Have you ever wondered where teas come from? Like how are they made? What processes it needs to undergo in order to arrive at the product we all learn to love?
They come everywhere, actually. For the world has fallen in love with teas.
The tea plant, specifically Camellia Sinensis is cultivated mainly in the East. The leader in production is in India. This is probably due to the fact that teas thrive well in moist and humid tropical climates. That is why other countries such Sri Lanka, Tibet and China are also main producers of teas.
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In India, as well as in Pakinstan, tea is considered as one of the popular and well-loved beverage of the people. Tea is drank in a daily basis and can be found in almost all homes. It is the drink of choice to offer guests. It is also consumed in large amounts whether in domestic and official surroundings. Milk is usually added, with or without spices and is served with biscuits.
Other countries such as Japan are also famous for growing and producing teas. The Japanese even incorporated teas into their own culture such as having tea ceremonies just to show how much they prized teas.
But it does not end there. Even the Middle East, Europe and the United States are starting a craze in teas. Take United Kingdom for instance. In Great Britain, tea is known as its national drink. It imports teas at roughly around 500 million pounds of tea every year. Imagine! This is enough to make around 100 billion cups of tea
For the Arabs, tea is the center for many social gatherings. In Iranian (or Persian) culture, drinking tea is very important that it is the first thing that is offered to their houseguests.
In the United States and Canada, tea is consumed in the form of iced tea. This is about 80%.
Then, we need to know where these teas come from originally.
Of course, all teas come from one plant: from the young and tender leaves of Camellia Sinensis, the tea plant. May it be black, pu-erh green, oolong, or white, they all use one and the same plant. But there are two main varieties of tea plants used: first is the China plant (also known as sinensis sinensis) used mainly by the Chinese, Japanese (except Pu-erh teas) and Formosan teas . The second is the clonal Assam tea plant (or C. sinensis) used in almost all Indian teas (except Darjeeling). Other than that, it is the processing that spells the difference.
What are the processes? They involve 5 simple steps: plucking, withering and steaming, rolling, oxidation and drying or firing.
From seeds produced by the white flowers on the tea plant, these plants are grown and cultivated. The places where they are grown are on large farms called tea plantations or tea gardens.
1. Picking - The wait begins. When the plant is about three to five years old, and at a height of three to four feet, they are now ready for harvesting. It is now considered mature enough for its leaves to be picked. The workers, also known as tea pluckers, have the job of picking the best leaves and eventually sending them to a factory for processing. Usually, only the bud and two tiny tea leaves are picked and plucked from only the best tea plants to guarantee the best tasting and quality tea.
2. Withering and Steaming - the process of withering is extremely significant in teas, especially in white, black, oolong and pu-erh teas. What happens during this process is: First, after picking the best leaves, they are all laid out for drying to take place. They are usually laid on bamboo trays or else in large indoor places. They are allowed to dry naturally. But during cold weather, heated air is forced out of these leaves. This process is done so as to reduce the water content and allows leaves to be pliable enough to undergo the next process.
In green teas, however, leaves are usually steamed, baked or else pan fired right after subjecting it to the withering process for a short while. The reason for this is that steaming, baking or pan-firing stops oxidation of the tea leaves in order to maintain its greenness, thus, giving green teas their signature color.
3. Rolling - Green, black and oolong teas are crushed by this process. Traditionally, this was performed manually. And still this done by rare, very expensive teas but generally, machines have taken over in doing such a task. They now have the job of rolling and shaping the leaves. This process is done in order to break down the structure of the leaves, thereby releasing all the oils and juices from the leaves. It also promotes uniform oxidation. And this is the reason why teas have a very distinctive flavor, unlike other drinks.
4. Oxidation - this is the chemical process that teas need to undergo (or not undergo) in order to determine what kind of tea it will produce. It can be black, green, oolong or white. As a general rule, the more the tea is oxidized, the darker the mixture will be.
White tea, being the lightest among the teas, is therefore the least oxidized. Second is the green tea, where only for a short while does it undergo oxidation. The difference in color of these teas is altered based from the buds and leaves on the bush.
Pu-erth teas undergo more oxidation from the white and green tea, and are therefore darker. As predicted, black teas go through a very complex and lengthy processing, which is full oxidation of the leaves.
5. Drying or Firing - The last process teas undergo. Tea is ultimately dried evenly. And this is achieved without burning the leaves. Large ovens or drying machines are utilized to complete halt oxidation and to finally lock in that final flavor. It is evident as these leaves turn into a brownish-black color.
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