ABOUT TEA

Tea
Types of Tea
Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea
Caffeine in Tea
Storing Tea
Tea Terms

Tea

Tea is a beverage made from the leaf of the Camellia Sinensis bush, a warm weather evergreen, which can grow to 90 feet and higher.

In the past, some countries trained monkeys to pick the tea leaves and toss them to the ground. Today, the Camellia Sinensis bush is grown to a height of three feet for easy cultivation.

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Types of Tea

All teas come from the Camellia Sinensis evergreen bush, it is how the leaves are treated once plucked that determines the type; Black, Black Flavoured, Oolong, White & Green.

Herbal and Tisane Teas are herbs, fruits, spices, plants or flowers that are used to create a beverage and are referred to as Tea.

Black tea leaves are withered, rolled or cut, fully fermented and then fired (dried)

Oolong tea leaves are withered, shaken or rolled, short fermentation, pan fried and then dried

Green tea leaves are withered, panfried/steamed or fired, rolled/shaped and dried

White tea leaves are steamed and dried

Herba/Tisanes are blends of flowers, herbs, spices, berries, fruits and other plants

Rooibos is a natural herb only grown in the South African Cedarberg Mountains. It is rich in vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, antioxidants, and flavanoids

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Brewing the Perfect Cup of Tea

• Fill kettle with freshly drawn cold water
  (fresh & filtered water is recommended)
• Measure one teaspoon or one teabag for each cup
  A tea ball or filter may be used for removing tea leaves
  from the pot after brewing time
• Bring water to a full rolling boil
• Pour water onto the tea:
  Blacks & Herbal Tea; pour boiling water onto the leaves or tea bags
  Green, Oolong & White Tea; allow boiled water to sit just under
  1 minute (or to 180 degrees F.) before pouring onto the leaves

Brewing Time Guide
Black Tea	3-5 minutes
Black Tea Flavoured	3-5 minutes
Oolong Tea	4-6 minutes
Green Tea	1-3 minutes
White Tea	1-3 minutes
Herbal Tea	4-5 minutes

• Adjust brewing times to suit your taste for stronger or weaker tea.
  Within each type of tea, there may be exceptions to the guide.

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Caffeine in Tea

All Tea of the Camellia Sinensis bush contains caffeine.The amount is based on many factors; brewing time, length of time of fermentation, where the leaf is picked from the branch, cut or size of the leaf.

Caffeine Comparison (based on 5 oz cup)
Green Tea	8-16 mg of caffeine
Oolong Tea	12-55 mg
Black Tea	25-110 mg
Decaffeinated Tea	2-5 mg
Instant Coffee	30-120 mg
Drip Coffee	60-180 mg

As much as 80% of caffeine can be removed from regular tea by pouring hot water over the leaves. To decaffeinate a regular tea, pour boiling water over leaves and let brew for30 seconds. Remove water from tea leaves and re-use leaves.

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Storing Tea

The enemy of tea is air, moisture, odors and direct light. To preserve your tea’s shelf life, store in a cool dry place, in a container that is airtight. Do not refrigerate or freeze tea.

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Tea Terms

Agony of the leaves	The unfurling of tea leaves during steeping. Certain teas provide a show if steeped in a glass teapot
Antioxidant	Compound that retards oxidization
Aroma	Also known as the nose, the odor of brewed tea
Assam	Tea growing region in India
Astringency	Dry mouth sensation caused by certain teas
Autumnal	Tea produced late in the growing season – often used in reference to Darjeeling 4th flush teas
Bergamont	A citrus oil from the bergamot orange used to flavor black tea to make Earl Grey tea
Black Tea	Fully oxidized leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush. Also known as Red tea in China referring to the color of the Tea in the cup
Blend	Method to establish consistency between lots of teas.
Body	Term to denote strength and viscosity of a brewed tea.
Brick Tea	Tea leaves that have been steamed and compressed into bricks.
Caffeine	An alkaloid which acts as a Central Nervous System stimulant and diuretic
Catechins	The class of polyphenol found in tea which function as antioxidants
Ceylon tea	Tea from Sri Lanka
Chai	The word for tea on the Indian subcontinent. In the west it generally means a spiced black tea (masala chai).
Chest	Traditional container made of wood with a metal lining used to ship tea from tea estates
Chesty	A term for an odor in tea absorbed from the wood of a traditional storage chest
Congou	Chinese Black, or Red, Tea
CTC	Acronym for Cut, Tear, and Curl, a machine process which cuts the withered leaves into uniform particles for a complete oxidation.
Darjeeling Tea	Tea grown in the Darjeeling Hills of India. These teas are renowned for their muscatel flavor
Dust	The smallest grade of tea, typically associated with lower quality. Dust is prized for its quick extraction and is commonly used in teabags
Fannings	Small particles of tea one grade larger than Dust produced as a by product of the tea making process
Fermentation	Also termed Oxidation. Describes the process of enzymic oxidation, where elements in the leaf react with air to the resulting tea
Firing	The process where the tea leaves are dried to stop enzymic changes. This makes the tea fit for packing and storing
Flush	Flush refers to the four separate plucking seasons throughout the year, each known for it’s distinctive flavor
Formosa Tea	Tea produced in Taiwan, typically oolong teas
Genmaicha	Green tea blended with roasted rice
Golden	Refers to the orange colored tips present in high quality black tea
Gong Fu	Meaning skill and patience. The style of brewing tea with a high proportion of leaf to water and repeated short infusions.
Green Tea	Un-oxidized, dried tea
Gunpowder	Green tea rolled into pellets
Guywan	A traditional Chinese lidded tea drinking vessel with accompanying saucer
Keemun	Chinese Black Tea from Anhui Province and often used in English Breakfast blends
Lapsang Souchong	Chinese Black Tea, leaves are smoked over pine fire giving strong smoked flavour
Muscatel	A muscat grape like taste associated with many Darjeeling Teas
Nose	Aroma of brewed tea
Oolong	Derived from ‘wu long’ the Chinese term for black dragon. A type of tea that is semi-oxidized resulting in a brew that is between a Green and a Black Tea.
Orange Pekoe	The larger leaves of the tea bush
Pekoe	A term used to describe the largest leaves used to produce whole leaf teas.
Plucking	The process of harvesting and collecting tea leaves
Polyphenols	Antioxidant compounds present in tea
Pu-erh Tea	A type of tea originally from the Yunnan province of China.
Tippy	Term for the tea leaf that contains white or golden tips, indicative of high quality
White Tea	Similar to Green Tea. Identifiable by the presence of the white hairs on the leaf tips, and a light infusion
Withering	The operation which removes moisture from the plucked leaves making them less brittle and preparing them for processing.
Yunnan	A province in southwestern China known as the birthplace of tea.

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