Black Tea - transition of the green tea leaf ..
High in the Himalayan "Blue" Mountains tea pickers are hard at work . They pluck only young and the most flavorful leaves. The best Assam black teas are grown in high altitudes with clouds comforting the tea plant and moisturizing it's leaves. Although tea plants flourish in tropical climate cool mountain air and shade from clouds produce the highest quality teas . Assam , with over 800 tea estates , is one of the major tea producers . Most of the tea is blended for consistent quality Assam . When blended with other teas like African teas or Ceylon teas becomes some of the most famous English tea or Irish tea .
Black tea - Blending:
Most of the tea blending is done in Amsterdam and Hamburg . At this point tea is purchased by brokers, packaged and labeled with various brand names. Single estate teas (unblended) are gaining popularity and becoming the teas of choice among tea connoisseurs . Some of the tea estates are producing organic teas . This means that there are no chemical pesticides or fertilizers used in growing the tea . Estates in Darjeeling, India produce teas known as " Darjeeling Teas " also called " Champagne Teas " with aroma resembling Muscat grapes .Tastes vary from malty - complex to bright - simple.
Black tea - Processing:
After tea leaves are picked they are inspected and sorted by hand. Withering takes place as water evaporates and the natural process of fermentation takes place . Fermentation , also known as oxidation , does not produce alcohol . Enzymes oxidize the tea leaf and turn it brown just like a tree leaf in the fall changes colors from green to brown .This process is accelerated by increased heat and high humidity . As a result of these conditions it takes only a few hours to turn green tea into what is known as the black tea - World's number one beverage hot, cold, flavored or scented
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| Camellia sinensis Literally, “Chinese camellia” - Botanical name for tea, an evergreen shrub that grows to tree heights in some cases. There are 82 different species of Camellia, of which tea is the most complex, with 3 major varieties numbering almost 400 recognized cultivars. The varieties are Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, known as China bush, Camellia sinensis var. assamica, known as Assam bush, and the commercially unimportant Camellia irrawadiensis, called Cambodia tea. Most cultivars fall under China bush, among many others, for instance, Shuixian, Dahongpao, Rongui, and some several dozen others best known for producing oolong. By: TB4 |
What is Black Tea ??
All tea leaves are green when harvested. Some are processed green - others are allowed to oxidize. Oxidation and firing turns the leaf black
Firing - The tea leaf is exposed to high temperature over fire or commercial ovens
After firing the tea is sorted
by sifting the leaf with various size screens.
The size of the leaf determines grade i.e: BOP = broken leaf BOP1 broken ( larger ) leaf etc.
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Black Tea
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Black Tea
The Tea of Teas