- Kafevend
- |
- 29/01/2013
- |
- 11:22
Posted in Kafevend Blog
All teas are derived from
one species of plant- the Camellia Sinensis. The majority of
tea comes from two varietes of the species: the Chinese tea variant
Sinensis and the Assam or Indian variant Assamica. The
tea plant is thought to have originated in south east Asia, around
China, India and Burma. Over time, its cultivation has spread to over
thirty countries around the world, in places like East and South
Africa, much of South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
There
are several categories of tea, related to the way it has been
processed. These are post-fermented, green, yellow, white, oolong and
black. As these are just forms of processing, there are further
variations in taste depending on the region the tea was grown in- for
example, Darjeeling tea from West Bengal in India is processed as
black, white and oolong tea. The different categories are typically
based on the level of oxidation the tea leaves have been subjected
to.
Black
tea has been completely oxidised; it is first withered, then bruised
or cut to allow oxidation. A process known as cut, tear, curl is used
to produce the fine pieces of tea we use in tea bags. Oolong teas are
partly oxidised, ranging anywhere from 5 to 70%. White tea is very
lightly oxidised, and is only left to wither for a short time before
being carefully dried and packed.
Green
tea receives almost no oxidation. A process known as 'fixation' is
used to halt it- the leaves are heated very soon after picking. They
are then dried and packed. Post fermentation and yellow teas are
offshoots of green teas. To create yellow tea, leaves that have been
heat treated to halt oxidation are covered and heated gently before
finally being dried. The process for making post fermentation tea is
the same as the one for green tea, but after being dried, they are
left to age or ferment to develop the taste.
by Kafevend
Related Stories