TEA..... ALL THINGS TEA

The tea making Process is long and as in depth as wine

 but I am going to go over its short and quick,

 further research can be done on all types of tea. 

One legend says that the discovery of the tea plant occurred in 2737 BC by the Emperor of China.  For several hundred years, people drank tea because of its herbal medicinal qualities.  By the time of the Western Zhou Dynasty, tea was used as a religious offering.  During the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), tea plants were quite limited and only royalty and the rich drank tea not only for their health but also for the taste.  As more tea plants were discovered during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), tea drinking became more common among lower classes and the Chinese government supported planting of tea plants and even the building of tea shops so everyone could enjoy tea.

Also during the Tang Dynasty, tea spread to Japan by Japanese priests studying in China.  Similar to the Chinese adoption of tea, tea was first consumed by priests and the rich for its medicinal properties.  Tea is often associated with Zen Buddhism in Japan because priests drank tea to stay awake and meditate.  

The Emperor of Japan enjoyed tea very much and imported tea seeds from China to be planted in Japan, making tea available to more people. 

Tea finally arrived in England during the 17th century when King Charles II married a Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza.  The Queen made tea the drink of royalty and soon tea became a popular import to Britain via the East India Company.  

Afternoon tea (this has become widely popular all around the world) or tea parties became a common way for aristocratic society to drink tea. 

Though tea was regularly imported to Britain, the taxes were so high that smugglers would get and sell tea illegally for those that could not afford it.  In attempts to turn profits during the tea smuggling period, the East India Company began exporting the tea to America.  The American tea was also taxed heavily and contributed to the cause of the Boston Tea Party, an american conservative political movement that favors reduced government spending and taxes.   

From the plant to the cup

In general it is said that the tea plant should grow as slow as possible, so that more aromatic qualities have time to develop before harvest. The tea plant grows best in a gravel type dirt. The dirt quality, cleanliness of the air and sun time all effects the plant so that's why its so different depending on the region/land it grows in similar to wine. That is why the time of harvest is extremely important.                  Depending on what part of the plant is picked decides the quality, for example, silver needle, it is made up of only the white outer buds.

DRYING

Depending on the processed used a tea can go from a light green tea to a robust black. As soon as the tea is harvested it starts to oxidize and change, so it needs to be dealt with quickly. Each type of tea has its drying process and each tea maker their own style. I'm going to talk about the Three most common. 

GREEN TEA 

The processing technique used to process fresh tea leaves was to immediately steam the fresh tea leaves and dry them for preservation, and doesn't not go through an oxidation process. Therefore it keeps its fresh aromas and high levels of antioxidants. This makes it a great combination with lighter foods and deserts.  

OOLONG TEA

The production of oolong requires that the leaves be processed directly after picking. First the leaves are wilted in the sun for a short period of time. They are placed into baskets and shaken, which bruises the leaves. The juices in the leaves are now exposed to the air, which begins the process of oxidation. The leaves are then spread out to dry. After a period of time, less than 2 hours for Chinese oolongs, longer for Taiwanese oolongs, the tea is fired, which stops the fermentation process.

Oolongs are traditionally fired into hot woks and cooked very quickly. After that is done, the leaves may be further fermented, and then fired again. Ultimately we have crisp, dry leaves.

They are in between Green freshness of tea and Black heavyness of tea, and therefore fits well to main course meals. 

BLACK TEA 

2 methods of withering the black tea

a) The natural withering where the leaves are spread out on laths which are covered with jute, wire or nylon nets. The withering time takes, depeding on the weather and humidity content of the leaves, between 14-18 hours.

b) The modern withering in large troughs of a length of 25-30 metres which are covered with wire grids and are ventilated with large ventilators. These can also be used to warm the leaves, should it be necessary, to reduce the withering time to 8-12 hours.

Then rolling(oxidation)

This process takes 30 minutes each and is repeated 3 times. 

Once rolled for 30 minutes, the entire leaves are torn in specially constructed thorn drums. The stems and leaf ribs are separated as far as possible and only the torn "meat" of the leaves is processed further.

The leaves are spread out on large boards in 10-15 cm thick layers in a special room with a room temperature of 40°C for 2/3 hours and additionally sprinkled with water. Thereby, the leaf takes up its copper-red to brown color and starts to unfold its unique aroma. On the high point of the fermentation, the leaves are transported through so-called tiered dryers on metal conveyor belts. The tea is dried for approximately 20 minutes with hot air of 80-90°C which makes the cell fluid stick to the leaves and gives it its dark brown to black color.