Camellia sinensis is native to the mountainous highlands between India and China and, when untrimmed, can grow to a height of about 10 meters. One variety, Camellia sinensis sinensis, is native to China, whereas Camellia sinensis assamica comes from India (Harler 1963). A semitropical or tropical climate is necessary for raising tea; the northernmost places where it has been grown are South Carolina (in the United States) and in Asia near the Black Sea. Bushes grown at high elevations produce the best tea (Willson and Clifford 1992).Yields range from 700 to more than 1,800 kilograms (kg) per acre (Harler 1964).
Tea undergoes a long journey from bush to cup. The leaf buds, which appear in the spring, along with the leaves directly below them on the stem, are generally hand plucked by skilled workers (Pratt 1982).The first buds to appear (the “first flush”) and the smallest leaves (“two leaves and a bud” is the ideal) command the highest price, whereas the larger leaves that can be cut by machines usually become part of lower-grade teas.
About 98 percent of the tea that enters the world market is black tea, and there are four steps required to ready this tea for Western tastes. The first,“wither-ing,” involves drying the leaves to the point at which they are structurally weak. This is followed by “rolling” the leaves (in the past, between the heels of the hands), which crushes their cells and blends their chemical constituents, the characteristic tea polyphenols and the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. Moreover, the twist this imparts to the leaves slows the rate at which their essence blends with hot water. “Fermentation” - the third step - actually involves oxidation by the polyphenol oxidase and is produced by aerating and heating the leaves to between 72° and 82° Fahrenheit for 1 to 2 hours, during which their flavor develops and they turn a brownish color. The final stage is called “firing” the leaves. This further heating process stops fermentation (oxidation) by deactivating the enzyme and reduces the leaves to a moisture content of about 5 percent (McGee 1984). Needless to say, all of these procedures require a highly developed sense of timing on the part of the tea maker.
Although black teas monopolize the international market, the teas drunk in China and Japan are mostly green (Harler 1963). In preparing the latter, the fermentation stage is eliminated, and the enzymes are destroyed by steam or pan heating before the leaves are rolled and fired. In North Africa, too, green tea is common, in this case because the classic word “fermentation,” applied to the oxidation process, was misunderstood by Muslim religious and political leaders; they thought the word referred to the formation of alcohol, which their religion prohibited. Thus, this stage of tea preparation was omitted.
The size of the leaves determines the grade of a green tea: The tight, small balls of younger leaves are called “gunpowder”;“imperial” tea comes in larger and looser balls; Hyson varieties are long and looser leaves of mixed ages (McGee 1984). It might be added at this point that Oolong tea stands between green and black teas in that although it is fermented, this is only done briefly for about 30 minutes after rolling.
Grades of black teas, although they may vary, typically conform to guidelines that emerged from the British tea industry in nineteenth-century India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Whole leaves, which are generally thought to produce the best flavor, are classified by size and the ways in which they are rolled. For example, Flowery Orange Pekoe leaves are smaller than those of Orange Pekoe, and some of the leaves of Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe have highly prized golden tips (indicating that the tea consists of small, intact leaves), whereas in the case of Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, all the tips are golden.
Leaves that have been broken, whether deliberately or not, also make high-quality teas that conform to some of these classifications (for example, Broken Orange Pekoe, Golden Broken Orange Pekoe, or Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe). Small pieces of leaves (debris from the processing of whole and broken leaves) are called “dust,” and even smaller ones are called “fannings” (Stella 1992). These go into teabags and brick tea.
Teas are also named for the regions where they grow. For example, black teas from eastern India are known collectively as Darjeeling teas; Oolongs and Lapsang Souchongs come from Taiwan, and Keemun is a black tea from northern China. Teas are sometimes scented:An extreme case is Lapsang Souchong, a large-leafed black tea scented with pinewood smoke (Goodwin 1991). More often, flavoring is done with essential oils before, during, or after firing. This is especially the case with blends - the form in which most teas are generally purchased. Constant Comment, for example, is a blend from Sri Lanka flavored with orange peel; Earl Grey, another blend, is flavored with a citrus oil (McGee 1984).
World History
