The Story of Tea

by Mary Lou Heiss

  Upon receipt of mail-order tea, you should always confirm that you received what you ordered, check the package for hints as to the care that the tea received during storage and processing, and report immediately any discrepancies or problems. If something is amiss, discuss it thoroughly with the purveyor. Mistakes happen, but they should be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties involved.

  SHOPPING FOR BRANDED TEA

  Well-known tea companies exist today that have built their reputation on purveying acceptable-leaf tea for generations. These brands are generally available through mass merchandisers and grocers worldwide. You know their names; they are the “old reliables” and quite possibly were your first cup of tea or even the tea that you had this morning. The whole point of creating a “branded” tea is to market a consistent product at a competitive price. A branded tea normally makes use of as many as ten to fifteen teas in its blend to maintain its flavor profile, so you will not find any specific source information on the package.

  This is not only okay, it is imperative, as the flavor profile for these teas is the reason to purchase one or another. When clients ask us for PG Tips, they do not want Bewley’s flavor profile. We find no fault with blends; they are the equalizers of the tea world. Although we prefer an individual garden’s uniqueness and appreciate the inevitable variation from batch to batch, if you prefer to have your morning “cuppa” be reliable and consistent, these teas will provide that for you. Packaged, branded tea generally requires a minimum of four to six months (and often a year or more) to move from harvest to your shopping bag; this processing time should be factored into your purchasing pattern.

  WORTH THE PRICE

  Diners readily pay $7 to $10 per glass of wine or Champagne with a restaurant meal. Consumed at home, a bottle of wine that retails for $20 costs about $4 per serving. It is not unusual to be charged $3.50 for a cup of coffee or tea after a meal or in a café. It is easy to enjoy a splendid cup of tea from one’s own teapot for a fraction of that. At $30 per pound for high-quality black tea, you are paying 15¢ per cup, and at $30 to $40 for fancy oolongs and spring-crop green teas, the price per cup stays about the same or may actually decrease to 5¢ to 7¢ a cup. The most luxurious and unusual teas rarely cost 40¢ per cup, which extrapolates out to $80 per pound for black teas or $160 to $240 for oolong, green, and white teas. Considering that a pound of such highest-quality budset green or traditional white tea may require 40,000 buds (picked one at a time by hand), 40¢ a cup is a steal.

  Tea Storage

  Tea storage is uncomplicated. Leaf tea should be stored in a cool airtight location, away from strong odors and direct sunlight. The different types of tea have varying internal moisture requirements. An airtight container maintains the proper atmosphere that was established during the manufacture of each specific tea. Recent research indicates that it is possible that some fresh green teas will maintain their flavor best in a very cool environment, such as wine cellar conditions or in the refrigerator. Studies on this are inconclusive, however, so a well-sealed container at ambient room (cool) temperature should be sufficient for the quantity of tea normally kept at home.

  Here is a quick reference on guidelines for home storage and consumption:

  Black teas, highly oxidized oolong teas, and budset white teas should be consumed within one year of purchase.

  Less-oxidized oolong teas, modern-leaf white teas, and standard green teas should be consumed within six months to a year.

  Fresh, spring-picked green teas should be consumed within several months to a half-year.

  Pu-erh tea will keep for years if loose leaf, and may improve with age if it is a Sheng Pu-erh (see “Pu-erh” section in chapter 3).

  These guidelines assume that you are purchasing leaf tea from the current harvest and that storage conditions from harvest to retail purchase have been excellent. Remember, tea is harvested on a yearly cycle, so you want to capitalize on the seasonal changes that occur throughout the year. Scented and flavored teas show dissipation of the scenting over time, depending on the type of scenting or flavoring and how closely the container is sealed. No accurate prediction can be made for these teas, however, so assume a shelf life of approximately six months.

  Yield

  As previously stated, regardless of variations in the volume, leaf tea yields two hundred measures per pound for all tea. Using that measure of at least 2 grams of leaf tea for each 6 fluid ounces of water will yield the 50 cups of brewed tea per quarter pound of leaf tea that taste experts recommend. This yield applies to most traditional black teas as well as some standard-grade green and oolong teas. Varieties of tea that allow for multiple infusions (most oolongs, jasmines, whites, and greens), depending on the individual tea and brewing method used, should be able to brew 100 to 150 servings per quarter pound, two to three times the normal yield. The measure of leaf tea remains constant by weight; the factor that increases the number of servings is the capacity of the leaves to be reinfused in fresh water.

  Calculated using 2006 prices for high-quality leaf tea in the United States, this is a price per serving of 4¢ to 30¢ per cup, depending on the tea and the number of infusions. As most leaf tea is handpicked from the bush, sorted, manufactured, and handled many times after, then shipped intact around the world, tea continues to be an incredible value.

  Measuring the Tea

  Professional tea tasters and experienced tea drinkers alike carefully measure the appropriate amount of leaf tea to water. Quality, name-brand tea packers also use a specific proper quantity of tea per teabag (this ranges from 1.8 to 2.2 grams per teabag). In the 1920s, when modern food pioneers perfected the ratios for brewing tea and coffee, their objective was the scientific exploration of pure taste. The measures of “2 level tablespoons” of coffee and “1 teaspoon” of tea “per cup” are derived from the gram weight of substance held by these common volume-measuring implements.

  Tea tasters determined that 2 grams of leaf tea per 6 ounces (180 grams) water (by weight measure) yielded excellent flavor that contained the proper level of soluble solids considered to be the perfect cup of brewed tea. A standard-sized black tea leaf of the day was used for this 2-gram measure and, translated into volume, was that “teaspoon per cup.” Six ounces of water by weight (180 grams) is 6 fluid ounces by volume. Both ground coffee and leaf teas generally absorb .5 ounce of every 6 ounces of the brewing water; this suited perfectly the standard cup and saucer developed in 1700s England that holds 5.5 ounces of liquid.

  Measuring tea with a simple, inexpensive digital scale is infallible. Whether you are experienced with or are new to tea, and choose to weigh your tea or not, if you enthusiastically aspire to decipher the complexities of the various styles of tea available today, there are two main considerations when measuring tea: the proper measure to use for the type of tea being brewed, and any adjustment for the individual bulkiness of the particular tea being used. Here are the basics and a few variables:

  Proper measure by weight. In general, black, oolong, and standard green teas are measured at the customary 2 grams per 6 fluid ounces of water. There are tippy black, spring green, and oolong teas for which one should use 2.5 or 3 grams per 6 fluid ounces. This increased amount is used when a tea will be brewed numerous times, for only 90 seconds to 2 minutes per steeping. Using 2 grams of tea for each 6 fluid ounces of water will yield the fifty cups of brewed tea per quarter pound that taste experts expect. Whether you are weighing your leaf tea or measuring it by volume, it is essential to have a good sense of volume to weight.

  Adjustment for differences in volume. First, it must be determined whether the leaf you are using is of the particle size on which the historical base measure of 2 grams (1 teaspoon) per cup was set. The “teaspoon per cup” is based on a standard, medium-long, moderately twisted-leaf black tea. Several well-known examples of this particle size in the black tea class are Keemun Congou, Ceylon BOP, Assam OP, and nearly all Darjeelings. Gunpowder green and Tieguanyin oolong are also of this
particle size. Tippy Yunnan, Ceylon FOP, large-leaf Assam, and Lapsang Souchong black teas are all made from a larger leaf (as are most traditional Formosa oolongs and basket-fired spring green teas). These are therefore bulkier, by volume, than the historical base measure, so a larger amount by volume must be used.

  Conversely, a cut-tear-curl (CTC) Assam, small-leaf Ceylon, or Keemun Hao Ya A black tea weighs heavy for its bulk and so must be measured “short.” A phenomenon that we noticed years ago is that, when using traditional (orthodox) leaf tea, the volume of the spent tea leaves is very similar, whatever the variety of tea being brewed. This is helpful when learning about tea measure and the varieties of leaf style (especially if you choose not to weigh your tea leaves), as observing the structure of the leaf wet versus dry will assist you in determining the correct amount to use.

  If the leaf is large, open, and flat, or slightly twisted, as with such bulky oolongs as Formosa Fancy Silvertips or Fujian Da Hong Pao and such big leafy greens as Tai Ping Hou Kui, or when brewing full budset white tea, the tea will not increase much in volume during steeping. Therefore you need to use two or three times the amount of dry leaf by volume than when you are brewing a “standard” particle-sized tea, such as Keemun Congou or a jasmine that will swell significantly when rehydrated. If you do not weigh your dry tea, you can knowledgeably select differently sized scoops that are appropriate to the volume that they need to have for proper brewing of your various teas. See individual tea variety descriptions in chapter 5 for particularly unusual weight and volume correlations.

  The Water

  Tea should be brewed using fresh, pure cold water. This may be your tap water but will more likely be filtered water or bottled spring water. If you are purchasing bottled water, you should be certain that it is truly spring water, not just someone else’s tap water. All spring water sold in the United States and the European Union must have the source of the water identified on the label.

  Brewed tea is 99 percent water, so it is essential that it is odor-free and as untreated as is possible. Lu Yu, the Chinese tea scholar (see “Lu Yu: The Father of Tea” in chapter 1), recommended that his Chinese counterparts use water from a spring in the same region from which the tea they were brewing was grown. Of course this is not a practical solution for most of us, although it is a delightful objective when traveling in a tea-producing region. So this is our rule of thumb: if we won’t drink a particular water, we won’t brew tea in it. Conversely, not all great drinking waters are good tea-brewing waters. We love Evian for drinking, but we wouldn’t brew tea with it, as it is too soft.

  WATER BOILING VISUAL CLUES

  Chinese tea scholars delightfully visualize the four primary temperatures of water used for brewing tea as follows:

  “Column of steam steadily rising.” This is the period during which a visible pillar of steam materializes, approximately 170 to 180°F (72 to 82°C).

  “Fish eyes.” This is when large lazy bubbles start to break the surface, approximately 180 to 200°F (82 to 93°C).

  “String of pearls.” This is the moment almost at the boil, when tiny bubbles appear to loop near the perimeter, approximately 190 to 200°F (88 to 93°C).

  “Turbulent waters.” This is a full rolling boil, when the water becomes highly oxygenated, approximately 200 to 212°F (93 to 100°C).

  Most tea brews best in moderate to soft water. A few teas (such as tippy Yunnan blacks or full-bodied oolongs) brew well in moderate to slightly hard water with a bit of mineral content. For dependable results when we taste tea professionally, we use water from one of the natural springs in Maine; it consistently has the qualities that we prefer in our tea-brewing water. These springs are relatively nearby our teashop, so the water is fresh. This water is similar to the tap water that our local clientele accesses, but we also regularly taste tea with local tap water, to stay in touch with its flavor.

  Experimentation will determine which teas brew well in the water that you drink, or the source for water that complements the tea that you prefer. To evaluate brewing waters, bring a portion of several types of water to a boil, let them cool, then smell and taste each one. Note any positive and negative factors and then test-brew some of your favorite teas with the waters that scored positively. With any luck this will be the water that you drink regularly!

  Water Temperature

  There are three ideal methods used to heat water for brewing tea. Apply heat to a vessel containing freshly drawn, cold water until: (1) the water reaches the temperature appropriate to the type of tea being brewed; (2) the water comes to a full, rolling boil, then “shock” the temperature down by the addition of a small amount of cold water; (3) the water comes to a full, rolling boil, then allow it to rest until it has cooled to the proper temperature. When the quality of the water is in question, this method must be used.

  There are some excellent and easy rules of thumb to follow: For brewing black or oolong teas, the fewer the number of tips and the more highly oxidized the tea leaves, the higher the water temperature should be. For brewing white and most green teas, the lighter the color of the tea leaves, the cooler the water must be. There are important exceptions to this, however: Japanese green teas (which are generally very dark in color but are brewed with cool water) and yellow teas (which are traditionally light in color but are less sensitive to brewing temperature than are many other more darkly colored, early harvest teas). See Table 6.1 for some guidelines on water temperature for brewing the various types of tea.

  Table. 6.1. Water Temperature for Brewing Tea, by Type

  Detailed list to follow

  Tea Type: White tea, Japanese green tea, and many new or spring green teas

  Temperature: 160–170°F (71–77°C)

  Tea Type: Green tea (standard)

  Temperature: “Column of steam steadily rising,” 170–180°F (77–82°C)

  Tea Type: Oolong tea;

  Temperature: “Fish eyes,” 180–200°F (82–93°C)

  Tea Type: Black tea

  Temperature: “String of pearls,” 190–200°F (88–93°C)

  Tea Type: Pu-erh tea

  Temperature: “Turbulent waters,” 200–212°F (93–100°C)

  Sitting at night in a mountain pavilion,

  drawing spring water to boil tea

  As the water and fire battle it out, the scent

  of the pine billows through the trees

  as I pour a cup, bathed in light from the

  clouds.

  The profound pleasure of this moment

  is hard to convey in words to those

  of common tastes.

  —MING DYNASTY LITERATI

  Brewing Hot Tea

  Brewing leaf tea requires minimal equipment and a modicum of attention. Preparing tea is not difficult; it should be a pleasurable moment of your day. Millions of people the world over make tea under the most primitive of conditions, so there is no need to complicate it. Allow the leaves to circulate freely in the cup or teapot. We advise our customers to never “contain” bulky spring green tea, oolongs, white tea, or tippy black teas in a tea ball. Tea balls are fine for CTC or very finely cut orthodox tea leaves, but using them for larger leaf will do one of two things. First, using a tea ball might force you to break the leaves into pieces, negating the care with which they have been handled all the way from the tea garden to your kitchen counter. Second, your tea ball might not hold the proper amount of tea because it is too small; or, if the tea ball is large enough, it will displace so much water that the brewing proportions will be wrong. So, while there are many clever filtering and straining devices on the market that will assist you in removing the leaves from your brewed tea, tea balls are not among our recommended choices for this task.

  Various cultures have developed creative and legitimate techniques for removing the spent leaves from brewed tea. Five time-tested options are outlined below:

  The two-pot method. Steep the tea in one teapot and pour the brewed tea off into a second pot for serving,
straining as necessary. This is by far the easiest, most flexible method for brewing any quantity of any style of tea. An added bonus is that you get to use two teapots from your collection every time rather than just one!

  A traditional, single teapot. Select an appropriately sized teapot, brew the precise quantity of tea that you need, and then steep more if you need it. The English style of this teapot most often has a ceramic “web” or “cage” built into the base of the spout so that the leaves cannot enter the spout. If there is no such cage, there are simple and fancy strainers alike that one can hold between the spout tip and cup to filter errant leaves. Chinese Yixing teapots also have this cage built into the spout base, but this teapot is traditionally used for brewing oolongs. The Japanese tea-brewing rule of thumb is: The better the tea, the smaller the teapot. If you are brewing Indian chai, chaiwalla-style, then the water, milk, tea, and spices will all be brought to a simmer in the same pot. The single-teapot method, whichever type of tea you brew, in whatever style of teapot you use, produces a fixed quantity of fresh tea every time, as you only brew what you will drink at that moment.