I Love Tea (Part 6): Indian and Sri Lankan Teas

Assam Tea

• Black tea from the region of its production: Assam, India
• Mostly grown at or near sea level or lowland, unlike Darjeelings and Nilgiris which are grown in the highlands
• Though "Assam" generally denotes the distinctive black teas from Assam, the region produces relatively smaller quantities of green and white teas as well with their own distinctive characteristics
• Historically, Assam is the second commercial tea production region after southern China

Darjeeling Tea

• From the Darjeeling region in West Bengal, India
• Traditionally prized above all other black teaasa, especially in the UK and the countries comprising the former British Empire
• Unlike most Indian tea, Darjeeling is normally made from the small-leaved Chinese variety of Camellia sinensis
• Traditionally Darjeeling tea is made as black tea; however, Darjeeling oolong and green teas are becoming more commonly produced and easier to find, and a growing number of estates are also producing prized white teas
• Tea planting in the Indian district of Darjeeling was begun during 1841 by a Dr. Campbell, a civil surgeon of the Indian Medical Service. Campbell was transferred to Darjeeling in 1839 and used seeds from China to begin experimental tea planting, a practice that he and others continued during the 1840s. The government also established tea nurseries during that period. Commercial exploitation began during the 1850s.
• The modern Darjeeling style employs a hard wither (35-40 % remaining leaf weight after withering), which in turn causes an incomplete oxidation for many of the best teas of this designation, which technically makes them a form of oolong. Many Darjeeling teas also appear to be a blend of teas oxidized to levels of green, oolong, and black.
• Harvest period are: 1st Flush (mid-March), In Between (between 2 flush periods), 2nd Flush (June), Monsoon or Rains (monsoon/rainy season), Autumnal Flush (autumn/after rainy season)

Nilgiri Tea

• From Nilgiri District, India
• The vast majority of production is undertaken by small growers, who typically own less than one hectare each; The majority of Nilgiri tea small growers are Badagas people, a local community of agriculturists.
• More than 50% of Nilgiri tea is exported, and usually finds its way into blends used for tea bags
• The expensive hand-sorted, full-leaf versions of the tea like the Orange Pekoe (O.P.) are highly sought after at international auctions making it unaffordable for most locals
• In November 2006 a Nilgiri Tea achieved "Top Honours" and fetched a world record price of $600 per kg

Ceylon Tea (Sri Lanka)

• There are Ceylon black, green, and white teas
• Sri Lanka (previously named Ceylon) is the fourth biggest tea producing country globally, after China, India and Kenya and has a production share of 9% in the international sphere, and one of the world's leading exporters with a share of around 19% of the global demand
• The plantations started by the British were initially taken over by the government in the 1960s, but have been privatized and are now run by 'plantation companies' which own a few 'estates' or tea plantations each
• Ceylon tea is divided into 3 groups as Upcountry, Mid country and Low country tea based on the geography of the land on which it is grown
• The production of black tea in Ceylon began after a deadly fungus called Coffee rust destroyed most of the coffee crop on the island. This fungal outbreak was first noticed in 1856 and had ended Ceylon coffee production by the 1880s. The coffee plantation owners realized that they needed to diversify. The Loolecondera Estate had long been interested in producing tea in Sri Lanka.
• James Taylor, one of the fathers of Ceylon Tea, had recently arrived on the Estate and wanted to be there for the sowing of the first tea crops in 1867. It was done on 19 acres (77,000 m²) of land. James Taylor was already experienced in tea cultivation. He had acquired his knowledge in North India. He carried out different experiments on cultivating tea on the verandah of his estate.
  
• The tea that James Taylor made was delicious and sold for a very good price in the London Auction. The tea craze hit Ceylon. By 1890 tea production was at 22,900 tons, up from just a mere 23 pounds between 1873 and 1880.
• Until 1971, most of the tea companies in Sri Lanka were British-owned, but this soon changed after the Land Reform Act was introduced to reacquire land in foreign hands. Since 1990, a new plan has been devised to share the industry between state-owned companies and privately-owned companies.
  
• Today Lipton, Sir Winston and Dilmah Tea are the most widely-known Ceylon tea brands around the world

I Love Tea (Part 5): Japanese Teas

Quick Facts

• All Japanese tea is green tea
• Chinese tea is usually pan-fired, while Japanese tea is mostly steam-fired
  

Japanese Teas

1. Sencha - Roasted Tea - 煎茶

• Made without grinding the tea leaves
• Unground tea was brought from China after matcha (抹茶, powdered green tea). Some varieties expand when steeped to resemble leaf vegetable greens in smell, appearance, and taste.
• Sencha is very popular in Japan, and is drunk hot in the cooler months and usually chilled in the summer months

2. Kabusecha - Covered Tea - 被せ茶

• Produced in very limited amounts
• Has a mellower flavor than most other Sencha teas.
• Kabusecha is a Sencha tea cultivated in un-shaded gardens exposed to direct sunlight which requires shading the tea plants a few weeks prior to harvest
• Special nets (kabuse) are hung over the plants to obtain a natural shade without completely letting out sunlight

3. Shincha - New Tea - 新茶

• Shincha tea is the first year's harvest of Sencha
• Represents the first month's harvest of Sencha
• Over three quarters of all tea produced in Japanese tea gardens is Sencha, a tea selected for its pleasant sharpness and fresh qualities complementing a leaf of high uniformity and rich emerald colour. Today Sencha is steam treated before further processing with hot-air drying.
• Available for a limited time during the first crop of tea it is popular in Japan and is available in only limited amounts outside of it
• The earliest season Shincha (first month's Sencha harvest) is available in late April through may in the south of Japan, and prized for its high vitamin content, sweetness and superior flavour

4. Bancha - Common Tea - 番茶

• More widely available in the West
• It is harvested from the same tree as sencha grade, but it is plucked later than sencha is, giving it a lower market grade
• It is considered to be the lowest grade of green tea
• Bancha is not much drunk in Japan, except among the mountain farmers, but it still has qualities of its own and some people prefer it to Sencha as it has a more robust flavour
• The basis for Genmaicha and Hojicha

5. Hōjicha - Pan-fired Tea - 焙じ茶

• Hōjicha is often made from Bancha
• Roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal
  
• The tea is fired at high temperature, altering the leaf colour tints from green to reddish-brown
• The roasting process used to make Hōjicha lowers the amount of caffeine in the tea
• Because of its mildness, Hōjicha is a popular tea to serve during the meal or after the evening meal before going to sleep and even preferred for children and elderly

6. Genmaicha - Popcorn Tea / Brown Rice Tea - 玄米茶

• Genmaicha is Bancha mixed with roasted brown rice, some grains of which have popped
• Sometimes referred to colloquially as "popcorn tea" because a few grains of the rice pop during the roasting process and resemble popcorn
• This type of tea was originally drunk by poor Japanese, as the rice served as a filler and reduced the price of the tea; which is why it is also known as the "people's tea". Today it is consumed by all segments of society.
• Tea steeped from these tea leaves has a light yellow hue
• Genmaicha is also sold with matcha (powdered green tea) added to it. This product is called Matcha-iri genmaicha. Matcha-iri genmaicha has a similar flavor to plain genmaicha but the flavor is often stronger and the color more green than light yellow.

7. Kukicha - Stalk / Stick / Twig Tea - Kokei Cha - 茎茶

• Made of stems, stalks, and twigs
• Plucked at the same time as Bancha, but where Bancha is the leaves, Kokei Cha is the stems, stalks, and twigs, which are ground into a paste and extruded like spaghetti into strands which are dried and baked
• Effective in neutralizing the body's acid levels and it is rich in natural tannins
• A powerful antioxidant and extremely low in caffeine (the vast majority of the caffeine is in the leaves, not the stems)
• The tea is not highly regarded in Japan and is used as a low-grade tea
  

8. Gyokuro - Jewel Dew - 玉露

• Gyokuro is the best tea of Japan and is served to special guests on important occasions
• It is grown under the shade rather than the full sun
• Gyokuro tea leaves are shielded from the sun for at least two weeks before being harvested: This causes the amino acids (Theanine) and caffeine in the tea leaves to increase, while catechin (the source of bitterness in tea, along with caffeine) decreases, giving rise to a sweet flavour
• More than 40% of Gyokuro is produced in Yame (in Fukuoka Prefecture)
• Unique method for brewing gyokuro: use twice the weight in dry tea leaves for a given quantity of water, use a lower brewing temperature(50°C-60°), a longer steeping duration

9. Matcha - Rubbed Tea - 抹茶

• Powdered Gyokuro used particularly in the Japanese tea ceremony, as well as to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of wagashi (Japanese confectionery)
• The most famous matcha-producing regions are Uji in Kyoto, Nishio in Aichi, Shizuoka, and northern Kyūshū
• Matcha is generally expensive compared to other forms of tea, although its price depends on its quality
• Only the finest tea buds are hand picked, and it can take up to one hour to grind 30 grams of matcha
• To brew Matcha, the tea powder is mixed with hot water and whisked briskly with a bamboo whisk. This helps dissolve the tea and produces a froth which is believed by many to improve the flavour of the tea.
  

10. Kariganecha

• Similar to Kukicha, but it is made from the stems of Gyokuro
• Again, it has very little caffeine
• The liquor is a yellow-green colour with very little bitterness

11. Kamairicha - Pan-Fired Tea - 窯煎茶

• Fired in hot iron pans, then rolled
• Kamairicha is a Japanese tea that does not undergo the usual steam treatments of Japanese tea and does not have the characteristic bitter taste of most Japanese tea
• After a short withering, they are fired in hot iron pans of up to 300°C with repeated agitation to prevent charring
• Kamairicha is processed as a pelleted or flat leaf
• Flavor/Aroma: This Kamairi process develops sweet, mildly roasted flavors, which are very similar to the pan-fried teas produced in China today. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Chinese green tea’ by the Japanese owing to the pan-frying processing of this richly flavored tea.

12. Mecha - Bud Tea - 芽茶

• Popular after-dinner tea made from early leaf buds
• Mecha is harvested in spring and made as rolled leaf teas that are graded somewhere between Gyokuro and Sencha in quality
• Mecha are made from a collection of leaf buds and tips of the early crops
• Sushi restaurants in Japan known as Agari, use top quality Mecha served with the meal
• Mecha's bitter qualities make it a good tea to drink after meals to cleanse the palate
  

I Love Tea (Part 4): Chinese Teas

Legend

• According to planet-tea: Legend has it that dating back to 2700 BCE, tea leaves were blown by the wind and accidentally fell into a Chinese Herbalist's pot of hot water. The water now tasted of these wild leaves, and the herbalist, Shen Nung, found its soothing taste and fine flavors so irresistible that he instructed all of his people to drink the beverage.
• According to Wikipedia: Tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC. It is said that the emperor liked his drinking water boiled before he drank it so it would be clean, so that is what his servants did. One day, on a trip to a distant region, he and his army stopped to rest. A servant began boiling water for him to drink, and a dead leaf from the wild tea bush fell into the water. It turned a brownish color, but it was unnoticed and presented to the emperor anyway. The emperor drank it and found it very refreshing, and cha (tea) was born.

Quick Facts

• Tea is native to China
• Many different types of tea were grown during each of the dynasties in China
• In ancient China, tea was used for medication and to mark high status of the nobles

10 China Famous Teas (reference: chinese-tea.net)

1. (Xi Hu) Longjing - Dragon Well - 西湖龍井 - Green Tea

• From Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
• Divided into seven grades: Superior, Special, and then 1 down to 5.Long Jing is often called the national drink of China and is frequently given to visiting heads of state
• Tea leaves are pan fired (not fried) to stop the fermentation process
• It was widely known that to achieve the best taste from Longjing, spring water from the "Hu Pao Quan" was to be used. Water is boiled then cooled to about 80 degrees celsius before being used to brew the tea leaves.
• So popular that even Queen Elizabeth II, former US President Richard Nixon, and Henry Kissinger once tasted this tea during their visit to China

2. (Dong Ting) Bi Luo Chun - Spring Snail - 洞庭碧螺春 - Green Tea

• From Dong Ting Mountain, Tai Hu, Jiangsu Province, China
• Also known as Pi Lo Chun
• Renowned for its delicate appearance, fruity taste, floral aroma, showy white hairs and early cropping
• Tea leaves are rolled into a tight spiral, resembling snail meat, and is cropped early spring (that's why it's called Green Spring Snail)

3. Tie Guan Yin - Iron Goddess - 鐵觀音 - Oolong Tea

• From Anxi, Fujian province, China
• Named after the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (known in Chinese as Guan Yin)
• There are many legends surrounding the origin of its name and one of it tells the story of a kind-hearted but poor farmer named Wei Yin. Despite working hard every day to make a living, Wei Yin would spend his free time tending an abandoned Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) temple he found near his place. One day, he fell asleep in the temple and dreamed about the Goddess telling him to look for a cave behind the temple. There, he found a single tea shoot where he took home and planted it in an iron pot. Slowly, it grew into a tea bush with exceptional quality tea leaves. Wei then gave cuttings to his neighbors and friends to grow. The County soon prospered due to the popularity of the tea.
  
• Tie Guan Yin can now be found in the menu of most Chinese restaurants throughout the world.

4. (Huang Shan) Mao Feng - Fur Peak - 黃山毛峰 - Green Tea

• From Mountain Huang, Anhui Province, China
  
• The mountain’s clouds and mists are beautiful, and so is the superb tea that the region produces. Tender tips are hand-plucked and brew a golden colour with a mellow, sweet finish. A prized spring tea in China.

5. (Junshan) Yinzhen - Silver Needle - 君山銀針 - Yellow Tea

• From Junshan Island, Dongting Lake, Hunan Province, a flood-basin of the Yangtze River.
• The tea bushes all grow on Junshan Island and the leaf buds are plucked by hand while still unopened. This is a Yellow tea. It is similar to green and white tea, but with an additional step during processing. After steaming to denature the enzymes, the tea is left under mats for the flavours to develop in the absence of air. The result is a tea with a sweeter, richer flavour than green tea, with a character sometimes described as smoky.
• This tea was sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin as China's National Gift in 2006
• The yearly production of this tea is very limited, using only before and early Qing Ming harvest
• Tea leaves picked after this period were processed into other teas such as Jun Shan Mao Jian and Jun Shan Lu Cha
• Jun Shan Yin Zhen was an Imperial Tribute tea back in the ancient days, and is also well-known as Chairman's Mao favorite tea
• Processing this yellow tea requires great skill and effort, so many tea masters prefer to use the green tea processing methods instead as not only is it easier, but the finished product have a much better appearance

6. Qi Men Hong - Keemun - 祁門紅茶 - Black Tea

• From Qimen County of Huangshan City in the Anhui Province
• The name Keemun is simply the English version of Qimen
• The first black tea produced in Anhui (1875), it achieved rapid success in England when it became one of the constituents of the English Breakfast blend
• It is usually described as having a quite distinct smoky and fruity taste
• It was 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
• Keemun tea quickly gained popularity in England, and became the most prominent ingredient of the English Breakfast tea blend

7. Da Hong Pao - Big Red Robe - 武夷大紅袍 - Oolong Tea

• One of the four Wuyi Oolong tea
• Less than one kilogram of tea is harvested from these plants each year, of which a portion is retained by the Chinese government
• The remainder of this original and real Da Hong Pao is auctioned, with an initial asking price of 4000 RMB/100 g, but often reaching millions of dollars per kilogram
• Xiao Hong Pao, or Small Red Robe refers to Da Hong Pao grown from plants of fourth or greater generation, but the term is rarely used - usually Xiao Hong Pao is simply sold as Hong Pao, for marketing purposes
• As it's of very high quality, the Da Hong Pao is usually reserved for honored guests

8. (Lu An) Gua Pian - Melon Seed - 六安瓜片 - Green Tea

• From Lu An, Anhui Province.
• Made without buds or stems and processed by pan-frying just 100g at a time
• Gua Pian is unique because it is processed using only the leaf part (without the bud)
• Lu An Gua Pian is said to be able to help improves vision and relief sleep disorder

9. Bai Hao Yinzhen - White Fur Silver Needle - 白毫银针 - White Tea

• From Fujian Province in Chin
• Amongst white teas this is the most expensive variety and the most prized as only top buds are used to produce the tea
• Most Yinzhen is made from the Da Bai or Large White tea tree race, however there are exceptions such as the big bud teas from Yunnan
• This tea is best prepared with below boiling water (at about 75 degrees Celsius) and produces a slightly viscous glittering pale yellow color with evidence of floating white hairs that reflect light. The flavor and fragrance should be delicate, light, fresh, and slightly sweet. Steeping should be for slightly longer than other white teas, up to 5 minutes, and the amount of tea to be used is usually higher

10. Pu-erh - 云南普洱 - Post-fermented Tea

• Named after Pu'er county near Simao, Yunnan, China
• Pu-erh tea can be purchased as either raw/green (sheng) or ripened/cooked (shou), depending on processing method or aging (Sheng pu-erh can be roughly classified on the tea oxidation scale as a green tea, and the shou or aged-green variants as post-fermented tea)
• Unlike other teas that should ideally be consumed shortly after production, pu-erh can be drunk immediately or aged for many years; pu-erh teas are often now classified by year and region of production much like wine vintages
• While there are many counterfeit pu-erhs on the market and real aged pu-erh is difficult to find and identify, it is still possible to find pu-erh that is 10 to 50 years old, as well as a few from the late Qing dynasty
• Pu-erh tea is available as loose leaf or as cakes of compacted tea

References:
http://www.planet-tea.com/teas_origin.html
http://www.teaspring.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea_in_China
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_tea
http://chinese-tea.net/10-famous-tea.htm

I Love Tea (Part 3): Brands of Tea

Some famous tea companies:

Lipton

• One of the world's best-known and best-selling brands of both hot leaf and ready-to-drink tea
• Created at the end of the 19th century by Sir Thomas Lipton in Glasgow, Scotland
• It is currently owned by Uniliever
• Brands: Lipton Yellow Label, Lipton Iced Tea (joint venture with PepsiCo), Lipton Pyramid Tea

Tata Tea Limited (Tata-Tetley)

• The world's second largest manufacturer and distributor of tea
• Owned by India's Tata Group
• Brands: Tata Tea (largest in India), Tetley (largest in UK and Canada, 2nd largest in US), Good Earth Teas, and JEMCA (Czech's leading tea company)
• Largest manufacturer of Assam Tea and Darjeeling Tea; 2nd largest manufacturer of Ceylon Tea

Twinings

• Tea company based in Andover, Hampshire, England
• Founder Thomas Twining opened the first known tea room, at 216 Strand, London, in 1706, still operating today
• Owned by Associated British Foods since 1964

Dilmah

• Up-market brand of Ceylon tea
• The company was founded in 1974 by Merrill J. Fernando in Sri Lanka
• Named after the founder's children
  

Nestea

• Brand of iced tea manufactured by Nestle
• Distributed by Nestle company's beverage department in the US and by Beverage Partners Worldwide (joint venture between The Coca-Cola Company and Nestle) in the rest of the world
• Nestea's biggest markets are the US, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and Vietnam

SariWangi

• SariWangi is an Indonesian brand owned by Unilever which was introduced in 1973 in teabag format
• SariWangi is the leading archetypal tea brand exclusively operating in the tea bag segment
• Indonesia has a strong tea culture with 3 main flavor, Jasmine concentrate in Central & East Java, Vanilla flavor concentrate in Sumatra and the last is Black tea flavor with where concentrate in West & East Java and outer island
• In 2006 & 2007 Sariwangi got ICSA (Indonesia Customer Satisfaction Award) held by SWA and Frontier

I Love Tea (Part 2): Tea Processing

Different types of tea come from the different ways of processing tea leaves. There are five steps in tea processing:

Plucking / Picking

• Plucked twice a year during early spring and early summer/late spring
• Plucking rounds depend on climate; new growth can be plucked at 7 - 12 day intervals during the growing season
• Tea harvesting is exhaustive and labour intensive (2000-3000 tea leaves = 1 kg of unprocessed tea)
• Hand picking is needed for high quality tea leaves
  

Withering

• Withering is to reduce the moisture in the tea leaves by up to 70% (varies from region to region)
• Tea leaves are evenly and thinly spread to let the air dry the leaves
  
• Heated air is forced over the leaves if the climate is not suitable
• This process takes around 12 to 17 hours
• At the end of this time the leaf is limp and pliable and so will roll well
  

Rolling

• Tea is placed into a rolling machine, which rotates horizontally on the rolling table
• This action creates the twisted wiry looking tealeaves
• During the rolling process the leaves are also broken open, which starts the third process - oxidisation
  

Oxidation

• Tea is laid out on tables whereby the enzymes inside the tea leaves come in to contact with the air and start to oxidize
  
• This process began once the leaf membranes were broken during the rolling process
• Oxidation creates the flavor, bright copper in color, and strength of the tea.
• Oxidisation takes from between half an hour to 2 hours
• This process is monitored constantly with the use of a thermometer
• For light oolong teas this may be anywhere from 5-40% oxidation, in darker oolong teas 60-70%, and in black teas 100% oxidation
• Green tea does not go through oxidisation process

Drying / Firing

• To stop the oxidising process the tea is passed through hot air dryers
• This reduces the total moisture content down to about 3%

Tasting and Blending

• Processing and grading are exhaustive, and vitally important to teas manufacture
• No two batches of tea are ever alike, even if they come from the same garden, which makes the art of blending extremely complex
• In Twinings: Freshly drawn water is boiled in a copper kettle and poured over five grammes of tea in a special white, lidded ceramic cup. The leaves are infused for precisely six minutes, after which the “liquor” is poured off into a bowl ready for tasting.Tasters examine both dry and wet leaves, judging the brew’s colour and clarity. Then using special spoons, tasters suck the tea sharply against their palates and expel it into spittoons. So well seasoned are tasters’ palates that they can detect the slightest variation on the standard they seek. The taster's job however has not finished, as the tea still needs to be tasted after blending, and during the packing stage. Only when this has been approved, will the tea be ready for distribution.

Sorting and Packaging

• Sorting, or grading, is the final stage in the tea process and one of the most crucial
• Here leaves are sifted into different sizes, then classified according to appearance and type
• When sufficient amount of each grade has been sorted, it is then packed
• Tea chests are used for larger leaf teas as they provide an extra degree of protection against the leaves being damaged in transit
  

Black Tea
The Black tea process goes through the most stages. Once the leaves are picked, they are left to wither for several hours. After the leaves are rolled, oils from the leaves are brought to the surface. These aromatic oils aid in the oxidation process, which last for several hours. The last step consists of placing the leaves in an oven with temperatures reaching up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When the leaves are 80 percent dry, the leaves complete their drying over wood fires. The resulting product is brownish (sometimes black) in color and is sorted accordingly to size, the larger grade is considered "leaf grade," and smaller "broken grade" are usually used for tea bags.

Oolong Tea
Oolong goes through a similar process that black tea goes through. The first two steps are withering and rolling. Instead of rolling, sometimes shaking is done to bruise the outer edges of the leaves. The oxidation period for oolong is half that of black tea. Once the veins become clear and the edges of the leaves become reddish brown, while the center remains green, the oxidation process is stopped by firing. For oolong tea, the leaves are heated at a higher temperature so that they can be kept longer, due to the lower resulting water content.

Green Tea
The process for making green tea is the shortest. Withering is done first, but this step might be omitted. Rolling the leaves to break the membranes for oxidation is skipped, hence the oxidation process is also skipped. After withering, the leaves are pan fried or fired to prevent oxidation from occurring. The last step is to roll the leaves and dry them one last time for its final shape. The green tea leaves usually remain green.

White Tea
Young leaves (new growth buds) that have undergone no oxidation; the buds may be shielded from sunlight to prevent formation of chlorophyll. White tea is produced in lesser quantities than most other styles, and can be correspondingly more expensive than tea from the same plant processed by other methods. It is less well known in countries outside of China, though this is changing with increased western interest in organic or premium teas.

http://www.enjoyingtea.com/teaprocessing1.html
http://www.energymanagertraining.com/tea/pdf/TeaProductionProcess003.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_processing

I Love Tea (Part 1): Types of Tea

Everytime I eat out, i only have one type of drink to order.. It's called Hot Plain Tea. Most of my friends prefer Iced Plain Tea or Iced Sweet Tea, but not in my case. Ever since i can remember, i always drink hot tea without sugar at all. When i was a kid, when i was a teenager, up to now.. when i'm already 20 years old. Oh, and btw i only like to drink Black/Red Tea, not Green Tea.


I jut graduated from college. I plan to go to China this September. However, I'm an unemployed until September.. 0__0.. So, I tried finding a job or at least something to do everyday until it's September. I came up with an idea to start a blog where I can write just about anything I can think of when I enjoy my Hot Plain Tea... ^_^

The first topic... uhm.. let's start with Tea, my all-time fave drink... Hohoho..


What is Tea
The classic definition of tea is the brew made from the infusion of water and the leaves of an evergreen plant of the Camellia family.

Commercially, there are three major varieties of Camellia sinensis: the China type, the India (Assam region) type, and the Hybrid type (a cross breed of the China and India types). The China type tea plant has small leaves and usually grows well at higher altitudes. The India or Assam type has larger leaves and cultivates best at lower elevations. The Hybrid falls somewhere in between the China and India types.

Types of Tea
There are four major types of tea (based on processing): Black, Green, White, and Oolong. Interestingly, all these teas come from the raw leaves of the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. What distinguishes each category is the method used when processing the tea leaves. The way the leaves are processed-steamed, fermented (oxidized), dried, or bruised-gives the tea the special characteristics of its category.

Black Tea or Red Tea ( 黑茶 or 红茶)

• Water should be added at boiling point (100 °C or 212 °F)
• Generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas
• Two principal varieties of the species are used, the small-leaved Chinese variety plant and the large-leaved Assamese plant
• While green tea usually loses its flavor within a year, black tea retains its flavour for several years
• Black tea still accounts for over ninety percent of all tea sold in the West
• Chinese Black Teas: Tibeti (Ya'an, Sichuan), Lapsang Souchong (Mount Wuyi, Fujian), Keemun (Qimen, Anhui), Dian Hong (Yunnan), Ying De Hong (Guangdong)
• Indian Black Teas: Assam (Assam), Darjeeling (West Bengal), Munnar (Karala), Nilgiri (Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu), Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
  
• Other Black Teas: Kenyan (Africa), Vietnamese (Vietnam), Nepalese, Turkish, Thai, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Krasnodar (Russia), Java, Sumatra, Cameron (Cameron Highland, Malaysia)

Green Tea (青茶）

• Water should be added at around 80 °C to 85 °C (176 °F to 185 °F);
• 
• The higher the quality of the leaves, the lower the temperature (hotter water will burn green-tea leaves, producing a bitter taste)
• High-quality green and white teas can have new water added as many as five or more times, depending on variety, at increasingly high temperatures
• Minimal oxidation during processing
• Chinese Green Teas: Xihu Longjing / Dragon Well (Xi Hu, Zhejiang), Bi Luo Chun / Green Snail Spring (Dong Ting, Jiangsu), Xinyang Maojian / Green Tip (Xin Yang, Henan), Gou Gu Nao (Jiangxi), Luan Guapian / Melon Seed (Lu An, Anhui), Huangshan Maofeng & Da Fang (Mount Huang, Anhui)
• Japanese Green Teas (お茶, ocha) : Bancha (common tea), Genmaicha (brown-rice tea), Gyokuro (Jade Dew), Hojicha (roasted tea), Kabusecha (covered tea), Kamairicha (pan-fried tea), Kukicha (stalk tea), Matcha (rubbed tea), Sencha (broiled tea)

Oolong Tea (乌龙茶)

• Water should be around 90 °C to 100 °C (194 °F to 212 °F)
• Somewhere between green and black in oxidation. It ranges from 10% to 70% oxidation.
  
• It is commonly brewed to be strong, with the bitterness leaving a sweet aftertaste
• High quality oolong can be brewed multiple times from the same leaves, and unlike green tea it improves with reuse. It is common to brew the same leaves three to five times, the third steeping usually being the best.
• In Chinese culture, semi-oxidized oolong teas are collectively grouped as qīngchá .
  
• Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea: it lacks the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea but it likewise does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea.
  
• Oolong tea leaves are processed in two different ways. Some teas are rolled into long curly leaves, while some are pressed into a ball-like form. The former method of processing is the older of the two.
• Chinese Oolong Teas: Wuyi Yan Cha (Fujian), Tie Guan Yin (Fujian), Si Da Ming Cong / 4 famous Wuyi Oolong Tea (incl. Da Hong Pao, Shui Jin Giu, Tie Luo Han, Bai Ji Guan)

White Tea

• Uncured and unoxidized tea leaf
• White tea often contains buds and young tea leaves, which have been found to contain lower levels of caffeine than older leaves
• White tea is a specialty of the Chinese province Fujian
• Chinese White Teas: Bai Hao Yinzhen / Silver Needle (Fujian), Bai Mu Dan / White Peony (Fujian), Gong Mei / Tribute Eyebrow, Shou Mei / Noble Eyebrow (Fujian & Guangxi), Puerh Tea (Yunnan)
• Other White Teas: Ceylon White (Sri Lanka), Darjeeling White (Darjeeling, India), Assam White (Assam, India), African White (Malawi, Kenya)
  

Yellow Tea (黄茶)

• Special tea processed similarly to green tea, but with a slower drying phase, where the damp tea leaves are allowed to sit and yellow
• The tea generally has a very yellow-green appearance and a smell different from both white and green tea. The smell is sometimes mistaken for black if the tea is cured with other herbs, but similarities in taste can still be drawn between yellow, green, and white teas.
• Chinese Yellow Teas: Junshan Yinzhen /Silver Needle tea (Junshan Island, Yueyang, Hunan), Huoshan Huangya (Mount Huo, Anhui)
  

Blended Teas

• Tea blending occurs with black tea that is blended to make most tea bags, but can also occur with such teas as Pu-erh, where leaves are blended from different regions before being compressed
• The aim of blending is to create a well balanced flavor using different origins and characters
• Every blend must taste the same as the previous one, so a consumer will not be able to detect a difference in flavor from one purchase to the next
• Blended Teas: Breakfast blends ( English Breakfast Tea, Irish Breakfast Tea), Afternoon Blends -lighter than breakfast blends-, Earl Grey (black tea + bergamot oil), Russian Caravan

Scented Teas

• Tea is able to easily receive any aroma, which may cause problems in processing, transportation or storage of tea, but can be also advantageously used to prepare scented teas
• Tea is usually flavored in large blending drums with perfumes, flavorants, and essential oils added
• Although blending and scenting teas can add an additional dimension to tea, the process is often used to cover and obscure the quality of sub-standard teas
• Flowers: A variety of flowers are used to flavor teas. Although flowers are used to scent teas directly, most flower scented teas on the market utilize perfumes and aromas to augment or replace the use of flowers. The most popular of these teas include the flowers of the following: Jasmine, Osmanthus (桂花茶), Rose, Chrysanthemum, Lotus
• Herbs: Mint -Known as touareg tea, this tea consists of a mixture of green teas and any variety of the Mint plants (known as nana). This tea is very popular in the Middle East and prepared in desert areas of North Africa.
• Other flavorants: citrus oil (Eral Grey Tea), smoke (Lapsang Souchang), rum (Jagertee), Roasted grain (Genmaicha), Spice (spices used - ginger, cardamoom, cinnamon, black pepper, vanilla, nutmeg, etc)

References:
http://www.planet-tea.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oolong_tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tea
http://www.allabouttea.co.uk/