Ceylon (which is called Sri Lanka today) was originally focused on producing coffee. In 1867 began the cultivation of tea, by using a cross-bred varietal of Assamese and Chinese tea plants. After most of the coffee plants had been affected by coffee rust in 1869, production was shifted almost completely from coffee to tea, and tea has been exported ever since 1873. The teas are harvested in several periods between spring and autumn, and are then processed as completely oxidised black teas. Ceylon teas are rather dark and strong with notes of lemon and cinnamon.