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Brief Guide to Tea image
Brief Guide to Tea
The 5,000-year-old habit
Tea is made from the leaves of the tree Camellia sinensis. Although the tree can grow to over 30ft, they are usually pruned to remain like a bush so that leaves can be harvested more easily.
There are several ways of classifying tea, including by the country or area of origin, such as China, Ceylon, Assam or Darjeeling. However, the most important distinction is by manufacturing process. This divides tea into three types:
Black tea
Once the leaves have been plucked from the plant, they are then allowed to wither for between 12 and 17 hours; rolling, oxidation and drying the leaves then produces a black tea. It is during the oxidation process that the tea turns from green to a deep brown. When a black tea is infused in hot water, the infused liquid can be light or dark in appearance and its colour may vary from brown through to pale orange; it generally has a slightly astringent taste. Black tea accounts for about 95% of the world market. Most of the tea drunk in this country is black tea
Green tea
Green teas are picked and steamed so that enzymes in the leaf cannot work and no oxidation takes place. This stops prevents the fermentation process, so that the leaf does not turn brown. The colour of the brewed tea is green to yellow. Its taste is slightly bitter. It is drunk without milk and may be sweetened with honey. Green tea is drunk mainly in China and Japan, and is generally considered a speciality tea in other parts of the world. It is growing in popularity in the UK.
The consumption of green tea has recently received a boost as it seems that drinking two or three cups of green tea regularly can help protect against cancer. This may be associated with the bioflavonoids that are present in green tea. It may be that these substances inhibit certain enzymes in actively dividing cancer cells. There are also claims that drinking green tea helps lower blood cholesterol levels and the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3125469.stm ). However, green tea may not be without it risks for some people. It has been suggested that there may be an increased chance of birth defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, if large amounts of green tea are drunk by women around the time of conception and during early pregnancy.
Oolong tea
Oolong teas are semi-green teas, produced by stopping the fermentation process just as the leaves start to turn brown. The leaves are then fired or dried and deliver a yellowish infusion with a slight, non-astringent peach flavour.
Specialist Teas
Specialist teas are created by the addition of other ingredients, for example, Earl Grey tea is scented with citrus bergamia oil (bergamot). See teas dot co dot uk.
The origin of tea drinking
This may be traced back some 5,000 years to the reign of the Chinese Emperor, Shen-Nung. It was travelling traders that first talked about the strange properties of the tea bush, indeed for some time, it remained far from certain exactly what tea was or how to produce it. Father Jasper de Cruz, a Portuguese missionary in China, was probably the first European to sample and drink tea in 1560.
It was Portugal that opened up a trade route to China some four years later and soon other countries followed suit, and tea began to 'flow' in Europe.
Initially, tea was very much a drink for the upper classes, mainly because of its very high price. However, as the cost fell over the years, tea came to replace ale as the English 'national' drink. First mention of adding milk to tea was in the writings of the Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Seven in 1680.
Tea was also to be found in the 'coffeehouses' of London, sometimes referred to as the 'penny universities'. Garway's Coffee House was one of the first to sell tea. The East India Company owned or leased several properties in the City of London, the first in Philpot Lane, Fenchurch. It finally leased Lord Craven's House in Leadenhall Street. For the sum of a penny any man (women were not allowed) could obtain a pot of tea and a newspaper. One such coffeehouse was run for ship-owners and merchants. It later branched out into insurance and became Lloyd's of London.
How to make the perfect cup tea
  • Fill the kettle with fresh water. Do not reuse water that has been boiled before, it will have lost most of its oxygen, which helps in the brewing process. It is better if you have soft water (with little calcium in it). Hard water tends to encourage a 'film or scum' to develop on the surface of the tea.
  • Warm the teapot by pouring in some water and then microwave for about one minute.
  • The next step requires timing and planning as ideally the warmed pot should be brought to the freshly boiled water in the kettle. A small to medium sized pot only requires a single heaped teaspoon of loose tea leaves to be added - not one spoon for each person and one for the pot!
  • Immediately add the boiling water to the pot. The temperature of the water is critical in releasing the various chemicals from the leaves.
  • A brisk stir of the mixture (infusion) is recommended. Then it should stand for about three minutes. This allows the tea to release polyphenolic (tannins and other chemicals) compounds these add colour and taste to the brew. If the tea brews for a long period of time, more bitter substances are released. Tea, like coffee contains caffeine; this too is released in the first few moments of the infusion process.
  • Add some cold milk to your cup or mug in advance of pouring the tea, as this helps cool the tea and is less likely to damage (denature or curdle) the milk proteins.
  • Lastly, add sugar or artificial sweetener according to personal taste. Both sugar and milk tend to reduce the 'bite' or astringency of the tea.
The above procedure is taken from the investigations of Dr Andrew Stapley. He conducted these under the auspices of the Royal Institute of Chemistry, which decided to have a look at the advice of George Orwell, who had declared that tea was 'one of the mainstays of civilisation' and there were 11 rules for the making of the perfect cup of tea !
The UK Tea Council website has masses of information on the tea market, how it is grown, processed, auctioned and prepared for us.. The price of tea is largely controlled by the world market and many feel that the actual growers do not get a fair price for their product. More information about the prices of commodities such as tea, coffee, sugar etc can be found at the Fairtrade Foundation website.
Useful web links
Everything to do with tea Specialist tea company, order on line Greys Teas, the tea specialists.From Green Tea to White Tea and Oolong Tea, they sell only tea and are proud to have one of the best selections available anywhere world-wide.
Comments, copyright and linking
Comments on this brief guide would be welcome. Also, please let us know if you do put in a link to this guide from your website and we will try to reciprocate with a link from us to your site.

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