Cultivation
Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and sub-tropical climates. However, some varieties can also tolerate marine climates and are cultivated as far north as Cornwall on the UK mainland and Seattle in the United States.
In addition to zone 8 or warmer, it requires at least 50 inches of rainfall a year, and prefers acidic soils. Many high quality tea plants grow at elevations up to 1500 meters (5,000 ft), as the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavor.
Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes, and a plant will grow a new flush every seven to ten days during the growing season.
Tea plants will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking.
Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant (C. sinensis sinensis), used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas, but not Pu-erh, and the large-leaved Assam plant (C. sinensis assamica), used in most Indian and other teas, but not Darjeeling tea. Within these botanical varieties, especially the Chinese one, there are many traditional strains and modern clonal varieties. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants. Based upon this criterion, tea is classified into (1) Assam type characterized by the largest leaves, (2) China type characterized by the smallest leaves and (3) Cambod characterized by leaves of intermediate size.
Processing and classification
Types of tea are distinguished by the processing they undergo. Leaves of Camellia sinensis soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried quickly after picking. The leaves turn progressively darker because chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This process, enzymatic oxidation, is called fermentation in the tea industry although it is not a true fermentation: it is not caused by micro-organisms, and is not an anaerobic process. The next step in processing is to stop the oxidation process at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. With black tea this is done simultaneously with drying. Without careful moisture and temperature control during its manufacture and thereafter, fungi will grow on tea. This form of fungus causes real fermentation that will contaminate the tea with toxic and sometimes carcinogenic substances and off-flavors, rendering the tea unfit for consumption.
Tea is traditionally classified based on producing technique:
- White tea: Unwilted and unoxidized
- Yellow tea: Unwilted and unoxidized but allowed to yellow
- Green tea: Wilted and unoxidized
- Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized
- Black tea: Wilted, crushed, and fully oxidized
- Post-fermented tea: Green Tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost
Blending and additives
Almost all teas in bags and most other teas sold in the West are blends. Blending may occur in the tea-planting area (as in the case of Assam), or teas from many areas may be blended. The aim is to obtain better taste, better price, or both as more expensive, better-tasting tea may cover the inferior taste of cheaper varieties. Blending may also achieve a more consistent taste for the blend, regardless of the variation of taste among pure teas.
Various teas, as sold, are not pure varieties but have been enhanced through additives or special processing. Tea is indeed highly receptive to inclusion of various aromas; this may cause problems in processing, transportation and storage, but also allows for the design of an almost endless range of scented variants, such as vanilla-flavored, caramel-flavored and many others.
Content
Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. In a fresh tea leaf, catechins can be up to 30% of the dry weight. Catechins are highest in concentration in white and green teas, while black tea has substantially fewer due to its oxidative preparation. Tea contains theanine, and the stimulant caffeine at about 3% of its dry weight, translating to between 30 mg and 90 mg per 8 oz (250 ml) cup depending on type, brand and brewing method. Tea also contains small amounts of theobromine and theophylline, as well as fluoride, with certain types of brick tea made from old leaves and stems having the highest levels.
Also, tea has more caffeine by weight than coffee, yet when preparing tea you use lesser amount than you would preparing coffee.
Tea has almost no carbohydrates, fat, or protein.
Origin and history
According to Mondal (2007, p. 519): "Camellia sinensis originated in southeast Asia, specifically around the intersection of latitude 29°N and longitude 98°E, the point of confluence of the lands of northeast India, north Burma, southwest China and Tibet. The plant was introduced to more than 52 countries, from this ‘centre of origin’."
Based on morphological differences between the Assamese and Chinese varieties, botanists have long asserted a dual botanical origin for tea; however, statistical cluster analysis, the same chromosome number (2n=30), easy hybridization, and various types of intermediate hybrids and spontaneous polyploids all appear to demonstrate a single place of origin for Camellia sinensis — the area including the northern part of Burma and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.
Yunnan Province has also been identified as "the birthplace of tea...the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant". Indeed, Fengqing County, in Lincang City area of Yunnan Province, is said to be home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree-- some 3,200 years old.
Creation myths
In one popular Chinese legend, Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China, inventor of agriculture and Chinese medicine, was drinking a bowl of boiling water, some time around 2737 BC. The wind blew and a few leaves from a nearby tree fell into his water and began to change its colour. The ever inquisitive and curious monarch took a sip of the brew and was pleasantly surprised by its flavour and its restorative properties. A variant of the legend tells that the emperor tested the medical properties of various herbs on himself, some of them poisonous, and found tea to work as an antidote. Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's famous early work on the subject, Cha Jing. Another Chinese legend of tea's origin is that the god of agriculture would chew leaves, stems, and roots of various plants to discover medicinal herbs. If he consumed a poisonous plant, he would chew tea leaves to detoxify the poison.
Tea and the Tang Dynasty
In ancient times, a rather gruesome legend dating back to the Tang Dynasty was widely spread. In the legend, the founder of the Zen school of Buddhism based on meditation (known as "Chan"), after meditating in front of a wall for nine years, accidentally fell asleep. He woke up in such disgust at his weakness, he cut off his own eyelids and they fell to the ground and took root, growing into tea bushes. Sometimes, another version of the story is told with Gautama Buddha in place of Bodhidharma In another variant of the first mentioned myth, Gautama Buddha discovered tea when some leaves had fallen into boiling water.
Whether or not these legends have any basis in fact, tea has played a significant role in Asian culture for centuries as a staple beverage, a curative, and a status symbol. For these reasons, it is not surprising that its discovery is ascribed to religious or royal origins.
China
The Chinese have enjoyed tea for thousands of years. While historically the use of tea as a medicinal herb useful for staying awake is unclear, China is considered to have the earliest records of tea drinking, with recorded tea use since the 10th century BC. The Han Dynasty used tea as medicine.
Laozi (ca. 600-517 BC), the classical Chinese philosopher, described tea as "the froth of the liquid jade" and named it an indispensable ingredient to the elixir of life. Legend has it, master Lao was saddened by society's moral decay and sensing the end of the dynasty was near, he journeyed westward to the unsettled territories never to be seen again. While passing along the nation's border, he encountered and was offered tea by a customs inspector named Yin Hsi. Yin Hsi encouraged him to compile his teachings into a single book so that future generations might benefit from his wisdom. This then became known as the Dao De Jing, a collection of Laozi's sayings. To honor Yin's generosity and its effect on the book's creation, a national custom of offering tea to guests began in China.
In 59 BC, Wang Bao wrote the first known book providing instructions on buying and preparing tea, establishing that, at this time, tea was not only a medicine but an important part of diet.
In 220, a famed physician and surgeon named Hua Tuo wrote Shin Lun, in which he describes tea's ability to improve mental functions: "to drink k'u t'u [bitter tea] constantly makes one think better"
During the Sui Dynasty (589-618 AD) tea was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks.
The Tang Dynasty writer Lu Yu(729-804 AD)'s (simplified Chinese: 陆羽; traditional Chinese: 陸羽; pinyin: lùyǔ) Cha Jing (The Classic of Tea) （simplified Chinese: 茶经; traditional Chinese: 茶經; pinyin: chá jīng) is an early work on the subject. (See also Tea Classics) According to Cha Jing tea drinking was widespread. The book describes how tea plants were grown, the leaves processed, and tea prepared as a beverage. It also describes how tea was evaluated. The book also discusses where the best tea leaves were produced. Teas produced in this period were mainly tea bricks which were often used as currency, especially further from the center of the empire where coins lost their value.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), production and preparation of all tea changed. The tea of Song included many loose-leaf styles (to preserve the delicate character favored by court society), but a new powdered form of tea emerged. Steaming tea leaves was the primary process used for centuries in the preparation of tea. After the transition from compressed tea to the powdered form, the production of tea for trade and distribution changed once again. The Chinese learned to process tea in a different way in the mid-13th century. Tea leaves were roasted and then crumbled rather than steamed. This is the origin of today's loose teas and the practice of brewed tea.
Tea production in China, historically, was a laborious process, conducted in distant and often poorly accessible regions. This led to the rise of many apocryphal stories and legends surrounding the harvesting process. For example, one story that has been told for many years is that of a village where monkeys pick tea. According to this legend, the villagers stand below the monkeys and taunt them. The monkeys, in turn, become angry, and grab handfuls of tea leaves and throw them at the villagers. There are products sold today that claim to be harvested in this manner, but no reliable commentators have observed this firsthand, and most doubt that it happened at all. For many hundreds of years the commercially-used tea tree has been, in shape, more of a bush than a tree. "Monkey picked tea" is more likely a name of certain varieties than a description of how it was obtained.
In 1391, the Ming court issued a decree that only loose tea would be accepted as a "tribute." As a result, loose tea production increased and processing techniques advanced. Soon, most tea was distributed in full-leaf, loose form and steeped in earthenware vessels.
Japan
Tea use spread to Japan about the sixth century. Tea became a drink of the religious classes in Japan when Japanese priests and envoys, sent to China to learn about its culture, brought tea to Japan. Ancient recordings indicate the first batch of tea seeds were brought by a priest named Saichō (最澄?, 767-822) in 805 and then by another named Kūkai (空海?, 774-835) in 806. It became a drink of the royal classes when Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇?), the Japanese emperor, encouraged the growth of tea plants. Seeds were imported from China, and cultivation in Japan began.
In 1191, the famous Zen priest Eisai (栄西?, 1141-1215) brought back tea seeds to Kyoto. Some of the tea seeds were given to the priest Myoe Shonin, and became the basis for Uji tea. The oldest tea specialty book in Japan, Kissa Yōjōki (喫茶養生記?, How to Stay Healthy by Drinking Tea), was written by Eisai. The two-volume book was written in 1211 after his second and last visit to China. The first sentence states, “Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete." Eisai was also instrumental in introducing tea consumption to the warrior class, which rose to political prominence after the Heian Period.
Green tea became a staple among cultured people in Japan -- a brew for the gentry and the Buddhist priesthood alike. Production grew and tea became increasingly accessible, though still a privilege enjoyed mostly by the upper classes. The tea ceremony of Japan was introduced from China in the 15th century by Buddhists as a semi-religious social custom. The modern tea ceremony developed over several centuries by Zen Buddhist monks under the original guidance of the monk Sen no Rikyū (千 利休?, 1522-1591). In fact, both the beverage and the ceremony surrounding it played a prominent role in feudal diplomacy.
In 1738, Soen Nagatani developed Japanese sencha (煎茶?), literally roasted tea, which is an unfermented form of green tea. It is the most popular form of tea in Japan today. In 1835, Kahei Yamamoto developed gyokuro (玉露?), literally jewel dew, by shading tea trees during the weeks leading up to harvesting. At the end of the Meiji period (1868-1912), machine manufacturing of green tea was introduced and began replacing handmade tea.
Korea
The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in the year 661 in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of King Suro, the founder of the Geumgwan Gaya Kingdom (42-562). Records from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks.
During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the royal Yi family and the aristocracy used tea for simple rites. The "Day Tea Rite" was a common daytime ceremony, whereas the "Special Tea Rite" was reserved for specific occasions. Toward the end of the Joseon Dynasty, commoners joined the trend and used tea for ancestral rites, following the Chinese example based on Zhu Xi's text formalities of Family.
Stoneware was common, ceramic more frequent, mostly made in provincial kilns, with porcelain rare, imperial porcelain with dragons the rarest. The earliest kinds of tea used in tea ceremonies were heavily pressed cakes of black tea, the equivalent of aged pu-erh tea still popular in China. However, importation of tea plants by Buddhist monks brought a more delicate series of teas into Korea, and the tea ceremony. Green tea, "chaksol" or "chugno," is most often served. However other teas such as "Byeoksoryung" Chunhachoon, Woojeon, Jakseol, Jookro, Okcheon, as well as native chrysanthemum tea, persimmon leaf tea, or mugwort tea may be served at different times of the year.
Taiwan
Taiwan is famous for the making of Oolong tea and green tea, as well as many western-styled teas. Bubble Tea or "Zhen Zhu Nai Cha" is black tea mixed with sweetened condensed milk and tapioca. Since the island was known to Westerners for many centuries as Formosa — short for the Portuguese Ilha Formosa, or "beautiful island" — tea grown in Taiwan is often identified by that name.
Tea spreads to the world
The earliest record of tea in a more occidental writing is said to be found in the statement of an Arabian traveler, that after the year 879 the main sources of revenue in Canton were the duties on salt and tea. Marco Polo records the deposition of a Chinese minister of finance in 1285 for his arbitrary augmentation of the tea taxes. The travelers Giovanni Batista Ramusio (1559), L. Almeida (1576), Maffei (1588), and Teixeira (1610) also mentioned tea. In 1557, Portugal established a trading port in Macau and word of the Chinese drink "chá" spread quickly, but there is no mention of them bringing any samples home. In the early 17th century, a ship of the Dutch East India Company brought the first green tea leaves to Amsterdam from China. Tea was known in France by 1636. It enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Paris around 1648. The history of tea in Russia can also be traced back to the seventeenth century. Tea was first offered by China as a gift to Czar Michael I in 1618. The Russian ambassador tried the drink; he did not care for it and rejected the offer, delaying tea's Russian introduction by fifty years. In 1689, tea was regularly imported from China to Russia via a caravan of hundreds of camels traveling the year-long journey, making it a precious commodity at the time. Tea was appearing in German apothecaries by 1657 but never gained much esteem except in coastal areas such as Ostfriesland. Tea first appeared publicly in England during the 1650s, where it was introduced through coffee houses. From there it was introduced to British colonies in America and elsewhere.
United Kingdom
The importing of tea into Britain began in the 1660s with the marriage of King Charles II with the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza where she brought to the court the habit of drinking tea. In the same year Samuel Pepys records drinking "a china drink of which I had never drunk before". It is probable that early imports came via Amsterdam or through sailors on eastern boats.
Regular trade began in Guangzhou (Canton). Trade was controlled by two monopolies: the Chinese Hongs (trading companies) and the British East India Company. The Hongs acquired tea from 'the tea men' who had an elaborate supply chain into the mountains and provinces where the tea was grown.
The East India Company brought back many products, of which tea was just one, but it was to prove one of the most successful. It was initially promoted as a medicinal beverage or tonic. By the end of the seventeenth century tea was taken as a drink, albeit mainly by the aristocracy. In 1690 nobody would have predicted that by 1750 tea would be the national drink. The origin of large trade in tea was the need for a return cargo from the East Indies. Merchantmen ships delivered fabrics manufactured in Britain to India and China but would return empty or partially full. To solve this problem the East India Company began a vigorous public relations campaign to popularize tea among the common people in Britain and develop it as a viable return cargo.
The escalation of tea importation and sales over the period 1690 to 1750 is mirrored closely by the increase in importation and sales of cane sugar: the British were not drinking just tea but sweet tea. Thus, two of Britain's trading triangles were to meet within the cup: the sugar sourced from Britain's trading triangle encompassing Britain, Africa and the West Indies and the tea from the triangle encompassing Britain, India and China.
Britain had to pay China for its tea, but China had little need of British goods, so much of it was paid for with silver bullion. Critics of tea at this time would point to the damage caused to Britain's wealth by this loss of bullion. As an alternative, Britain began producing opium in India and forced China to trade tea for opium as part of several treaties after the Opium wars. Tea became an important lubricant of Britain's global trade, contributing to Britain's global dominance by the end of the eighteenth century. To this day tea is seen as a symbol of 'Britishness', but also, to some, as a symbol of British Colonialism. The London 2012 section of the paralympic handover in Beijing included tea as part of the routine, such is the strong connection made between Britain and tea. Tea is widely drunk throughout the nation.
United States of America
While coffee is by far more popular, hot brewed black tea is enjoyed both with meals and as a refreshment by much of the population. Similarly, iced tea is consumed throughout. In the Southern states sweet tea, sweetened with large amounts of sugar or an artificial sweetener and chilled is the fashion. Outside the South, "Sweet Tea" is sometimes found in restaurants or in the home, but primarily because of a culture migration and commercialization.
The American speciality tea market has quadrupled in the years from 1993-2008, now being worth $6.8 billion a year.
The Boston Tea Party was an act of direct action protest by the American colonists against the British Government in which they destroyed many crates of tea belonging to the British East India Company on ships in Boston Harbor. The incident, which took place on Thursday, December 16, 1773, has been seen as helping to spark the American Revolution and remains to this day one of the most iconic events in American history.
India
Tea had been known for millennia in India as a medicinal plant, but was not drunk for pleasure until the British began to establish plantations in the 19th century. The Chinese variety is used for Darjeeling tea, and the Assamese variety, native to the Indian state of Assam, everywhere else. The British introduced tea-growing into India in 1836 and into Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1867. At first they used seeds from China, but later seeds from the Assam plant were used." Only black tea was produced until recent decades.
India was the top producer of tea for nearly a century, but was displaced by China as the top tea producer in the 21st century. Indian tea companies have acquired a number of iconic foreign tea enterprises including British brands Tetley and Typhoo. The per capita consumption of tea in India remains a modest 750 grams per person every year due to the large population base.
Sri Lanka/Ceylon
Sri Lanka is renowned for its high quality tea and as the third biggest tea producing country globally, has a production share of 9% in the international sphere, and one of the world's leading exporters with a share of around 19% of the global demand. The total extent of land under tea cultivation has been assessed at approximately 187,309 hectares.
The plantations started by the British were initially taken over by the government in the 1960s, but have been privatized and are now run by 'plantation companies' which own a few 'estates' or tea plantations each.
Ceylon tea is divided into 3 groups as Upcountry, Mid country and Low country tea based on the geography of the land on which it is grown. Today, Ceylon tea is known as one of the best in the world.
Africa and South America
Africa and South America have seen greatly increased tea production in recent decades, the great majority for export to Europe and North America respectively, produced on large estates, often owned by tea companies from the export markets. Almost all production is of basic mass-market teas, processed by the Crush, Tear, Curl method. Kenya is now the third largest global producer (figures below), after China and India, and is now the largest exporter of tea to the United Kingdom. There is also a great consumption of tea in Chile
