Posted on: Wednesday, May 28, 2008
TASTE
TASTE
Subtle Tea
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
|
|
|
David Plaskett displays a tea mixture with flowers in his office at Hawaii Coffee Co. in Kalihi. A tea drinker in an espresso world, he enjoys blending, balancing flavors.
Photos by GREGORY YAMAMOTO | The Honolulu Advertiser
|
|
 |
|
|
MORE ON TEA
Tea types Tea facts Hawai'i tea industry growing Recipe for jasmine tea-flavored tea cookiesTEA-TASTING SEMINARWith David Plaskett, director of tea, Hawaii Coffee Co.; tastings, tea lore, hands-on tea blending, includes teacup set and other gifts 7-8:30 p.m. on five Wednesdays, June 18-July 16, at Kapi'olani Community College Fee: $125 Class description: www.programs.kcc.hawaii.edu/~continuinged/ Registration: 734-9211
|
|
|
|
|
TEA TYPES
All true tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis, a bushy plant grown around the world, but especially in Asia. Black tea: Oxidized ("fermented") tea Green tea: Steamed or baked tea White tea: Tea buds, minimally processed Oolong: Tea partly fermented in the sun Scented teas: Teas sprayed with scent concentrates Spiced teas: Tea mixed with parts of spice plants Herbal teas: Made with plants other than Camellia sinensis; technically, these are tisanes TEA FACTS After water, green tea is the world's most widely consumed beverage. Caffeine in tea can range from 15 milligrams per cup to as much as 60 milligrams (coffee's range is 60 to 200 milligrams). America is unique in preferring iced tea to hot, black to green, though green tea is on the upsurge.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forget everything you think you know about tea.
Most of what you "know" isn't true, or is only part of a larger story, said David Plaskett, director of tea for Hawaii Coffee Co. in Kalihi. As a tea drinker, he says, escorting a guest into his office through the coffee-scented warehouse, "I'm the oddball around here."
Plaskett, trained as an archaeologist and then working as a state bureaucrat, had a mid-life epiphany in the early '90s and decided to get into the flavored tea business.
He used his archaeological training to analyze other commercial teas, literally pulling the mixtures apart into their component parts with his kids in the kitchen as helpers, then poring over pictures of tea parts to identify the tea types. With the goal of creating a line of tropical flavored teas, he studied fruit and flower essences and the flavoring process (flavorings might be spices or herbs mixed into teas, juice or other extracts sprayed onto the leaves, or liquid mixtures added to the infused tea).
In 1995, Hawaiian Island Teas was born and found a place in the gift market here. In 2003, Plaskett sold the company to Hawaii Coffee Co. and went to work for them. His small office is lined with shelves of bottled and boxed teas, books about tea, tea-making ingredients, his collection of historic stereopticon pictures of early 20th-century tea production, tea pots and other paraphernalia, maps of tea-growing regions, the flavoring syrups that are the latest thing in tea.
"It's his world of tea," says Frank Gonzales of Kapi'olani Community College, where Plaskett will teach a five-part course in tea appreciation beginning next month.
For a guest, he brews a cup of "Jim's Blend" — a tea he invented for James Wayman, president and CEO of Hawaii Coffee Co., incorporating Indonesian black tea from Java and roobois and honey bush leaves from Africa, carefully measuring 2 grams of the blend to 8 ounces of hot, not boiling, water, allowing it to infuse for a precise minute and a half.
Then he launches into his litany of tea myths and not-yet-proven beliefs:
Herbal teas aren't teas at all; they're tisanes (tih-SAHN), infusions of leaves, stems or bark from plants other than Camellia sinensis, the plant from which all true teas are made. Some herbal teas contain Camellia sinensis, others do not.
Tea is healthy. Some ideas about the healthfulness of tea may be myth, some may be based in oral tradition, some are based on limited medical research. "There are indications" that tea may have health benefits, Plaskett said, but the studies are not yet large-scale enough or conclusive enough to say that for sure and many were not carried out in humans. Don't trust Web sites or books that make flat claims, but know that evidence is growing that antioxidants, polyphonols and flavenoids in tea may aid in holding cancer at bay and reducing the risk of heart disease.
Tea is said to have started with a commitment to health, Plaskett said. The story is told that in 2737 B.C., the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was boiling drinking water over an open fire, believing that those who drank boiled water were healthier. Some leaves from a nearby Camellia sinensis plant floated into the pot. The emperor drank the mixture and declared it gave one "vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of purpose," according to an article in a U.S. Department of Agriculture publication by writer Marian Segal.
Tea packaged in tea bags is inferior to loose tea. This is clearly a myth. Today, every quality of tea is packaged in tea bags and inferior teas are often sold in loose form to boost their value in the eyes of the consumer. It is much more important to know and trust the source of your purchases and to know as much as possible about what you are buying, Plaskett said.
In addition to local sources, he recommends that tea aficionados look into online and mail order catalog sources: Among those he showed visitors were catalogs from Dethlefsen & Balk, Upton Tea Co. and International Tea Importers. And if you want to try raising tea on your back 40, check out a publication of the University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources called "Small-Scale Tea Growing and Processing in Hawai'i," by Zee, Sato, Keith, Follett and Hamasaki (ctahrpub@hawaii.edu, www.ctahr.hawaii.edu).
Tea grades (e.g. pekoe, orange pekoe, broken orange pekoe and terms such as fine, tippy, golden, flowery, broken) do not denote quality. This is a common misunderstanding. Tea grades, which are not standardized throughout the industry and so vary a bit, refer solely to the size into which the tea leaf has been cut or the part of the tea leaf (tip or full leaf) that's been used. True, tea that's been cut to "dust" —virtually powdered — has a tendency to be more bitter. But many high-quality teas are "fannings," finely cut teas. Check the blog www.thesimpleleaf.com for a 101 on tea grading. Ultimately, what matters is not grade but "what it's like in the cup," said Plaskett.
Green tea contains less caffeine. Yes and no. The caffeine content of a particular tea depends on growing conditions, variety and processing. In general, green tea, which is processed by steaming or baking, has less caffeine because that compound is destroyed by heat. Caffeine is not all bad; a moderate amount of caffeine in balance with other ingredients in tea can actually be good for you. If you're determined to reduce caffeine, Plaskett does not recommend buying decaffeinated tea because the process can destroy healthful natural compounds and alter or leach away flavors. Rather, rinse unbrewed tea in cold water before brewing it. Better still, buy herbal teas instead of true tea, he suggested.
Proper tea brewing isn't a simple matter. Plaskett pooh-poohs the old rule about using fresh, cold water and bringing it to a full boil. Yes, it should be fresh water, never previously boiled, but it can't be just any water. Tap water contains minerals and chemicals that can affect the flavor of tea. He recommends using natural spring water.
And if you're investing in high-quality tea, find out the recommended temperature for infusing: This can range from 160 degrees for 45 seconds to 212 degrees (full boil) for 1.5 minutes, depending on the tea type and your own preferences. Most tea aficionados invest in countertop electric tea kettles with adjustable temperature settings.
You can also use visual cues: The first level is when small bubbles appear on the bottom of the pot; the second is when the bubbles start to move lazily upward (which Chinese poetically call "string of pearls") and the third is a full, rolling boil with bubbles all through the water. In general, green teas are infused at a lower temperature than black teas.
Chinese often use a two-step brewing method, quickly rinsing the leaves with the hot water, then infusing them and drinking the second brew as tea.
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
| | |
|
|
