All about tea - TEEKANNE tea knowledge

Black tea
Green Tea
White tea
Oolong Tea
Pu-Erh-Tee

Green and black tea come from the same plant. The difference is in the processing. Green tea is subjected to heat treatment, which prevents fermentation, while black tea obtains its different appearance and taste through fermentation.
Black Tea:
It is a complex process that turns juicy green tea leaves into fine black tea. Because fresh tea leaves spoil quickly, unlike coffee beans, they are processed immediately at the plantations where they are grown.

The tea goes through the following processing steps:

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Wilting

o soften the tea leaves for further processing, they are spread out so that they can wilt. During this step, they lose between 30% and 70% of their moisture depending on the growing region.

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Rolling

Rolling breaks the walls of the leaf cells, allowing oxygen to react with the cell cytoplasm.

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Fermentation

Fermentation refers to the oxidation of the cytoplasm that escapes from the cells when the leaves are rolled. During this process, the colour of the leaves changes, and they develop their characteristic aroma.

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Drying

Drying allows the tea to be kept without spoiling. The remaining moisture is removed from the fermented leaves in a drying oven, and the cell cytoplasm dries on the leaves. While fermentation turns the leaves copper red, drying darkens them to dark brown or black. Later, when the tea is brewed, the cytoplasm that is dried on the leaves is dissolved by the boiling water and creates a copper red, aromatic and stimulating beverage.

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Sorting

The finished tea is sorted by leave size in the sifting machine. At this stage, specialists primarily distinguish between leaf tees and broken leaf teas. But the size of the tea leaf does not dictate the quality of the tea.

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Packaging

After being sorted by size, the tea is traditionally packed in plywood boxes lined with metal foil, but more and more teas today are being packaged in paper bags. Thus protected against ambient influences, the tea can be transported and shipped.

The difference is in the processing

Green and black tea come from the same plant. The difference is in the processing. Green tea is subjected to heat treatment, which prevents fermentation, while black tea obtains its different appearance and taste through fermentation.

Gunpowder, needle tea or jade ring tea?

Green tea lovers are no less spoilt for choice when it comes to varieties than are black tea lovers. Green teas are still often manufactured by hand. There are thousands of varieties and quality grades in China and Japan. Here are just a few:

Gunpowder: small rolled balls with a less militaristic Chinese name: zhucha, or pearl tea.
Needle tea: This tea is made by continuously rolling leaf tips by hand in a cauldron that is heated from below. Usually extremely high in quality, and also sold under the name of silver needle tea.
Mu Tan tea: tea formed into a basket shape, can also be black tea.
Jade ring tea: only long shoots are formed into rings. Very expensive!

Health

Fountain of youth, source of energy and protection – green tea is said to have many powers. And just as black tea, it contains plenty of vital substances: vitamins such as vitamin C (strengthens the immune system) and vitamin B1 (promotes concentration and reduces stress), the minerals fluoride (prevents cavities and is important for strong bones) and zinc (especially important during pregnancy) and the bioactive substance EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which inhibits cancer cells and blood clotting and prevents heart and circulatory diseases. And last but not least, EGCG also inhibits the oxidation process in cells, which means that it slows the ageing process. Many scientists believe that the daily consumption of tea is one reason that people in Asia live such long lives.

Drinks, food, creams

Because of its benefits and its especially delicate aroma, even cooks and the cosmetics industry have discovered many uses for green tea. Stewed fruits prepared with green tea instead of plain water have a very unique taste. The cosmetics industry uses its antioxidant properties to create skincare products, and its wonderful scent for perfumes.

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Green tea drinker

Many different ways to prepare tea have been created over the last 5,000 years:

Some green tea drinkers “wash” their tea by immediately discarding the first water they pour over the leaves, in keeping with the hygiene practices in ancient China.

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Boiling water

Some don’t bring the water to a boil, but only heat it to 60 degrees. This requires long steeping times, however. A second brewing can also be made from the leaves.

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Physics

However, the laws of physics say that boiling water (100 degrees) releases the most active substances from the green tea leaves.

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Did you know that ...?

… thousands of different green tea varieties are produced in China?

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Did you know that ...?

… hot air blowers are used at green tea plantations in Japan in the winter to protect the plants against frost?

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Did you know that ...?

… tea contains so much fluoride that two cups cover an adult’s daily requirement?

Precious and rare - White tea is a very special delicacy that requires particular care during its manufacture. The fresh tea leaves are dried only by the sun. During the wilting process, the degree of moisture loss, the quantity of sunlight and the duration of drying must be carefully monitored by an expert. The resulting tea is crystal clear to light or orange yellow. The flavour of white tea is between that of green and black tea, combined with a fresh tea bud aroma. Lovers of white tea claim that its refreshing coolness not only stills the thirst, but also creates a sense of inner calm.

Not green - not black - Oolong teas are only semi-fermented, because the fermentation process is stopped early. You could say that oolongs are “black on the outside and green on the inside”. Oolong tea also contains the many beneficial substances of other tea varieties, and generally has a smoky flavour between that of black and green tea.

Aged for up to 50 years - Pu-erh tea usually comes from the Chinese province of Yunnan, and is made from the same plant as black and green tea. The difference comes from the special fermentation process and the ageing process. It yields an extremely dark cup and has an unusual earthy taste. It contains the same beneficial substances as black and green tea, and is said to be a “fat killer” that purifies the body. In China, pu-erh tea is consumed to treat digestive problems and diarrhoea, cleans the blood and lowers cholesterol and other blood fat levels.

Tea knowledge

From the tea plant to the tea manufacture