All About Tea

Tea 102
 What’s the Fuss?
"Thank god for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it
exist? I am glad I was not born before tea."
-William Gladstone, British prime minister

"The best quality tea must have creases like the leathern boot of
tartar horsemen, curl like the dewlap of a mighty bullock, unfold
like a mist rising out of a ravine, gleam like a lake touched by a
zephyr, and be wet and soft like a fine earth newly"
Lu Yu, patron saint of tea

Tea is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world

second only to water !! it’s no. 8 in the USA.
 What Is Tea?

• Camellia sinensis
Vars. Sinensis and assamicus

• Everything else is
a Herbal
• Tisane versus Herbal
 Camellia sinensis Classification
• Kingdom: Plantae
• Division: Magnoliophyta
• Class: Magnoliopsida
• Order: Ericales
• Family: Theaceae
• Genus: Camellia
• Species: C. sinensis
• Subspecies: C. sinensis sinensis or assamicus
• Varieties: 380 and counting
 Parts of the Tea Plant
• Bud - unopened new leaf

• Orange Pekoe Leaf (OP)

Top two whole leafs

• Souchong Leaf
4th and 5th leaf down on a stalk
Usually called a rough pick that
will include stems.
Tea Types
380 varieties 4 groups 5000 types
White, Green, Oolong, or Black
Teas can also be Classified by:
• Nation of Origin
• Province Grown in
• Estate (Plantation) Tea grown in
• Garden within the Estate
• Year the Tea was Picked
• Flush or Season of Picking
• Lot or specific day and Garden Location
 Tea Grades
• OP ~ orange pekoe
• FOP ~ flowery orange pekoe
• GFOP ~ golden flowery orange pekoe
• TGFOP ~ tippy golden flowery orange pekoe
• FTGFOP ~ finest tippy golden flowery orange pekoe
• SFTGFOP ~ special finest tippy golden flowery
orange pekoe
• BOP ~ Broken Orange Pekoe
• CTC ~ cut tear and curl
• Dust and Fannings ~ tea bag cut
Common Tea Names
Based on Location
 Tea Quality

• Tea Grade vs. Quality

• Broken Leaf vs. Whole Leaf
• Dust & Fannings (Teabag Cut)
• Cut Tear Curl
 Tea and Health

• Green Tea vs. Black

• Polyphenols called
Flavinoids &
Tannins
• Antioxidant
Activation
 Tea & Caffeine
• Abundant in tea
• One of 20 varieties of caffeine, teaeine,
appears to enter the system slower and stays
longer than coffee caffeine
• Caffeine content depends on steep time
 Tea and History

Tea has an amazing story to tell through its

discovery and travels around the world.
Let’s take a look at just a few stories.
 Tea Origins
and Emperor Shen Nung

• 2,742 BC in Yunnan
• 1066 BC Yunnan tea
delivered as tribute
• Yunnan has 260 of 380
varieties of C. Sinensis
• 794 – 221 BC Tu 1st
recorded
• 725 AD cha first recorded
 Tea in the Orient
• Lu Yu and the “Cha Ching” in 780 AD
• 1191 Zen Buddhist Monk Myoan re-introduces tea to
Japan
• Powdered tea of the Song Dynasty (960-1279)
• Japanese Tea Tournaments
• Mongol Dynasty (1162-1368) and Marco Polo (1275)
• 1368 Ming Dynasty replaces Mongol Dynasty
 Mongolian Empire
Wait a few seconds for animation

Wikicommons image file

 Europe Enters Scene
• 1498 Portugal opens the
gates
• Dutch are not far behind
• England enters late with
Queen Elizabeth I
forming the East India
Trading Company
December 31, 1600
 Caravan Tea
"Ecstasy Is a Glass Full of Tea and a Piece of Sugar in the Mouth"
-Alexander Puskin

• Usk Kayakhta & Mai-mai-

cheng 1689, a few hundred
camels in 18 months
• Over 10,000 camels per
caravan in 1830
• 1907 last camel left Usk-
Kayakhta – the trans-
Siberian RR took over
 Tea Hits England

• 1652 Cromwell dies - Charles

II returns with Catherine
• 1658 Garway’s Advertisement
• Colonial Era Tea Tax and Free
Traders
• Anna Duchess of Bedford
 Grog
• Navy life
• Sailor’s ration of
rum
• Ship’s duty

Admiral Edward Vernon

 Tea and Empire
• 1842 - 1849 The Opium
Wars
• Clipper ships
• Assam, India & the John
Company
• Robert Fortune and Robert
Bruce
• Industrial Assam beats
Chinese peasant framers
Margaret’s Hope
• John Company
Blues
• Victoria, Empress
of India
• Tea Committee
• New Life in India
High Tea
• The evolution of
meal times
• Incorporating tea
• Socialization of tea
• Social distinction
through tea
 Tea in America

• First arrived at same

time as Europe
• Taxation
• Tea act of 1773
• Iced tea 1904?
Tea and Society

• Sober Sovereigns
• Safe water
• Tea breaks
• Advertising
 How to Make a Great Cup of Tea

• Tea grades & quality

(selection & purchase)
• Teapots
• Steeping the tea
• Take the time
 Steeping the Tea
Perfect cup of tea
 *Use one teaspoon of tealeaves per cup of tea
*Steep for appropriate time and temperature
*After steeping, remove leaves from water
*Add milk, sugar, honey, or lemon to taste

Black Oolong Green White

Water Temp. 210°F 204°F 200 °F 190°F
Cool Cup Cool Cup Cool Cup
Steep Time 3-5 2-3 1-2 30 secs-1min.
(minutes)
 What Pot to Use?
• The one you’ve got
• Yi Xing, Tetsubin,
Brown Betty pots
• Steeping accoutrements
• Warm pots in cold
weather
• Washing the pot
Tea Storage
• Air-tight inert
container
• Cool dry location
• Do not refrigerate or
freeze
• Away from direct
sunlight
• 6 months to 1 year
storage time
 Why Loose Teas?

More Loose Tea to Package = Lower Carbon

Imprint
Better Quality than Most Tea Bag Teas
Nylon Tea Bags = Nylon Infusions
Better Control of Tea Strength & Flavor with
Loose Tea
 Tea Facts
• Tea Currency
• Marketing Began with Tea
• World Health
• Modern Uses
• The Irish and Iraqis Drink Most Tea
• England Does Not Grow Tea!