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Tea is a wholly natural product with a diverse character developed by
the combination of climate, soil, rainfall and methods of harvesting
and processing. All tea comes from the plant know as Camellia
Senensis. Tea grows best at altitudes over 2000 feet in warm climates
with cool night air and an abundance
of rainfall. During the spring and summer fresh new leaves and buds
of the tea plant are hand plucke and harvested weekly. Different
teas are produced using different processing methods.
Five basic tea types
- Green Tea - Most Green tea comes from China, Japan and Taiwan.
Green tea is never allowed to wither and ferment. The leaf is killed
by heat as soon as possible after plucking. This stops the chemical
changes that occur from fermentation and withering. As a result of bypassing
the
fermentation process the leaf retains its
olive green color, all natural tannins and only 1% of caffeine by weight.
Green tea also contains substantial amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants.
It has refreshing and calming effects rather than stimulating ones.
It is light in color, somewhat more astringent and subtler in taste.
- Black Tea - Black tea is fully fermented or oxidized. There are
four stages of producing black tea.
- Withering: after plucking the leaves are left overnight to produce excess moisture or wither.
- Rolling: Once done by hand the leaves are then rolled to break up cellular structure releasing enzymes that give it its final color and flavor.
- Oxidation: The rolled leaves are then spread out in a cool humid atmosphere "fermentation room" for 3.5 - 4.5 hours to absorb oxygen. This changes
the leaf from a green to coppery read color.
- Drying: Finally the fermented leaf is fired (dried) in order to stop the process of fermentation, it is at the stage that the leaves turn black.
- Oolong teas- Oolong tea is a semi-oxidized and principally manufactured
in China and Taiwan (Formosa). Oolongs are always whole leaf teas never
broken by rolling.
- White tea- White tea is produced on a very limited scale. New buds are plucked before they open and allowed to wither and then dried.
- Scented teas- Green, oolong and black teas are all used to make scented teas. The additional flavorings are mixed with the leaf as a final stage before the tea is packed. Additions such as Jasmine blossoms
rose petal, oils and fruit pieces can be blended to create a tremendous variety of teas.
Herbal,
fruit and flower tisanes and infusions do not contain any procucts from
the Camellia Senensis plant. |
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