頂之災，於是從中國引進能抵禦病害的茶葉受到了種植園主們的青睞，錫蘭紅茶便在這個光熱充沛的熱帶島嶼上迅速生根壯大。

During the British colonial period， Sri Lanka’s main cash crop was coffee， but a blight in the mid-19th century caused many coffee gardens to be devastated。 Therefore， the disease-resistant tea introduced from China was favored by plantation owners， and Ceylon Black Tea has quickly grown on this lush tropical island since then。

如今斯里蘭卡已成為世界上最大的茶葉出口國，錫蘭紅茶也成為了世界四大紅茶之一（其他三大為中國安徽祁門紅茶、印度阿薩姆紅茶、印度大吉嶺紅茶），被譽為“獻給世界的禮物”。

斯里蘭卡人民至今保持著喝下午茶的文化傳統，到了喝茶時間，不管白領還是工人或是農夫，大家都會停下手中的工作，斟上一杯醇厚紅茶，工作的疲勞頓時一掃而空。

斯里蘭卡地處熱帶，年均氣溫28℃、旱溼分明、晝夜溫差大，加之肥沃的土地，為茶葉生長提供了得天獨厚的自然條件。這裡遠離工業汙染，各大茶園堅持不使用任何農藥和化肥以保持茶葉的地道與純淨。透過國際社會有關農藥和不良藥物殘留的評估，錫蘭茶得到了世界上第一個ISO茶葉技術獎，被認為是“最乾淨的茶葉” 。

Sri Lanka is located in the tropics， with an average annual temperature of 28 ° C。 It enjoys unique natural conditions for tea growth with distinct wet and dry seasons， large temperature difference between day and night， and fertile land。 Far from industrial pollution， the major tea gardens insist on not using any pesticides and fertilizers to keep the tea authentic and pure。 Through the assessment of pesticides and adverse drug residues by the international community， Ceylon Tea has received the world‘s first ISO Tea Technology Award and is considered the “purest tea”。

這是由聯合國環境規劃署頒發給錫蘭紅茶的保護大氣臭氧層的環保認證，以表彰錫蘭紅茶在種植及飲用過程中對環保的貢獻。

錫蘭紅茶種植於島嶼的中央高地和南部低地，茶葉按生長的海拔高度不同分為三類，即高地茶、中地茶和低地茶。各產地因海拔高度、氣溫、溼度的不同，均有不同特色。

高地茶——這些茶生長在海拔1200米以上的茶園中。高地茶呈深棕色，茶味細膩而清淡，質量上乘並且價格昂貴。茶湯色橙紅明亮，口感細膩，回味甘甜，香氣濃郁，比其他品種的錫蘭紅茶更為芳香甜蜜。位於斯里蘭卡中部的努沃勒埃利耶區以生產品質卓越的高地茶而聞名。

High-grown teas – these teas grow in gardens that are above 1200m in altitude。 Tea leaves grown in high altitudes are dark brown in appearance and brew a delicate and light tea。 These teas are considered to be of very good quality and may be rather expensive。 With light golden liquor， these teas are fine， smooth and have delicate floral notes。 They are considered more aromatic and sweeter than other Ceylon black teas。 The Nuwara Eliya district in central Sri Lanka is famous for producing high-grown teas all year round with exceptional quality。

中地茶——生產這些茶的茶園位於海拔600米到1200米之間，例如康提區。中地茶結合了高地茶和低地茶的特徵，口感柔和，帶有獨特的甜蜜花香。

Middle-grown teas – tea estates that produce these teas are located between 600m and 1200m in altitude， such as those in the district of Kandy。 These teas are a combination of the characteristics of high and low grown black teas。 Teas grown here are strong and medium to full-bodied。 Aromatic and rich these are quite unique teas in their own way。

低地茶——這些茶生產於海拔600米的茶園，例如盧哈納茶區。低地茶呈深紅色，味道厚重濃郁，通常由優質茶葉所製成，經過泡製的茶葉會呈現出漂亮的銅色。這種茶口感豐富，通常與其它種類的茶配製成混合茶飲用。

Low-grown teas – these teas are produced in tea estates from sea-level to 600m in altitude， such as those in the district of Ruhuna。 Darker and stronger， low-grown teas are typically made up of uniformly superior black tea leaves。 Once brewed the leaves turn a beautiful shade of copper。 These robust and full-bodied teas are dark red in color。 As for flavor， these are hearty and very rich teas， typically used as filler for many tea blends。

比之大吉嶺紅茶，錫蘭紅茶更濃香醇厚；比之阿薩姆紅茶，錫蘭紅茶更柔和爽口。純正的錫蘭紅茶必須產自於斯里蘭卡本地。為了規範錫蘭紅茶的出口，斯里蘭卡政府茶葉出口主管機構統一頒發了“錫蘭茶質量標誌”：持劍獅王標誌，該長方形標誌上部為一右前爪持劍的雄獅，下部則是上下兩排英文，上排為Ceylon tea字樣，即“錫蘭茶”，下排為Symbol of quality字樣，即“質量標誌”之意，標註此標誌的錫蘭紅茶才是經過斯里蘭卡政府認可的純正錫蘭紅茶。

It is bolder and darker than most Darjeeling black teas， and lighter than a regular Assam， with less of its malty profile。 The authentic Ceylon Black Tea must be produced locally in Sri Lanka。 In order to regulate the export of Ceylon Black Tea， the Sri Lankan government tea export authority has uniformly issued the “Ceylon Tea Quality Mark” with a logo of lion king holding a sword。 The upper part of the rectangular sign is a male lion with a right front paw holding sword， and the lower part is two lines of English words， the upper line being “CEYLON TEA” and the lower line being “SYMBOL OF QUALITY“。 Only the Ceylon Black Tea marked with this logo is the authentic one approved by the Sri Lankan government。

馬可波羅說：“我希望你們瞭解錫蘭，它是世界上最完美的島嶼，盛產紅寶石，藍寶石，黃玉，紫晶和石榴石。

斯里蘭卡的寶石歷史非常悠久。這座小島曾被稱為Ratna-Dweepa，意為寶石之島，由此可見這座島嶼物產富足。自古以來，斯里蘭卡就是世界上有名的高檔寶石供應國，其寶石蘊藏量之大，到現在每年仍可達五億美元的出口值。3000多年來斯里蘭卡向全世界供應了不計其數的寶石，美國國家博物館中80%的高檔寶石來自斯里蘭卡，世界上最大的藍寶石、星光紅寶、星光藍寶、貓眼寶石均來自斯里蘭卡。

Sri Lanka’s gem industry has a very long and colorful history。 Sri Lanka was affectionately known as Ratna-Dweepa which means Gem Island。 The name is a reflection of its natural wealth。 Since ancient times， Sri Lanka has been a well-known supplier of high-end gemstones in the world。 It has massive gemstone reserves， with an export value of 500 million U。S。 dollars per year。 Sri Lanka has supplied countless gems to the world for more than 3，000 years。 80% of the high-end gems in the National Museum of the United States come from Sri Lanka。 The world’s largest sapphire， star ruby， star sapphire and cat‘s eye gemstone are all from Sri Lanka。

從地質上講，斯里蘭卡是一個極其古老的國家。島上90%的岩石屬於前寒武紀，巖齡古老。寶石形成於殘留寶石沉積物、淋溶沉積物、變質沉積物、矽卡巖和富含鈣的岩石。斯里蘭卡幾乎所有的寶石都儲藏於中央高地，還有一些礦床主要存在於河流和溪流的洪泛平原。據估計，斯里蘭卡近25％的土地可能孕育著寶石，斯里蘭卡也因此成為世界上寶石礦床密度最高的國家之一。

位於中央山區的拉特納普勒是斯里蘭卡最主要的寶石開採地，拉特納普勒在僧伽羅語中意為“寶石之城”。

Ratnapura， located in the central highlands of Sri Lanka， contains the most gem deposits and derives its name from the gem industry。 Ratnapura means “City of Gems” in Sinhalese。

在拉特納普勒一分為二的卡魯河的古河床孕育了這個國家三分之一的寶石，是亞洲最大的寶石礦區。世界上最大的兩大藍寶石——重達1404克拉的“亞當之星”重達563克拉的“印度之星”皆出自於此。

斯里蘭卡最出名的寶石要數它的藍寶石，深邃迷人的藍寶石和斯里蘭卡蔚藍的海洋與天空一樣令人神往。在斯里蘭卡傳說中，星光藍寶石還是英雄必不可少的“護身符”，其中蘊藏著無窮的智慧和力量。