Tea, the worlds post popular brewed beverage.Like or lump it, most consumers buy in “tea-bags” brew it in bags and enjoy it with additives, Milk/Cream – Lemon – Sugar, Hot or Iced.
So most are novices in the world of loose/bulk teas.
The past few weeks have generated a number of conversations directly related to tea, covering quite an array of topics and experience levels.
I hope that this information distillation helps those that raised questions.
Botanical Basics:
One Plant Genus, two main varieties, one lesser.Formal botanical / Latin Name: Camellia sinensis
(Sinensis is Latin for: Chinese)
Variety:
1 Camellia sinensis var. assamica.(Indian tea)
2 Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. (Chinese tea)
3 Camellia sinensis var. parvifolia. (hybrid of 1 & 2)
Mainly it’s the; Assam and Chinese varieties we most often encounter.
Form this plant leaf a plethora of tea types are produced.
_____________________________________________________
The post picking processing of the leaf greatly determines the type of tea produced.
3 Basic types of tea:
Green, Oolong and Black.
Green tea is steamed very soon after picking to stop the oxidation process.
Oolong (Wulong) tea is left to oxidize a bit longer.(Semi-fermented)
Black tea is oxidized for the longest period of time.
Black and Red tea are often the same, Black referring to the colour of the processed tea leaf and Red as to the colour of the liquor produced.
Within the basic 3 types, many subdivisions are made: eg. Scented tea, flower tea, pressed / Pu-erh tea, White tea.
_________________________________________________________
Farming:
I suppose it’s fair to split Farming into a couple of main buckets.
Plantation Farming and Free/wild plant harvesting.
Natural conditions impart to the plant various properties: Geographic location, local topography, climatic conditions, altitude and soil type, all impart there signature into the plant.
Dramatic variations exist from: Taiwan – China (many provinces) – India to Africa.
Farming techniques, harvesting schedules and picking techniques are next in line to influence the end result. This in itself is the subject of many tomes. (I know, I’ve ploughed through a few)
_________________________________________________________
Leaf Processing:
Again, techniques vary in the processing of picked leaves.
In the main, leaves are dried and mechanically shaped for packaging.
Even within a single tea garden (plantation) process changes are made based on years of experience and the requirements of a specific crop harvest.
Sha Qing (Sha Ching)
... is the first step of tea procession. After the leaves have been picked, the cells are still alive. They will ferment and consume the nutrition of the leaves if not processed.
In order to stop the ferment, leaves need to be treated, such a treatment is called "Sha Qing"
People use a relatively high temperature introduced to the tea leaves to kill the cells then stop the natural ferment.
In modern China, people use the method of stir-fry or exposing the tea to the sunshine while the tea will be steamed in Japan, which is the same as the method used in the Ancient China.
After Sha Qing, the tea leaves can keep their green color thus become green tea.
If the tea has no Sha Qing treatment, the ferment procession will change the color of tea and black tea will be produced.
Sometimes the tea leaves will get Sha Qing halfway through the procession, when it is already half fermented, producing Oolong tea.
_________________________________________________________
Chinese Green tea:
…has the longest history and still ranks first in output and variety today. It delivers a freshness and natural fragrance.
Famous green tea include: (some examples)
LongJing (Dragon Well) Tea from the West Lake in Hangzhou.
MaoFeng Tea from Huangshan Mountain.
YinZhen (Silver Needle) Tea from Junshan Mountain.
YunWu (Cloud and Mist) Tea from Lushan Mountain.
LongJing, is one of most famous teas in China.
Named for a village in HangZhou City, ZheJiang Province, and can be subdivided according to the name of its growing place such as:
ShiFeng LongJing Tea - MeiHuaWu LongJing Tea, etc.
It's history extends back more than a thousand years.
A type of green tea, when soaked in hot water it appears a bright green color with special fragrance.
The best LongJing is call ChiChiang ("flag and spear"). Picked in early April, when every branch of the tea tree has only one sprout and one leave. When placed in hot water, the sprout looks like a tipped spear and the leave extended like a flag.
The best tea is very rare and expensive due to its short picking time, approx two weeks in April every year. Normal tea can be picked up anytime throughout the whole summer.
Oolong- (Wulong) Tea:
... Some of the well known are:
TieGuanYin and ShuiXian, both made in FuJian Prov., and Tuo Tea made in YunNan Prov. Taiwan produces some of the best “high mountain Oolong teas”.
… is a traditional Chinese tea and is the most common tea served in Chinese restaurants.
It's between a green tea and black tea in terms of oxidation.
The taste falls between green and black tea, the best teas are judged by aroma and taste.
Oolong tea leaves are distinct in that when they are dried they take on a black thread-like look which may also be why people say Oolong tea looks like small black dragons when hot water is poured on the leaves.
The processing and refining of Oolong tea occurs in six steps (eight if you count the grading and packaging of the end product).
The very first step once the tea has been harvested is to sun/air dry the tea leaves to remove moisture, a process called wilting. Next, the edges of the tea leaves are bruised so more tea leaf can be oxidized. After bruising, the leaves are tumbled which helps to stop any further oxidization. Leaves are then dried and stirred in a pan, after which they are cooled and further dried. At this point, the tea may be graded and consumed, or packaged for sale.
TieGuanYin is a premium Oolong tea:
.. associated with Anxi in the Fujian province. Named after the Buddhist deity Guan Yin, it has also been translated as "Iron Goddess of Mercy". Recently the tea has been grown in Nantou, Formosa where it thrives.
It produces a fragrant orchid-like aroma when steeped, the tea may be floral or fruity.
Story Time:
The legend behind this tea has many variations but the following is the most common:
Deep in the heart of Fujian's Anxi County there was a rundown temple that held inside an iron statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy.
Everyday, on his walk to his tea fields, a poor farmer would pass by and reflect on the worsening condition of the temple.
Something has to be done, thought Mr. Wei. But he did not have the means to repair the temple, poor as he was.Instead the farmer brought a broom and some incense from his home. He swept the temple clean and lit the incense as an offering to Kuan Yin. It's the least I can do, he thought to himself.
Twice a month for many months, he repeated the same task. Cleaning and lighting incense. One night, Kuan Yin appeared to him in a dream. She told him of a cave behind the temple where a treasure awaited him. He was to take the treasure for himself, but also to share it with others.
In the cave, the farmer found a single tea shoot. He planted it in his field and nurtured it into a large bush, of which the finest tea was produced.
He gave cuttings of this rare plant to all his neighbors and began selling the tea under the name Ti Kuan Yin, Iron Goddess of Mercy.Over time, Mr. Wei and all his neighbors prospered.
The rundown temple of Kuan Yin was repaired and became a beacon for the region. And Mr. Wei took joy in his daily trip to his tea fields, never failing to stop in appreciation of the beautiful temple.
Black Tea:
QiMen (pronunced as Chee Men, also spelled as Keemun) has a relatively short history.
First produced in 1875 by a failed civil servant, Yu Quianchen, after he traveled to Fujian province to learn the secrets of black tea production.
Prior to that, only green tea was made in Anhui. The result exceeded his expectations, and the excellent Keemun tea quickly gained popularity in England, and became the most prominent ingredient of the English Breakfast tea blend.
The aroma of QiMen is fruity, with hints of pine (like in Lapsang souchong) and floweriness (but not at all as florid as Darjeeling tea) which creates the very distinctive and balanced taste. Qimen contains less caffeine than Assam tea.
The tea can have a more bitter taste and the smokiness can be more defined depending on the variety.
QiMen is typically enjoyed without milk or sugar; however it goes well with milk as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment