Tea 茶: a global drink?
21st May is the international day of Tea.
Tea is possibly a brew which can be found in all 249 countries and
territories around the world. There are many legends on the origins of tea but according to ancient Chines literature it is credited to Emperor Shen Nung in the third millennium BC. Early accounts of tea focus its properties as a medicine to alleviate digestive disorder and to calm a ‘nervous man’. There is also specific reference to tea as a stimulant: ‘the brew sobers one after drinking and keeps one awake’. A detailed account of tea cultivation, processing and preparation as a beverage was written by Zhang Yi in the third century AD.
There are two broad categories of tea – Green Tea and Black Tea. Both these teas are from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. They taste different because of the way they are processed (fermented). There are other related species of Camellia genera such as camellia taliensis, camellia pubicosta and camellia assamica grown in different regions in Asia and Africa.
You would normally find the following tea in the market sold under different brand names.
Orange pekoe – Long thin leaves
Pekoe – Superior short thin leaves black tea
Gunpowder – Superior tightly rolled small leaf green tea
Hyson – High class green tea
Bohea – Coarse black tea
Souchong – Broad leaves
Jasmine – Green tea scented with jasmine flowers
Singo – Green tea from wild bush
Twankey – Superior variety of Singo tea
Olong – A semi-fermented green tea
Pouchong – Green tea scented with rose petals
Earl Grey – A high quality black tea blended with oil of bergamot
(There are at least twelve other flavours of tea.)
During the Ming Dynasty it became a regular practice of scenting some teas with flower petals. The commonly used flowers were lotus, rose, gardenia, orange blossom, and jasmine. Three parts of tea is mixed with one part of half blossomed flower petals and kept in a sealed pot. Such verities of tea can still be found in specialised tea shops.
Tea, which was a Chinese traditional brew became a global commodity as a result of colonial trade promoted by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British during their ‘presence’ in China. However, it was largely the two British companies – Lipton and Brook Bond which really made tea into a global brand.
A few words on three specific teas:
Green tea: One bud and two new leaves are plucked together during early morning mist. Within hours of being plucked the buds and the accompanying leaves are rolled in the palm and left on bamboo trays to dry. It is then roasted on lightly heated iron pan.
Black tea: While plucking buds and leaves, some of these leaves are bound to get crushed. As a result, the enzymes in the leaves gets oxidised (fermented). It turns the tea leaves in to brown. These fermentations are allowed to continue and later roasted in warm iron pan. The flavour of different varieties of tea is the result of different levels of fermentation.
Earl Gray: It is one of the most popular black tea leaves in the market. A bag of fermented black tea flavoured with bergamot oil was presented to the British Prime Minister, Earl Charles Gray in 1832 as a gift from the tea company. Since then, this blend of tea has been in the market as Earl Gray.
With the commercialisation of tea as a brew, the idea of its flavour and aesthetic values has been shelved for good, especially with the arrival of tea bags; boil some water dip your tea bag, your tea is ready!
Have a cup of tea today!
There are two broad categories of tea – Green Tea and Black Tea. Both these teas are from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. They taste different because of the way they are processed (fermented). There are other related species of Camellia genera such as camellia taliensis, camellia pubicosta and camellia assamica grown in different regions in Asia and Africa.
You would normally find the following tea in the market sold under different brand names.
Orange pekoe – Long thin leaves
Pekoe – Superior short thin leaves black tea
Gunpowder – Superior tightly rolled small leaf green tea
Hyson – High class green tea
Bohea – Coarse black tea
Souchong – Broad leaves
Jasmine – Green tea scented with jasmine flowers
Singo – Green tea from wild bush
Twankey – Superior variety of Singo tea
Olong – A semi-fermented green tea
Pouchong – Green tea scented with rose petals
Earl Grey – A high quality black tea blended with oil of bergamot
(There are at least twelve other flavours of tea.)
During the Ming Dynasty it became a regular practice of scenting some teas with flower petals. The commonly used flowers were lotus, rose, gardenia, orange blossom, and jasmine. Three parts of tea is mixed with one part of half blossomed flower petals and kept in a sealed pot. Such verities of tea can still be found in specialised tea shops.
Tea, which was a Chinese traditional brew became a global commodity as a result of colonial trade promoted by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British during their ‘presence’ in China. However, it was largely the two British companies – Lipton and Brook Bond which really made tea into a global brand.
A few words on three specific teas:
Green tea: One bud and two new leaves are plucked together during early morning mist. Within hours of being plucked the buds and the accompanying leaves are rolled in the palm and left on bamboo trays to dry. It is then roasted on lightly heated iron pan.
Black tea: While plucking buds and leaves, some of these leaves are bound to get crushed. As a result, the enzymes in the leaves gets oxidised (fermented). It turns the tea leaves in to brown. These fermentations are allowed to continue and later roasted in warm iron pan. The flavour of different varieties of tea is the result of different levels of fermentation.
Earl Gray: It is one of the most popular black tea leaves in the market. A bag of fermented black tea flavoured with bergamot oil was presented to the British Prime Minister, Earl Charles Gray in 1832 as a gift from the tea company. Since then, this blend of tea has been in the market as Earl Gray.
With the commercialisation of tea as a brew, the idea of its flavour and aesthetic values has been shelved for good, especially with the arrival of tea bags; boil some water dip your tea bag, your tea is ready!
Have a cup of tea today!
Ramesh: I truly enjoy the variety of topics you present in our weekly digest. Thanks for being a regular columnist and surprising us each week! Here's to a cuppa tea for you! Doreen
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