All tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, an evergreen shrub that may grow up to 60 feet in the wild. When cultivated for harvest the tea bushes are kept to a height of about three feet. There are over 3000 varieties of tea each with its own specific characteristics. The naming and growing of teas has many similarities to wine. Just as certain wines, like Merlot, were originally named after the region in which the grapes were grown, tea, like Darjeeling and Yunnan is named after its growing region. Like wine, tea comes from one plant, and where the tea is grown, the climate, soil conditions, and how the tea is processed,
determines the flavor characteristics of the tea.
Black tea is the most popular of tea varieties. Its dark color is the result of a process that was invented in the 17th Century.
Tea leaves, originally green, are oxidized, or allowed to absorb oxygen. This process changes their color and gives black tea its
unique full flavor.
Black tea is made when the freshly plucked leaves are brought to the nearby tea factory and are laid to wither on screens fitted to
long wooden boxes. This process allows air passing through and over the intact leaves to remove moisture. The withered tea, reduced
to about 60% moisture content, is then rolled. Rolling disrupts the cellular structure of the tea leaves, releasing enzymes present
in the leaf that will combine with polyphenols and other constituents in the leaf to form the unique molecular structures which gives
black tea its distinctive flavor and aroma. The leaves are now moved on to the fermentation stage.
Fermentation is actually the oxidation of the tea constituents. Chemical interaction between the various components of the tea leaf
in the presence of oxygen will cause the tea to turn from green to coppery red to deep brown and, finally, a near black color. After
fermentation, the tea is dried, or fired, using air that has been heated to between 210 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. The moisture
content is reduced to around 3%.
Green Tea is the most popular tea variety in Asia. In fact, all tea was originally green. Black tea was invented in
the 17th Century to allow for the long overseas journey from the Orient to Europe. Green Tea is the least processed of all tea
types. As soon as the leaves are plucked from the plant they are steamed or pan fired in order to arrest the active enzymes that
cause oxidation from occurring. As a result of this process the leaves maintain a soft and supple texture that ultimately get
rolled into the desired shape. Once rolled, the leaves continue through another rolling, pan firing, or heating process until the
tea reaches 4% or less of moisture With modern shipping we may now enjoy the luxury of savoring the delicate taste and aroma of
fresh green tea and enjoy its amazing health benefits.
Oolong Tea is a tea variety that's positioned between black and green. It is darker and more flavorful than green tea and more subtle
and delicate than the black variety. Its unique combination of the finest black and green qualities make oolong tea a favorite of
many tea aficionados. Oolong (semi-fermented) tea is processed in a similar fashion to black tea. The freshly plucked leaves are
spread out thinly and withered in the sun for about 30 to 40 minutes. The tea is then transferred indoors and withered at room
temperature for about 6 to 8 hours, with the leaves being gently stirred by hand every hour or so. Some fermentation begins to
take place during this process, and the unique and delightful flavor of Oolong tea begins here. The next step involves pan firing
to kill the enzymes and stop any fermentation. After pan firing, the leaves go through four more processes: a) rolling, b) second
firing, c) cold rolling, and d) final firing. The finest oolong teas come from Formosa (Taiwan) and China.
White Tea is the most delicate of tea varieties and is very lightly oxidized and has very little caffeine. These are
unopened tea leaves. The leaves and buds grown for white tea are actually picked the day before the shoots open and are gathered
in early spring and carefully withered to prevent oxidation. As such, the taste is lighter and more subtle than that of green tea.
Recent studies have found white teas to have more anti-oxidant health benefits than any other variety.