- About the Tea Plant.
- Tea Production?
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Major Tea Producing Countries.
- Green Tea.
- Black Tea.
- White Tea.
- Oolong Tea.
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Grading in Black Tea Production?
The scientific name for tea is Camellia sinensis. Usually the beverage of tea is made by steeping processed leaves, buds or twigs of the tea leaves in hot water for a few minutes.
Legend has it that tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. While historically the origin of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear, China is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use in its history dating back to the first millennium BC. The Han Dynasty used tea as medicine. The use of tea as a beverage drunk for pleasure on social occasions dates from the Tang Dynasty or earlier.
Tang Dynasty writer and poet Lu Yu's "Classic of Tea" is an early work on the subject. According to his book, around 760AD, tea drinking was widespread. The book describes how tea plants were grown, the leaves processed, and tea prepared as a beverage. It also describes how tea was evaluated. The book also discusses where the best tea leaves were produced.
During that time In Tang Dynasty(618-907AD) the style of tea preparation and production was very different from the today's tea making. Tea leaves were processed into compressed cakes form. The dried teacake, generally called brick tea was ground in a stone mortar. Hot water was added to the powdered teacake, or the powdered teacake was boiled in earthenware kettles then consumed as a hot beverage.
After picking, tea leaves will soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried quickly. Tea leaves turn progressively darker as a result of the breaking down of chlorophyll and releasing of tannins . This enzymatic oxidation is called fermentation in the tea industry although there is no true fermentation.
Oxidation is the key in tea making. Because the basic difference between 4 main types of tea is the degree of oxidation.
Below are some basic steps in tea making. The 4 main types of tea share very similar procedures but with variations in timing and in adding or eliminating some of the steps.
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Picking/Plucking: Picking is done either by hand or machine. Hand picking is done when a high quality tea is being produced. It is done by pulling the leaves or flush (terminal bud and two young leaves) with a snap of the wrist that does not involve twisting, pinching or any kind of damage to the flush. When tea flushes are picked by machine there will be more broken leaves and partial flushes, which will result in a lower grade leaf style. Hand picking is more common where tea is grown on mountain slopes.
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Wilting/Withering: The process of wilting or withering is done to remove excess water from the leaves and induce a very light oxidation (less than 5%). The leaves can be either put under the sun or left in a cool breezy room to pull moisture out from the leaves.
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Bruising: In order to promote and quicken oxidation, the leaves may be bruised by tumbling in baskets or by being kneaded or rolled-over by heavy wheels. This also releases some of the leaf juices, which may aid in oxidation and change the taste profile of the tea.
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Oxidation: For teas that require oxidation, the leaves are left on their own in a closed room where they turn progressively darker. In this process the chlorophyll in the leaves is enzymatically broken down, and its tannins are released or transformed. This process is referred to as
fermentation in the tea industry, although no true fermentation happens since the process is not driven by microorganisms. The tea producer may choose when the oxidation should be stopped. For light oolong teas this may be anywhere from 5-40% oxidation, in darker oolong teas 60-70%, and in black teas 100% oxidation.
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Kill-green: Kill-green is done in order to stop the oxidation at a desired level. This process is accomplished by moderately heating tea leaves. Traditionally, the tea leaves are panned in a wok or steamed. Nowadays, in mass production, kill-green is done by baking or "panning" in a rolling drum.
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Shaping: The damp tea leaves are then rolled to be formed into wrinkle strips. This is typically done by placing the damp leaves in large cloth bags, which are then kneaded by hand or machine to form the strips. This rolling action also causes some of the sap and juices inside the leaves to ooze out, which further enhances the taste of the tea. The strips of tea can then be formed into other shapes, such as being rolled into spirals, kneaded and rolled into pellets, or tied into balls and other elaborate shapes.
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Drying: This is usually the last step in tea processing (some tea may require aging, curing (flavoring in addition to drying). Drying can be done by panning, sunning, air drying, or baking.
China
China is the birthplace of tea. It is believed that southwestern China is the birth place of tea. China produces more varieties than any other country. Green teas and Oolong teas account for almost 3 quarters of Chinese tea production. Normally in China there are four pickings in a year: 1) "Early Spring Flush" -- leaves are picked in April when the most delicate leaf buds appear. 2) "Late Spring Flush" -- leaves are picked in late May/early June when the tea bushes are fully grown. 3) "Summer Flush" -- picked in July. 4) "Autumn Flush" -- picked after August and before October. Some of the famous Chinese teas are Yunnan (black tea), Keemun (black tea), Lapsang (black tea), Jasmine Tea (flavored green tea), Gunpoweder (green tea), Dragonwell (green tea), Silver Needle (white tea), Peony (white tea), and Ti Kuan Yin (oolong).
India
In recent years, India has surpassed China and become the world's largest tea producer. India alone accounts for about a third of the world's total. However, due to the India's large population and its huge demand for tea, only about half of India's production is exported. There are three major tea growing regions: Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri. India produces almost exclusively all black tea. Today, teas are still cultivated on small family gardens/plots. Number of tea gardens is close to forty thousand.
Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Tea from Sri Lanka is often called Ceylon Tea. (Ceylon is the old colonial name of Sri Lanka) Ceylon is the third largest producer of tea in the world. Three famous growing regions in Ceylon are Dimbula, Uva and Nuwara Eliya. Most Ceylon tea bushes are grown in Sri Lanka's Mountainous areas at elevations between 3,000 and 8,000 feet. Ceylon teas are generally classified by altitude. Usually a higher-grown Ceylon tea is regarded superior as oppose to lower altitude grown tea.
Japan
Japan is mainly a green tea producer. Since most Japanese are tea drinkers, only about 2% of its production is exported. Some of the famous Japanese teas exported are Sencha, Genmaicha and Gyokuro. Tea plays a very important role in Japan's culture, history, social life and daily life.
Taiwan (Formosa)
Taiwan is also is often called Formosa by westerners. Formosa, meaning "beautiful island", is a name given by Portuguese sea traders. The majority of the tea production from Taiwan is Oolong tea. Only about two percent of Taiwan's famous teas are exported. Some famous Taiwan teas are Champagne Oolongs, Jade oolongs, and Pouchong tea.
Green Tea is a lightly oxidized (5-15%) tea. The oxidation process is stopped after a minimal amount of oxidation by application of heat; either with steam, a traditional Japanese method; or by dry cooking in hot pans, the traditional Chinese method. Green tea is processed within one to two days of harvesting.
Chinese and Japanese Green Tea
There are 2 traditional methods, Chinese and Japanese, in making Green Tea. The differences between the two are the in the Kill Green Process where the Japanese Green Tea uses a steam then dry method while the Chinese implements a pan-frying method to finally seal and lock the moisture content.
Health Benefits
Green tea has been credited with providing a wide variety of health benefits, many of which have not been validated by scientific evidence. These claims and any for which academic citations are currently missing are listed here:
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Stopping certain neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Preventing/treating cancer.
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Treating multiple sclerosis.
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Preventing the degradation of cell membranes by neutralizing the spread of free radicals (which occurs during the process of oxidation).
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Reducing the negative effects of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by lowering levels of triglycerides and increasing the production of HDL cholesterol good cholesterol.
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Increasing fat oxidation (helps the body use fat as an energy source) and raising metabolism.
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Japanese researchers claim if you drink five cups of green tea a day, you'll burn 70 to 80 extra calories. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, an anti-aging specialist, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show and told Oprah's viewers they can lose 10 lbs. in 6 weeks drinking green tea instead of coffee.
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Drinking green tea mixed with honey can oftentimes have a soothing effect on a sore throat.
Black Tea is a fully fermented (oxidized) tea. It is the most common form of tea in southern Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc.). Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the more lightly oxidized teas. The characteristic flavors of black tea range from flowery to fruity, nutty and spicy.
Processing and Production of Black Tea
- After the harvest, the leaves are first withered by blowing air on them.
- Then black teas are processed in either of two ways, CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) or orthodox. The CTC method is used for lower quality leaves that end up in tea bags and are processed by machines. This method is efficient and effective for producing a better quality product from medium and lower quality leaves. Orthodox processing is done either by machines or by hand. Hand processing is used for high quality teas. While the methods employed in orthodox processing differ by tea type, this style of processing results in the high quality loose tea sought by many connoisseurs.
- Next, the leaves are oxidized under controlled temperature and humidity. (This process is also called "fermentation" although no actual fermentation is taken place.)
- Then the leaves are dried to arrest the oxidation process.
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Finally, the leaves are sorted into grades according their sizes (whole leaf, broken leaf, fannings and dust), usually with the use of sieves. The tea could be further sub-graded according to other criteria.
Below are the basic grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea
OP (Orange Pekoe)
FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe)
GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
FTGFOP (Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
SFTGFOP (Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
To describe very briefly, White Tea is a kind of tea that has not undergone any oxidation (fermentation) process. When infused, white tea makes a pale yellow cup color and a delicate, fresh flavor.
Production:
Take the most common white tea, Peony (Pai Mu Tan), as an example. Pai Mu Tan leaves are plucked from a special varietal tea bush called Narcissus or chaicha bushes. Secondly the leaves are not steamed or pan-fired (the process used in green teas). The leaves are naturally withered and dried in the sun. If mechanical drying is required it is a baking process at temperatures less that 40’C. Thirdly only special ‘two leaves and a bud’ are selected. These leaves must show a very light green almost gray white color and be covered with velvet peach fuzz down. White teas that are withered in conditions that are too hot with become reddish and in conditions that are too cold they will become blackish.
Health Benefits:
Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute in Oregon tested white teas on selected rates to test for the ability of white teas to inhibit natural mutations in bacteria and to protect the rates from colon cancer. Interestingly, white teas were found to be more effective than green tea in inhibiting the early stages of cancer but researchers were quick to point out that their study was on rats and the effects should not be extrapolated to humans. The researchers also discovered that white tea contains higher levels of caffeine compared to green tea brewed under the same conditions. They suggested that this could occur because white tea oxidizes during withering whereas in green tea the oxidation process is stopped early in the tea making process by steaming or panfiring.
The western cosmetic industry has recently discovered the benefits of white tea. In addition to its anticancer properties, tea has a calming and detoxifying effect on the skin. White tea is especially potent in that it is has three times as many antioxidant polyphenols as green or black tea and has been shown to be 100% more effective in mopping up free radicals that cause skin to sag. Some of the world’s top cosmetic companies are becoming very interested in white tea for skin creams and the result is that high grade white tea is becoming even rarer than before.
*Information provided by Metropolitan Tea Import
Oolong Tea is semi fermented which is one of the reasons it has such a unique character. The semi fermentation gives the tea a little bit more body than a green tea but less body than a black tea ... and interestingly it gives the flavor a very unique twist. You will see (particularly in the infused leaf) that the edges of the leaves are slightly bruised (brownish). The reason for this is that the leaves are lightly bruised to start the oxidation process. Because they are more full bodied than green teas, oolong teas must not be picked too early or at too tender a stage. They must be produced immediately. Unlike leaves for green tea, those destined to be oolong are wilted in the direct sun and then shaken in tubular bamboo baskets to bruise the leaf edges. The bruising is what make the edges oxidize faster than the center. After 15-25 minutes (depending upon ambient temperature and humidity levels) the tea is fired, locking in the special flavor profile.
The grades in black tea are indication of the size and/or appearance of the tea leaves but not the quality (taste, aroma, liquor). Good quality teas are usually of higher grades, but there is no guarantee that a tea of higher grade is of good quality.
Below Are Some Basic Grades of Tea Leaves (From High to Low)
1. FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe) Grades:
Usually in a flush (tea picking season or harvest), a small quantity of Tippy or Flowery grades are made. Usually reserved tea or high value estate tea are of flowery grades. They are much more expensive to produce than run-of-the-mill grades, because it involves sorting out the tea tips by hand. FOP tea is made with pickings containing a young leaf from the top of a tea branch and one leaf bud. FOP grades have very good liquors and strength.
Flowery Orange Pekoe Grades:
FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe)
GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
FTGFOP (Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
SFTGFOP (Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)
2. OP (Orange Pekoe) Grades:
The most common grade for breakfast tea and flavored tea. Orange Pekoe leaves are Long, thin, wiry leaves which sometimes contain the tip. It is usually a tea made with pickings containing the top 2 leaves and one leaf bud from a tea branch. The liquors of OP are usually lighter than flowery grades.
Orange Pekoe Grades:
OP (Orange Pekoe) -- most often used as a breakfast tea or a flavored tea(tea with other flavorings such as bergamot oil, cinnamon and so on)
BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) -- BOP grade is one of the more sought after. Leaves are much smaller than OP and contains substantial amount of tips. It also has good color and strength.
3. P (Pekoe):
The Pekoe leaves are shorter and not so wiry as OP. Usually it is a tea made with pickings containing the top 3 leaves and one leaf bud from a tea branch.
Pekoe Grades:
P (Pekoe) -- Sometimes used to make breakfast. It is also often used to make flavored tea and used as a filer in blends (such as English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast and so on).
BP (Broken Pekoe) -- Slightly larger than BOP, but with rather less color in the cup. It is used primarily as a filler in blends.
4. PS (Pekoe Souchong or some times called Pure Souchong):
PS is larger than Pekoe. It is often used as a filler in blends.
Pekoe Grades:
PS (Pekoe Souchong
BPS (Broken Pekoe Souchong)
5. S (Souchong):
Souchong leaves are bold and round. It is often used to make tea bags.
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