The complexities of tea
• Know your tea types
• To make tea
• Why tea?
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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| These teas are the proprietary blends of A Pacific Place.
Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser |
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| Imperial Rosebuds One bud mellows a full pot of powerful tea. |
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| Jade Pouchong An oolong-type tea of exceptional flavor |
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| Magnolia Oolong Long-leaf green tea favored by many fine-tea drinkers |
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| Dragon Phoenix Jasmine Pearls A hand-rolled green tea that "opens" in hot water |
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| Darjeeling A high-grade Indian black tea from Darjeeling, West Bengal state |
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| Sencha Yamato Unbroken Japanese green tea from the Yamato region Some tea-wise Web sites tealuxe.com |
"People tease me 'cause my name is chai and I'm always drinking tea," she said. "But, actually, tea is very serious to me. It's very calming — just the process of choosing the tea and making the tea and then sitting down to that first breath and that first sip. ... Tea is my way of taking a 15-minute vacation. And it's one of the few things I really like that's good for you."
Chai, who seeks out interesting teas and has begun to explore the world of high-quality Chinese and Japanese teas, is among thousands of Americans who are turning to tea as a hobby, as a hedge against disease and as a way of slowing down the day. One sign of the times: L'epicier, an international purveyor of fine teas, opened its first U.S. store in Ala Moana Center two weeks ago, selling more than 225 teas by weight.
Lynette Jee of Honolulu, known to many as "the tea lady," enjoyed tea so much that the former lawyer has made it her business. The Pacific Place, the company she founded, blends and markets high-end teas for top hotels and restaurants and also sells packaged teas at Macy's, Executive Chef, Compleat Kitchen and Duty Free Shoppers. She says the renaissance of interest in premium teas comes just in time. Many of the finest teas were picked and processed on family farms or in rural villages in China and elsewhere. It's hard and specialized work, and these operations were disappearing for lack of a market.
However, Jee notes: "Once people switch to fine teas and acquire a taste for them, it's very, very hard to drink tea made from a tea bag anymore."
Furthermore, tea is as complex a subject as wine, offering a wide range of study for the afficionado. Byron Goo of the Tea Chest, a purveyor of fine teas on Fort Street Mall in Honolulu, periodically conducts tasting trainings. "Tea can be evaluated on set criteria ... and character, taste and style differences are more striking at the high end," said Goo.
His advice for evaluating tea:
Taste with your eyes. Evaluating the dry leaves, the color of the liquor (tea talk for the infused tea) and wet leaves. The curl should be uniform. The color should be consistent. A high ratio of downy leaves (slightly fuzzy, light-colored leaves) is desirable in green teas. Leaves in high-end teas should be whole, unblemished and uniform in color. Broken leaves or burnt edges mean the tea maker didn't handle the tea correctly.
Evaluate aroma. Floral or fruity? Rustic and earthy or fresh and grassy? Smell should be pleasing.
Evaluate taste. High-end tea should have nice balance, smooth finish, depth of characters, prominent notes and acidity.
Fine tea isn't cheap — Jee's blends hover around $15 for eight ounces; her orchid oolong (a long-leaf tea scented with orchids) goes for $29 for four ounces. Goo notes that the price of tea is a matter of supply and demand, and price can be a deceiving indicator of taste and quality.
Still, tea plants aren't particularly prolific, and fine tea is picked and processed by hand and may go through five or six manipulations before packaging. "Making high-end tea is a small-batch, cottage-industry art form," Goo said.
In some high-altitude areas, a typical tea bush may yield only 2 pounds of leaves annually, Jee said. Bushes can continue to produce for generations; the oldest known tea bush in China is more than 700 years old. Particular tea bushes may produce a characteristic tea flavor that is especially valued; such plants are so valuable that theft of particularly fine tea bushes is a considerable problem. She tells of one tea from Fujian Province in China that sold for $37,000 a pound.
The quality and characteristics of a tea are determined by three factors, Jee said: the variety of the tea, the growing region and the picking technique and processing.
All true teas (as opposed to infusions or tisanes, which are teas made from herbs, fruits or other plants), are made from a single plant, a member of the camellia family known as Camellia sinensis, an evergreen, tropical plant with shiny, pointed leaves. The plants range in size from bush-like to small trees. There are hundreds of varieties of tea, each with its own characteristics. Tea is amazingly versatile, adapting itself to growing areas at sea level as readily as high in the Himalayas.
Tea contains small quantities of tannic compounds called polyphenols (not the tannic acid used in making leather), vitamins A, B2, C, D, K, and P, plus a number of minerals in trace amounts, and also aromatic oils. The tannin compounds and essential oils create the flavor, color, astringency and aromatic qualities of the tea.
In general, teas grown at higher elevations are more highly regarded because the cooler climates, shady conditions and shorter growing seasons concentrate flavors, Jee said. In addition, Goo said, small, regional operations are where the tea maker shines: "He can turn mediocre leaf into legend, or noble leaf into floor sweepings. Specific hand movements can cause dramatic effects."
Teas are graded based on picking technique: The most desirable teas consist of only the top two leaves and the bud, the "fine pluck," snipped from the new "flush" (bloom) on a branch. The very tips create the smoothest cup, Jee said. Lesser-quality teas may use branch and all.
A number of familiar tea terms have nothing to do with the tea's flavor, brand or ingredients: Orange pekoe (pronounced peck-oh, by the way) is the second leaf on the branch, for example.
Leaf location isn't the only determinant of a fine tea. In general, the larger the leaf surface, the more flavoring agents are available to be released by the addition of hot water; that's why whole-leaf teas are favored over those made from dust or "fannings."
All teas are withered, allowing the leaf to dry up a bit by leaving it for a period of time on a drying rack. Green tea is then steamed to prevent it from fermenting, giving a mild and true flavor of the leaf. Oolong teas are withered, lightly fermented and dried.
Black tea undergoes at least five processes. Rolling presses out the juice, which coats the leaf and enhances desirable chemical changes. Fermentation — exposing the tea to cool air for a period of time to allow it to oxidize — brings out still more aroma. And many teas are additionally pan-fried, smoked, rolled, bruised, cut, layered with aromatic ingredients or otherwise manipulated.
Finally, many teas are blends of several varieties, creating a particular flavor profile, such as Earl Grey or English Breakfast.
It isn't necessary to know all this to enjoy a fine cup of tea, but it does add to the enjoyment, said tea-drinker Chai. "Mostly, though, it's just the taste and the quiet moments."
Or, to quote the late tea master John Blofeld: "A combination of fine tea, enchanting objects and soothing surroundings exerts a therapeutic effect by washing away the corrosive strains and stress of modern life ... (it) induces a mood that is spiritually refreshing ... (and produces) a genial state of mind."
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Tea: The processed leaf of Camellia sinensis; a beverage made by infusing a vegetal substance in hot or boiling water.
White tea: The least highly processed of teas, only lightly dried; called white because of a light fuzz on the delicate tea buds; high in antioxidants, low in caffeine.
Green tea: Tea that has been rapidly withered but not fermented; yields a delicate, grassy taste; high in antioxidants.
Oolong: Literally "iron dragon"; long-leaf green tea in which leaves are withered, shaken or rolled to bruise them, fermented for a short time and sometimes additionally pan-fried; color ranges from green to black; complex tea favored by afficionados.
Pouchong: "Paper wrapped," a high-quality green tea that has been wrapped in paper for drying and fermenting; exceptional flavor and depth; the basis for jasmine tea.
Black tea: The most common style of tea; leaves are withered, rolled or cut, fermented and dried or even pan-fried over several days; leaf color ranges from gray-green to blue-black, brew has reddish tinge; highest in caffeine.
Scented teas: Green, black or oolong tea that is layered with fruits or flowers during the drying process (i.e. jasmine).
Chai: Black tea infused with spices, and often milk and sugar.
Sencha: The higher grade of Japanese tea, made from an unbroken, withered leaf; generally labeled by region.
Matcha: Sencha powder or dust; there are grades within the matcha category.
Genmaicha: Green tea blended with roasted rice.
Tea grades: Teas are graded based on the size of the leaf and its position on the branch, from "tippy golden flowery orange pekoe" (TGFOP), made from leaf buds and top tips, to orange pekoe (OP), made from the lower, large, whole leaves.
Gunpowder tea: Green tea that is hand-rolled so that it unfurls in hot water.
Souchong: Tea made from the third and fourth leaf of the tea plant.
Lapsang Souchong: Chinese black tea fired over pinewood for smoky flavor and aroma.
Darjeeling: Tea grown at high altitudes in the Indian Himalayas, "the champion of Indian teas"; makes a strong cup of tea with lots of caffeine. Popular in the European market.
Assam: Tea from India's Assam state, a deep red, strong-flavored tea, popular in the European market.
English and Irish breakfast teas: Whole black tea blends that render a hearty, dark brew.
Earl Gray: A blend of black tea flavored with bergamot, the essential oil of a type of orange.
Pu erh: A specially fermented Chinese tea from Yunnan Province.
Tisane: Another word for herbal teas; any infusion not involving tea leaves.
Sources: The Pacific Place, The Tea Chest, TeaLand.com, HungryMonster.com
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Fill a kettle with fresh, cold water and heat to a rolling boil.
For green tea, stop short of boiling to avoid "cooking" the delicate leaves.
Warm teapot by pouring some hot water into it and then emptying it.
Measure a teaspoon of tea or herbs per cup. Place into teapot or infuser.
Pour water over tea, cover and infuse. Black teas: 3-5 minutes. Green teas, 1-3 minutes. Herbal teas and fruit tisanes: 3-5 minutes. Remove infuser or strain off leaves from teapot and keep warm.
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Three factors play into the popularity of teas:
Health benefits of polyphenols, astringent compounds that act as anti-oxidants, which may help prevent cancer, found in all tea but most prevalent in green tea.
An interest in fine teas that parallels other gourmet food trends, driven by enjoyment of learning, more disposable income and a desire to experience the best.
The romance of tea, its association with taking time to relax, meditate and focus oneself.
