TEA

History

Next to water – tea is the most commonly consumed drink in the world. Tea was probably discovered when leaves fell into a pot of boiling drinking water 5,000 years ago. Emperor Wan Tu is credited with this discovery and introducing tea to the Chinese Courts on his return from exile. He is also credited with naming tea Tai which means peace.

Tea was often compressed into bricks to make it easier to transport. The bricks also became a form of currency. Catherine De Braganza introduced tea to the English Court when she married Charles II.

One of the most famous historical events concerning tea was the Boston Tea Party as it became known. As a protest to the high taxes imposed by the British Government on tea, the Americans tipped a whole shipment into Boston Harbour. This was one of the events that led to the American War of Independence.

In 1940, Thomas Sullivan decided to sell individual portions of tea in silk bags – confused consumers brewed the tea still in the bags and the tea bag was born.

Flavoured Chinese Teas such as Jasmine and Rose Petal were available and in the 1970’s these were seen as an opportunity to increase the tea market. New flavours such as Apple & Lemon, Strawberry and Kiwi etc are now available for an alternative to tea.

Growth and Production

It take 4 years for a tea plant to produce tea. Each healthy bush can produce 1000kg of tea per season. A tea bush can flourish for up to 80 years.

Tea passes through 6 processes:-

Plucking - only the bud and the first two leaves are plucked as this is where the fresh sap and therefore the best flavour is found.

Withering - this process softens the leaf and allows it to loose between 40 and 50 % of its moisture and it usually lasts between 18 and 20 hours

Fermenting - the leaf now undergoes a series of complex chemical reactions that cause it to blacken. The process involves leaving the leaf in a humid environment at a constant temperature and allowing it to be oxidised by enzymes. If it is fermented too much it looses it astringent character and the leaf looks burnt , if it not fermented enough it has a bitter taste and the leaf turns a greenish brown. Green tea is unfermented which is why it is not black.

Rolling – the leaves then pass through machines that roll them lengthways, breaking the cells, realising their essential oils.

Drying – this is a delicate operation that stops the fermentation process at the required moment. The leaves are subjected to a dry atmosphere and high temperature that will conserve only 2% - 3% of moisture.

Grading – in the final step the leaves are –placed on vibrating sieve trays that sort them by grade (whole, broken, fanning – the very small fragments of leaf remaining after processing whole and broken leaves and so on) and by size. The tea is then wrapped in paper bags or placed in wooden crates lined with aluminium foil.

Tea Producing Countries

The three main tea producing countries are :

India - this is the main producing country overtaking China – mainly Darjeeling and Assam. Indian teas are usually the main base for British tea bags.

Sri Lanka – producing Ceylon teas

China – most of Chinas teas are blended – Mainly Keemun and Green Gunpowder. Green tea is becoming more popular due to its believed healing properties. It is also reputed to give a feeling of well being as well as increasing the metabolic rate.

Tea Definitions

Fanning
These teas are made of very small pieces of leaf. They have a fuller flavour and are sometimes used for tea bags, though less frequently than broken teas.

Broken Teas
Broken teas are not of inferior quality. The term arises from the technique of breaking the whole leaves,. Broken leaves have a greater surface area in contact with the water sot he tea has a fuller flavour.

Dust Teas
These teas are finer than Fanning and are generally use for tea bags. The use of the word ‘dust’ does not mean that the tea is poor; it is simply the mane given to the method of preparation. In fact, there are some excellent vintages under the designations Fanning and Dust

CTC Teas
These teas have undergone the processes of crushing, tearing and curling. Once reserved for the coarser leaves from Assam, this procedure is now applied to quality leaves and produces attractively coloured teas. It is becoming a frequently used process

Blended, Scented and Smoked
Blended – this is where teas from different areas of even estates are combined to get the best flavour from more than one tea such as Special English Breakfast and Afternoon Tea.

Scented
This is where a strong flavoured component is added to the tea such as Jasmine or Oil of Bergamot – most famously Earl Grey

Smoked
Low in caffeine and with a strong scent, smoked tea is made from Souchong leaves that are pan-fried in a wok, rolled, fermented and then dried over a fire of spruce or cypress root, The Chinese reserve this tea for export.