Tea and Hoppers

I had never heard of hoppers until seeing the entry yesterday in my tea calendar.  I have always enjoyed cookbooks and magazines  that feature foods from around the world, but this dish was totally new to me.  Having lunch with tea and hoppers is an institution in Sri Lanka. 

They are made of rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, salt and yeast and are served with curry or a spicy sauce.  They are like a crepe bowl, with an egg cooked on top.

Sri Lanka is one of the largest tea producers in the world and the people there drink a lot of tea.  That wasn’t always the case and before the 1860’s their main crop was coffee.  Then the coffee rust fungus killed off most of the coffee plants and a lot of the estates took to growing tea to avoid financial ruin. 

A lot of people consider high grown Sri Lanka tea as the “champagne” of Ceylon teas.  Products containing 100 percent Ceylon tea will have a special Lion logo on the package.

I’ve probably drank many teas that are a blend containing Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka.  I have read that all Sri Lanka’s black teas taste best with a little milk, which is how I enjoy my black tea.

As for the hoppers, I’d like to try some for lunch one day with a nice cuppa.