Category Archives: Types of Tea

Darjeeling – The Champagne of Tea

Darjeeling is often called the champagne of teas.

New Year’s is associated with Champagne, but for tea drinkers this also means its time for Darjeeling, the champagne of tea. (Photo by flicker user Bill Masson – https://www.flickr.com/photos/maxblogbits/ ).

A New Year is traditionally toasted with champagne, for tea drinkers that means bringing out Darjeeling, the champagne of teas. Darjeeling tea got this nickname because of the complex fruit and floral aromas this tea is known for and the limit quantities that are available due to the shorter growing season and high demand. A traditional Darjeeling tea is a black tea, however, the tea leaves are also used to make white and oolong Darjeelings, which are rare outside of West Bengal.

Darjeeling Terroir

The Darjeeling region borders Nepal in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains and carries of perfect terroir of high altitude, moderate to cool climate, and rain. Darjeeling tea is from Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis, not from Cameliia Sinensis Assamica, which is thought of as the traditional Indian tea cultivar. The high altitudes are what allow the Chinese varietal to thrive in India.

On top of being in a distinct region, the Tea Board of India requires registration and monitoring of tea estates in Darjeeling in order to enforce the Geographic Protection given to the region in 2011. Knowing the name of the estate that grew and manufactured the Darjeeling is critical in knowing that the Darjeeling you are drinking is authentic. It is estimated that there are 30,000 more pounds of Darjeeling on the market annually than is produced in the region. This has dropped dramatically, but counterfeit Darjeeling has not been fully eliminated.

Growing Season

Darjeeling tea is picked in March to April during the first picking, or first flush. This occurs during the spring rains. The second flush is typically picked in June. There can be a picking during the monsoons from late June through the fall, but generally these are less flavorful teas and are often only sold locally and are blended into masala chai in the West Bengal region. A fall plucking of tea can also occur, but again not quite as flavorful as the 1st and 2nd flush.

Darjeeling Flavors

Second Flush Darjeeling from Makaibari Estate, West Bengal, India

Makaibari Estate Second Flush Darjeeling

First flush Darjeelings are typically lighter, more floral but will carry a lighter version of the stone fruit flavor than is expected of a second flush. The leaves may appear lighter as these are the first picking and are often not allowed to oxidize as far as a second flush tea.

Second flush Darjeelings are what gave this tea its comparison to champagne. This is a complex tea from a flavor standpoint with a mix of stone fruits from apricot and peach to plum. Some people use the term muscatel, which is a reference to muscatel grapes. This is best described as sweet, fruity, and possibly caramel like in flavor.

The beautiful complex flavor of Darjeeling tea is worth getting to know in the New Year and makes a perfect tea to start the new year with.

Sheng Puerh Production

Puerh Tea Cake

Raw Sheng Puerh Cake from CNNP

We’ve looked at puerh twice now and the last time we spoke of the difference between raw and cooked pu’erh. In the spirit of ‘there no such thing as too much of a good thing’ this time we want to spend a bit more time on the manufacturing of raw ‘Sheng Cha’ puerh.

From Tea Tree to ‘Mao Cha’

While many Chinese teas are produced from a variety of c. sinensis var sinensis, the most desired puerh teas are typically from c. sinensis var assamica (see Camellia Sinensis). This is a much larger leaf version of the tea plant than var sinensis. Even more desired are the spring picked leaves of old growth wild tea trees rather than younger wild trees or cultivated tea bushes.

After picking the leaves undergo a process of heating to quickly ‘kill the green’. This process of heating the leaves effectively stops most oxidation, makes the leaves more flexible and pliable, and leads to the next step of rolling. Rolling, in turn step serves to break down the cellular structure inside the leaves allowing the juices inside the leaves to move about more freely and creates small tears in the leaf structure. This critical step enables extraction of flavor when the tea is infused in water many years in the future.

Once the leaves have been rolled they are left in the sun to dry out. The amount of time, like other steps in this process vary from factory to factory but can be up to a couple days. It’s at this point that we have ‘Mao Cha’ and the process diverges for raw ‘Sheng’ puerh vs cooked ‘Shu’ puerh.

‘Mao Cha’ to Raw ‘Sheng Cha’ Puerh

Sheng and Shu Puerh is pressed in various shapes for storage and shipping.

Various Shapes of Pressed Puerh – By 静葉 (Pu-erh tea allstars) [CC BY-SA 3.0

The real magic happens with Sheng Cha after the initial steps leading to Mao Cha. At this point the normal process is to process the Mao Cha into finished pressed tea cakes. The rough product is often stored for some amount of time before its ready to be pressed. When the manufacturer determines it is time the rough Mao Cha is sorted into grades and steamed to prepare it for pressing. This steaming ensures the leaves are pliable again and slightly sticky so the resulting form holds together.

Steamed and ready to go the tea is pressed into a desired shape. This is often a large round disc or cake but can take many other forms like bricks, coins, balls, or even a sort of mushroom shape. Traditionally this would be pressed into the shape by a heavy stone placed over the form though mechanical presses often do this in many factories. Pressed tea is much more dense and easier to handle. During the time of the tea-horse road this was essential to facilitate trade and today it still makes the tea much easier to handle and transport.

Pressed into the desired shape, Raw ‘Sheng’ Puerh is now stored for long term ripening, or fermentation. Unlike other forms of tea which are best used within about a year, raw puerh is best when aged. It mellows over years of aging and becomes more sought after the older it gets.

If you haven’t tried puerh its best to take some time and learn about it. Sheng and Shu puerh both provide very unique experiences. However, to fully enjoy them its best to also get a Yixing tea pot and learn how to quickly infuse this tea many times, exploring how the taste changes between infusions.

 

 

 

 

Almond Tea: How to Make Your Own

Almond blossoms and the fruit which is found in almond tea.

Almond Blossoms by flickr user Victor R. Ruiz (CC BY 2.0)

Almond tea is becoming harder find, and that is not surprising. Most almonds in the United States are grown in California, which is suffering from a record drought. Like any orchard crop that requires water, when it doesn’t get enough it will not produce enough high quality final product. This sends the cost sky rocketing, making it harder for for industries that use almonds as an ingredient to keep their costs in line with what consumers expect. Adding higher cost to an ingredient that dramatically cuts the shelf life of your end tea product already, and eliminating almond tea makes good economic sense for most high quality tea producers. However, that doesn’t mean an end consumer cannot make their own almond tea in smaller batches to enjoy at home.

Before we get to the recipe,there are a few things you need to know about almonds.

Shelf Life of Almond Tea

Nuts and tea have very different self lives making it very tricky for a tea blender to come up with a high quality product, in a quantity that is cost effective, that features a nut as the main flavor component of the tea. Most nuts, once cut or crushed start to release their oils and in return take in air, moisture, and bacteria, which starts the spoiling process. Almonds are usually only good for two months, under the best storage conditions, once they have been cut. If you are blending that with a tea that is good for 24 to 36 months you have effectively killed the shelf life of your tea. So to ensure a good quality flavor and try to keep your tea from going rancid because of the nuts, extracts are used to apply the majority of the flavor. In fact, if you look at most teas with a nut like flavor, you will not find nuts in them, but extracts and flavors, which bring out the nut taste. Citric acid and other preservatives can be applied to the nuts to slow the degradation, but that is very tricky in tea as the boiling water will release the preservatives, usually causing a bitter flavor. Now, at home, the use of preservatives is not necessary as you will be making smaller batches that are not traveling to various stores and sitting in storage for who knows how long before being consumed. So we will use a combination of extract and almond pieces to make our tea recipe.

Almond Flavor and Size

Almonds have a very subtle flavor, which usually comes out bolder when toasted or cooked. So you would think boiling an almond would help bring out more flavor, but it doesn’t. To really get an almond flavor after applying boiling water, you need extract. Just putting in almond pieces will not get you the flavor you are after. When blending tea, we are constantly worried about the size and shapes of ingredients so that they all balance together to distribute evenly in the bag that is going to be shipped and stored in fashions out of our control. So we have the ingredients cut to the right size to complement the size of the tea leaves being used. At home, this may not be much of a concern to you but if you care about the almonds being distributed in your tea evenly you will want to follow our instructions on creating the almond meal instead of just using the sliced almonds. If even distribution does not bother you, then free to use larger almond pieces.

Almond Tea Recipe

Almond Tea usually includes extract to bring out the flavor.

Home Made Almond Tea

This recipe is geared to get you 15 cups of tea. If you do not think that is enough, you can double this recipe, but don’t go too large as the almonds will only keep for maybe 1 to 2 months (Do you really know how old that almond is you just bought off the shelf?). 2 oz of tea is about 30 cups or 1 months worth if you drink a cup every day.

1 oz of your favorite straight black unflavored tea (English Breakfast is my favorite for this. If you use Irish Breakfast, add an 1/8 teaspoon more extract)

3/4 teaspoon of almond extract

1 1/2 tablespoons of almond pieces or slices (skip the roasted or salted ones – look in the bulk food aisle of your grocery store)

For easier grinding, lightly heat the almond pieces in a dry cast iron pan. You can leave them in their long enough to toast them, but really you are just warming them up. Be careful not to burn them as it will ruin the tea.

For even distribution of the almonds, buy slivered almonds and put the warmed almonds and extract into a mortar and pestle and grind down until it looks like corn meal. Scrape into a glass jar (quart size or larger) or ziplock bag and then add the tea. Shake until everything looks evenly distributed. Pour the tea out onto wax paper and allow to dry at least 12 hours. At first this is going to have a very heavy alcohol smell from the extract. Don’t worry, as it dries that will disappear. You will notice after a few hours the smell gets smoother and more almond like. You can then put the tea back into the sealed bag, glass jar or air tight container, remember to keep it in the dark. If you need to speed up the drying process, you can use a dehydrator at its lowest setting for about 1 hour, check every 20 minutes as you run the risk of burning the tea.

You will brew this like any other tea. 1 teaspoon or 3 grams per 8 ounces of water, steep in boiling water for up to 5 minutes. Don’t be surprised if it is a little cloudy, that is the oil for the ground almonds.

Now that you have a base recipe for almond tea, you can get creative and try it with other subtle flavored teas like New World Vanilla. Enjoy your new tea and don’t forget to drink it more frequently so it is gone before the almonds go bad!

Chinese Tea: Anhui Province

Snow covered and jagged peak of Huangshan Mountain, Anhui Province

Huangshan Mountains in Winter in Anhui, China (by Flickr user miquitos, CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Anhui province of China is located in Eastern China, but does not border the sea. Roughly the size of North Carolina, it spans across two large watersheds, the Huai He and Yangtz rivers. Anhui is best known for its rich topography and natural resources. It comes as no surprise that the most drawn and photographed mountain in China, Huangshan, resides in Anhui. Huangshan mountain is also home to many of the wonderful teas that come from Anhui, including Huang Shan Mao Feng and Keemun. Anhui province teas are only a small reflection of this geographically diverse region.

History and People of Anhui

The Anhui province was not formally created until 1666 CE by the Qing Dynasty, which makes Anhui a rather young province in comparison to others. This may be due to the fact that Anhui is located in a transition zone between northern and southern China, so the land changed hands multiple times during wars between tribes. The terrain ranging from highland valleys, through mountainous terrain down to the deltas of its major rivers, makes for tough navigating, so its population is not as diverse as would be expected. Anhui is home to 59 million people (more people than the two most populated US states, California and Texas, combined). The vast majority of the population is Hui with the largest minority groups being the She and Hui.

The people of Anhui have influenced Chinese culture for centuries. Huiju opera was created in southern Anhui and is one of the most popular operas across China, often noted as the predecessor to the Beijing Opera. The highest quality materials for Chinese calligraphy also come from Anhui, including ink, paper and inkstones. Last, but not least, Anhui cuisine, consisting of wild game or fish with local herbs and prepared with minimal fuss is considered one of the eight staples of Chinese cuisine and of course their teas.

Anhui Province and Tea

Map of China with Anhui Highlighted

Anhui Province China

Huangshan Mountain and its surrounding region was named an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990. This is very important as it will preserve the tea plants and fields in the surrounding region. In this region all six types of tea are produced but the highest quality teas from Anhui are really black, green, and yellow teas. The rich red clay and higher elevations around the mountain make perfect terroir for tea. Tea has been grown in the province for thousands of years and there are many tribute teas made in Anhui that never make it into western markets due to the high demand within China. The first plucking of tea that make Huang Shan Mao Feng goes for top dollar as well as their famous tea, Huo Shan Huang Ya, which was originally made as a tribute to Qing Dynasty. Keemun makes a fabulous black tea that was once part of the recipe for English Breakfast or common on its own in early American colonies, before the British planted tea bushes in India.

Ahui province is worth your time to learn about and if you are adventurous, take a trip and enjoy this beautiful area along with its tea.

 

Japanese Sencha Tea

Sencha leaves are known to be flat needle shape and dark green in color.

Dry Sencha Tea Leaves and Liquor

One cannot talk about Sencha tea without talking about the history of tea in Japan.  Sencha is the most consumed beverage in Japan, whose beginnings date back several centuries. Tea was introduced to Japan in the 9th century via a cultural exchange with monks although it did not really take hold until the 12th century when Emperor Saga encouraged tea plant growth.  This allowed tea to expand from religious use to upper class consumption.  At the same time Japan adopted an isolationist policy, stopping communication with China, which left Japan to develop its own distinct way of manufacturing tea. Whereas most Chinese teas are pan fried to stop oxidation, most of Japanese green teas are steamed to stop oxidation.  This gives the tea part of its distinctive flavor and bright green color found with the first forms of Sencha.

Japan, more than other tea drinking countries, has mechanized most of tea making process.  This mechanization, along with local demand for tea, has lead the industry to focus heavily on cultivars that work well with the harvesting machines while still maintaining the flavor characteristics expected from a Sencha.  The main cultivars used for Sencha are yabukita and okuhikari.

Due to the geography of the Japanese islands, no tea field is more than 75 miles from the ocean, regardless of the prefecture where it is grown (Kevin Gascoyne, 2011).  Most of the Sencha grown in Japan comes from Shizuoka prefecture.  The Kagoshima, Nara, and Mie prefectures also grow Sencha.   The terroir of this tea gives it a marine flavor on top of the natural grassy notes of a green tea. Not surprisingly, there are many types of Sencha, few of which make it to the US for consumption given the high local demand.  Below is table describing the more unique types of Sencha:

Name Description
Shincha or Ichibancha This is the first month’s harvest of Sencha.  This Sencha is very hard to come by outside of Japan since it is highly prized.  It typically comes to market in late April through May.
Kabuse Sencha or Kabusecha This is Sencha that has been grown in the shade about a week before harvesting.  This is a milder Sencha in flavor.
Asamushi This is a Sencha steamed for less than the traditional 15 to 20 seconds to stop oxidation.
Chumushi This is a Sencha steamed for 30-90 seconds.
Fukamushi or fukamushicha This is a Sencha steamed for 60-120 seconds.
Photo of Japanese Sencha Tea after it has been infused.

Infused Sencha Tea Leaf

As defined by the North American Tea Championship, a Sencha will have flat green needle shaped dry leafs with a grassy smell.  The wet leaves will have a rich green color and fresh aroma.  The liquor will have a light green to bright gold color with possible particulate and the taste will have grassy and briny notes with a medium to full-body feel.  For the rest of us, to get that taste, we need to steep the Sencha between 175° to 180° Fahrenheit.  Should you choose to try it at the boiling point of 212°, most of the complex flavor will be lost to the heavy astringency and with some Senchas it tastes more like a mouth full of briny ocean water than anything else.  In fact, it is mistakenly brewing Sencha and other green teas with boiling water that often turns people off to green teas entirely.

If you are new to Japanese green tea, Sencha is a great starting point.  If this is a tea you consume regularly, try cold brewing it for summer (unlike black teas, green teas often do not brew well with conventional iced tea machines).  It is a very refreshing way to enjoy this tea on a hot summer day.

 

Works Cited

Kevin Gascoyne, F. M. (2011). Tea: History Terroirs Varieties. In K. Gascoyne, F. Marchand, J. Desharnais, & H. Americi, Tea: History Terroirs Varieties (pp. 98-99). Firefly Books Ltd.