The Story of Tea
Page 33
The original English Breakfast Tea, Keemun is no longer plentiful enough (or inexpensive enough) for any but the finest teashops to base their blends on it (as we do). Keemun, in central China, is now a protected area and thus foreigners are not allowed. It continues to be famous as a source for world-class tea. The focused flavor of this tea is superb, and the lingering aftertaste is a real treat.
TANZANIA CTC
Region: Tanzania, Africa
Manufacture: Fully oxidized black tea
Style: Granular, neat
Flavor: Full, rich, malty
Aroma: Nutty, biscuity
Liquor: Burnt umber tinged with orange
Brewing: Brew three to five minutes at 185 to 200°F. Drink plain or with milk, sweetener, or lemon.
Most of the Tanzanian tea manufactured today was developed from Assam bush plants grafted onto “native” Kenyan rootstock. This gives the finished tea a good dose of the maltiness of an Assam; however, the clarity of the Kenyan style lightens and softens the whole. Being a moderate-sized CTC, Tanzanian tea brews at about the same rate (or even more slowly) as an orthodox tea.
Pu-erh
PU-ERH, “RAW” (OR “GREEN”)
Region: Yunnan Province, China
Manufacture: Not oxidized, then fermented pu-erh
Style: Open leaf and buds
Flavor: Smoothly sweet and lingering, deep (can be woody)
Aroma: Herbaceous, penetratingly floral
Liquor: Dark, burnt umber tinged with red-orange
Brewing: Brew numerous short infusions at 205 to 210°F. Drink plain.
Pu-erh is an acquired taste! “Raw” pu-erh has incredible depth with a lingering sweet, floral, nutty, herbaceous, and vegetal flavor. It is said that pu-erh tastes “of the earth.” Developed with years of experimentation going back to the Tea Horse Route days, pu-erh is one of those unique examples of terroir that happily exist to help us celebrate centuries-old tradition. Pu-erh comes in many interesting shapes and sizes. The shapes are usually wrapped and include the provenance, most often the origin and date of manufacture, and are sometimes marked with the seal (or “the chop”) of the artisan or previous owner.
PU-ERH, “COOKED” (OR “BLACK”)
Region: Yunnan Province, China
Manufacture: Oxidized, then fermented pu-erh
Style: Open leaf and buds
Flavor: Smoothly sweet and lingering, deep
Aroma: Herbaceous, floral, earthy
Liquor: Burnt umber tinged with red-orange
Brewing: Brew numerous short infusions at 205 to 210°F. Drink plain.
“Cooked” pu-erh is not as challenging an acquired taste as so-called “raw” pu-erh and is much less complex and potentially “odd.” A modern adaptation of pu-erh abbreviated from the “raw” technique, the base leaf in cooked pu-erh is oxidized before being molded and encouraged to ferment, thus accelerating the progress toward a finished product. Cooked pu-erh is commonly found in loose-leaf form as well as compressed shapes.
Scented Tea
JASMINE DRAGON PEARLS
Region: Fujian Province, China (and other provinces)
Manufacture: True jasmine tea (about 10 percent oxidation)
Style: Budsets scented before, during, and after being rolled into “pearls”
Flavor: Smooth, sweet, soft; traditionally scented
Aroma: Clean, floral
Liquor: Clear silver
Brewing: Brew numerous short infusions at 165 to 180°F (the scenting will dissipate slightly after the first infusion). Drink plain.
Jasmine Dragon Pearls have been popular for several centuries. With the essence of the jasmine flowers captured within the tightly rolled buds, the minimal surface area of Dragon Pearls guarantees that they hold their scent well. Fun to watch unfurl and delicious to drink, Dragon Pearls captivate the tea enthusiast.
TRADITIONAL-STYLE JASMINE (WITHOUT VISIBLE FLOWERS)
Region: Fujian Province, China (and other provinces)
Manufacture: Jasmine tea (about 10 percent oxidation)
Style: Budset and leaf, scented during manufacture only (flower petals are removed from the finished tea)
Flavor: Smooth, sweet, soft; traditionally scented
Aroma: Clean, floral
Liquor: Clear silver
Brewing: Brew numerous short infusions at 160 to 170°F (the scenting will dissipate after the first infusion). Drink plain.
The Chinese mastered the art of scenting the leaf of Camellia sinensis, using various flowers and fruits. In traditional-style jasmine tea the essence of jasmine is perceptible in the brewed tea, but no flower petals are visually evident in most Chinese-style jasmine teas.
MODERN-STYLE JASMINE (WITH VISIBLE FLOWERS)
Region: Sichuan Province, China (and a few other provinces)
Manufacture: Jasmine tea (about 10 percent oxidation)
Style: Budset and leaf, scented during manufacture, then fresh flowers are added to the finished tea
Flavor: Smooth, sweet, focused; highly scented, lingering finish
Aroma: Bright, floral
Liquor: Clear silver
Brewing: Brew numerous short infusions at 160 to 170°F (the scenting dissipates after the first infusion). Drink plain; in Sichuan Province this is sometimes consumed with spicy-hot cuisine.
Modern-style jasmine tea differs significantly from traditional-style jasmine tea. The scenting of the leaf is much higher, requiring that more flowers be added to the base leaf. Flowers are also added to the finished tea, a visual appearance appreciated in Sichuan Province and parts of northern China.
LAPSANG SOUCHONG
Region: Fujian Province, China, and Taiwan
Manufacture: Smoked, fully oxidized black tea
Style: Crepey, open twist
Flavor: Biscuity, robustly smoked
Aroma: Smoky
Liquor: Burnt sienna tinged with copper
Brewing: Brew two to four minutes at 190 to 210°F. Drink plain.
Lapsang Souchong is often referred to as Tarry Lapsang. When a large-leaf black tea is smoked over green pine or other resinous wood, the result is this love-it or hate-it tea. Variation occurs in the strength and inherent flavor profile of the base tea and the amount of and intensity of the smokiness. We often blend a small amount of Lapsang Souchong into other leaf teas to contribute a bit of smoke for those who like “just a whiff.” (See “Fujian Province” under “China’s Black Teas” in chapter 4 for the fascinating history of Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong, the original Lapsang Souchong.)
EARL GREY
Region: The tea blender’s choice of black tea
Manufacture: Fully oxidized black tea
Style: Orange Pekoe, generally in twist or crimp, must be neat
Flavor: Brisk, colory, clean
Aroma: Bright citrus
Liquor: Bright copper tinged with green (from the natural citrus oil)
Brewing: Brew three to five minutes at 185 to 200°F. Drink plain or with sweetener or lemon.
Earl Grey is one of the classics. The best are made with a medium-large leaf, evenly graded into a crimp or twist. The addition of natural oil of bergamot provides the citrusy snap and aroma. The character of the base tea combined with the amount of and quality of the citrus oil determine the overall strength, intensity, and aromatic quality of each individual blender’s Earl Grey. Sometimes a bit of Lapsang Souchong or lavender is added. Earl Grey tea varies considerably from shop to shop, so be sure to inquire about the house style before stocking up.
Artisan, Presentation, or Display Tea
Presentation teas are a historically rich form of tea elaboration that has recently been revitalized and now captures the fancy of tea enthusiasts worldwide. From simple peony-shaped clusters of green or black tea buds, to intricate bundles of exquisite elongated white tea buds that gracefully unfurl to release silk-thread–strung flower blossoms of jasmine or rose, artisan teas are fun, entertaining, and generally made from high-quality tea
. Because so much work goes into these miniature works of art, there is no sense manufacturing them with poor-quality buds.
JADE INGOT, CHINESE LANTERN, JASMINE PEARL-IN-A-SHELL, BLOOMING HEART, DOUBLE-DRAGON WITH PEARL, SHOOTING STAR, ETC.
Region: Historically China but tied today in most tea-growing regions
Style: Elongated-budset base tea; tea buds bundle-wrapped in a fanciful shape and designed to brew open into the likeness of a flower
Flavor: Smooth, sweet, soft; sometimes jasmine-scented
Aroma: Clean, floral
Liquor: Clear silver or pale green-gold
Brewing: Brew numerous short infusions at 165 to 180°F (most scenting dissipates significantly after the first infusion). Drink plain.
Fun to watch and delicious to drink, presentation teas captivate the observer and are best enjoyed brewed in an oversized wine glass, brandy snifter, or glass teapot. Once brewed and enjoyed as a beverage, the opened “flower” can be set in cold water (change daily) and enjoyed for many days as a table centerpiece, a mini bouquet of a sort.
TAI CHI, TANGO, AND TEA BREWING are studied but never mastered. Most tea drinkers brew tea the way that their grandmother or familial community does, or by the method used for the first cup of tea that interested them. Today, with the increasing availability of leaf tea from all over the world, of every type of tea manufacture known, and with varying sizes of leaf in each style, a specific explanation of brewing methodology is required for those who want to brew tea with precision. This chapter describes the key components for an incredible tea-drinking experience: purchasing tea, tea storage, the yield, measuring the tea, the water, the water temperature, brewing hot tea, the steeping time, miscellaneous tips for brewing, and finally tasting the tea.
Traditional Korean tea service.
Purchasing Tea
Tea is the second-most consumed beverage in the world, after water; it is also the second-least expensive. It is essential to use fresh, high-quality leaf tea. Many rare and highly regarded teas cost only pennies per cup more than the standard grades, so it is unnecessary to ever brew poor-quality tea. We always tell our customers to “purchase the best tea that you can afford, as often as is necessary to provide convenience for you and to freshen your larder” (see “Tea Storage” later in this chapter).
As with wine, cheese, and coffee, a bit of knowledge regarding production cycles and harvest times will increase your satisfaction with the teas that you select. A new crop of tea comes to market seasonally, so you need to adjust your larder by tea variety, keeping only a sensible quantity on hand, taking particular care with the more delicate fresh teas. A pound of leaf tea, regardless of the variety, always yields two hundred “measures” of tea. This means two hundred cups of tea if brewing a single infusion (most black teas). Teas brewed with multiple infusions (most greens, oolongs, whites, and pu-erhs) may yield as many as six hundred to a thousand cups of tea from those two hundred measures. So there is no reason to have more tea in your pantry than your household can realistically consume. Neither is there any reason to purchase an undersized quantity in the potentially mistaken belief that the tea might remain fresher under the merchant’s care. Use these common-sense tips when purchasing tea:
Support reliable merchants who offer a reasonable selection of tea.
Keep in mind that your tea merchant should follow the same storage guidelines as you, so more choices do not necessarily mean better tea.
Shop where there is a steadily moving inventory of a carefully selected assortment of high-quality tea, rather than where there is an enormous variety of poorly chosen tea that has seen better days.
So what is a reasonable selection? The customer base of the merchant dictates that. When a busy tea merchant has a large and diverse clientele, more variety can be offered while maintaining freshness. Selection is nice, but the larger the assortment, the more likely it is that many of the teas are not fresh. If you have a local British provisions shop, we would expect to find tea there from Kenya and India. While shopping a small tea store in Chinatown, finding any black tea at all may prove impossible, as its clientele most likely drinks only green and oolong tea; this is where you should hope to discover an interesting new flavor, such as a quirky, musty oolong. To recognize merchants who are busy and have an active turnover, regardless of their breadth of selection, ask yourself the following questions:
Are the dispensing containers clean? Dirty containers show a lack of respect for the tradition established by the tea growers and processors, who have created a fresh, clean product. Avoid merchants who do not understand this relationship.
Are the signs and related information clear and educational, and is the staff knowledgeable? Well-informed tea purveyors want to share information with you so that a better dialogue can develop, and finer tea can be procured for all to enjoy. Avoid tea stores that are uninteresting or routine.
Is there obvious enthusiasm for the tea being offered? There should be, fulfilling the connection between the tea grower and the consumer. If this link is dull, chances are the tea will be lifeless as well. Selecting tea is similar to choosing cheese or fish: you need to have a bit of knowledge and find an enthusiastic and reliable source; beyond that, variety is a bonus.
It is critical to learn to distinguish between marketing puff and sincere reverence. If your tea merchant does not provide these positive elements, find another who can offer you a quality product. Bad tea will always be obvious, and questionable tea should be avoided, but great tea is difficult to hide. Most tea merchants are generalists, although a few may elect to specialize in a particular type of tea. Tea on offer must be clearly identified, including the specific garden or estate of origin, when applicable. For example, Castleton Garden is a highly regarded, individual garden in the Darjeeling district of northern India, whereas the highest quality Keemun Hao Ya A will not have further place specificity other than that it is from the Keemun region of Anhui Province, in eastern China.
It is possible to be an expert in the flavor and brewing of tea without having ever set foot in a tea garden, just as one need not be a fisherman to recognize a great fillet of Dover sole or necessarily be able to distinguish goat from ewe to enjoy superlative cheese. When you are interested in learning more about “the way of tea,” many knowledgeable tea enthusiasts are ready to share information with you. Professional tea tasters, ourselves included, taste far more tea around our tasting table than on location; the experience of tasting and learning far outweighs being temporarily at the tea’s point of origin. All of us drink most of our tea right at home, with local water, so that is how tea should be tasted. That being said, however, if your local tea merchant has observed tea processing at its source and has personal knowledge of tea production, that experience should add to your appreciation of tea as well.
BUYING FRESH TEA
So how fresh is this tea that you are buying, anyway? Basically, there are three ways to purchase leaf tea: (1) bulk, weighed-to-order by your merchant or perhaps self-service; (2) packaged, as a “proprietary” tea, by your tea merchant, in a tin, foil sack, or tin-tie bag; and (3) packaged, so-called branded tea put up by one of the major tea blenders and packers. Each method has its pros and cons, with the most important factors being sourcing the highest-quality tea available in any given year, knowledge of what a singular tea’s flavor profile is so that an authentic version of it can be offered, and selling the tea while it is at its peak.
Leaf tea sold in bulk and weighed to order as well as proprietary tea packed by your merchant, near or far, is typically fresher than the packaged branded teas. Just take a look at the tea. Smelling dry tea leaves indicates freshness only for those teas that are scented or flavored, or that should have a toasty or smoky character. It is essential to introduce water to tea leaves to really determine quality. You can tell a lot from the look once you become familiar with quality tea and its visual attributes. Visual clues are particularly important when selecting Chinese green tea.
> Many tea lovers can only source high-quality leaf tea by mail order, however, so it is necessary to know how to select tea without the assistance of a merchant. Many of the same tips for buying tea in a store apply to purchasing by mail. What you cannot establish before purchase by mail, of course, are the cleanliness of the facility and the true attitude of the merchant and staff. But you can glean clues by examining the tone of the catalog or website. Is the information clear, accurate, plentiful, and current? Is the presentation cluttered and boring, or fresh and precise? Is everything too slick and marketing-driven, or are you genuinely intrigued with the offerings and stimulated to purchase? Are the prices fair and typical, or mysteriously odd?
HIGHS AND LOWS OF THE TEA-PRICING SPECTRUM
We recently came across an online purveyor selling a particular tea from the exact same source from whom we purchase this tea, but for five times what we charge at retail. This was a fantastic tea, and not inexpensive, but its fair price in the market was $15 per quarter pound, not $70. Even at this hefty price of $280 per pound, the $1.40 per cup cost is still less than a Tetley teabag would be, served to you in any diner. All of this purveyor’s prices were extravagant, so this context created a standard. The particular tea we noted was so good that we are sure that many online shoppers were completely happy with their purchase. At this extreme price the purveyor was selling “special” by inflating the price for only those who could afford it. When tea enthusiasts encounter tea that is either very expensive or has a too-good-to-be-true low price, we recommend caution. It is always more important to be wary of cheap tea than expensive tea. Cheap tea is always cheap tea, whereas costly tea (especially when it is priced fairly) is a fantastic value and can provide unforgettable moments of pleasure.