The best version is of the ShenNung, a Chinese Emperor, who discovered it while drinking a hot cup of water one day. A blossom from the camellia sinensism fell into his cup and flavored his drink with the unmistakable taste of tea. He immediately told his guards to find the tea and hence green tea was discovered. Another version is of Shien Non Shei, a typical Chinese man, who accidentally tastes the leaves of the camellia sinensism or tea plant. He loved the taste so much that he boiled the leaves in hot water and started to consume it. He later on spread this drink to all other people around.

The spread of green tea to the west is of recent origin. The movement of green tea from Asia to Europe and America has been very slow. During a visit to Asia, the European traders were first introduced to tea in the sixteenth century. They were immediately impressed by the drink and took it to their homelands and later on became an important commodity for them.

Below is the development of green tea in various dynasties.

Wei Jin Northern and Southern Dynasties (3rd century -6th century)

This was the period when green tea became popular and it slowly changed from a luxury item into a drink commonly consumed by the public. New processes were discovered which made the taste of green tea better and also increased the production.

Tang Dynasty (7th century -10th century)

During this era, green tea was imbibed as the fundamental part of Chinese society. A whole new culture of “tea ceremonies” was introduced during this time. The green tea leaves were more refined, allowing the production of better tasting, less bitter, green teas.

Song Dynasty (10th century -13th century)

By this time drinking green tea has become an integral part of the society. The use and production of so-called “tribute teas” was on the go. This became an important part of the government taxation system too as the authority producing it was entitled to tax.

Ming Dynasty (14th century -17th century)

The concept of tribute tea was abolished in this era. This resulted in the start of the “golden age” of green tea. New production techniques and different styles of tea were quickly tried.  Roasting (dry heating) of the tea to “fix” it to stop oxidation was introduced during the 16th century, and remains to this day the primary technique used to make green tea. All the famous varieties of green tea were developed during this era.

Origin in India

The entry of green tea in India is a big mystery. Unlike the origin of green tea in China, India has no clear evidence of origin of the tea in India. Historians have no significant documentation of a tea industry or tea culture in Pre-Colonial India. There is a mention of tea in the Rigveda and it is said that tea appeared to have played a significant role in the food history of early India. Some historians suggest that various Indian regions drank wild tea earlier.

Buy best green tea online with teafloor. Log on to www.teafloor.com and enjoy a relishing cup of green tea right away.

Ankit Tiwari

I’m a Blogger, always ready to explore new things. Starting from Technology to Seo, webiners etc. Driving more and more traffic to our website is my passion.

The post History of Green Tea appeared first on Teafloor Blog : All About Tea | Health Benefits of Tea.

Kangra, situated in Dharamsala happens to be the lesser known, yet the grower of tasteful tea leaves. The tea estates of Kangra have only recently caught the global limelight. Picturesque estates here boasts of rich loamy soil, aided by a cool climate and abundant rainfall. Kangra produces some of the most exquisite varieties of black and green teas.

Kangra tea production began in mid-19th century and turned out to be successful. The Kangra tea began a superior quality tea as compared to teas from other places. It sold out the most in Kabul and Central Asia. The tea also received gold and silver medals at International conventions held in London and Amsterdam.
However an earthquake caused destruction of factories and closure of tea estates. Kangra has some exceptional plantations of India that harvest both chinary as well as hybrid chinary and clonal varieties of tea bushes. 90 percent of the region is known for growing the orthodox variety of black tea, but few gardens also produce high-quality green teas.
The Temi Tea Garden is a Government of Sikkim undertaking, established in the year 1969. It is located in South Sikkim region of the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim. This is the only tea garden in operation in the state of Sikkim. The teas produced here are well-known for their rich aroma and delicate taste.
Since 2005, tea production in Temi estate has been switched to ‘Organic Method’ as per the guidelines issued by the Institute of Marketology (IMO) of Switzerland. The tea garden is best regarded for producing Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1 (TGOFP1) grade tea. The estate also produces Orthodox Dust.
In Dharamsala and in the surrounds of Palampur, the famous green leaf tea and premium tea along with the many aromas of Black tea, Oolong tea, Herbal tea and flowery Jasmine tea, the industry flourished under caring expert hands of the local community. With the arrival of the Dalai Lama of Tibet in 1960 in Dharamshala, the delicate fragnance of Himalayan Tea leaves blended with Tibetan tea culture. Enjoy the essence of evening tea parties with Himalayan flavors from India.

The tea saga of the Himalayan Kangra Valley, the green leaf and premium tea flavors are developed in the ancient tradition of hand-picked Indian Herbal Tea, which requires utmost attention and care. From Tea Bags to Teapot Brews an excellent collection for your Cuppa Tea!

Health Benefits of Kangra Green Tea

Kangra Green Tea is naturally rich antioxidant which helps one in staying physically fit and energized. It helps in preventing many diseases diabetes, blood pressure and cancer. Consumption of Kangra green tea is a great beginning for increasing your metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories. It also helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage.It works on the lining of blood vessels, helping keep them stay relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It may also protect against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart attacks. It reduces bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol. Regular consumption of Kangra green tea helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure. They help in reducing and the signs of aging. This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea leaves. It is this substance that is thought to provide a relaxing and tranquilizing effect and be a great benefit to tea drinkers.

How to make a perfect cup of Kangra green tea?

Add one teaspoonful of Kangra Green Tea for every cup, into a teapot. Bring fresh water to a boil and allow it to cool for a minute. Kangra Green Tea is best infused with water at 800 degree Centigrade.
Pour the water into the teapot and brew for 2 minutes. Strain and serve into cups.

For your tastebuds, sweeten it with a dash of honey or sugar as you please or add lemon to get tangy joy. Don’t forget to check out our latest collection of teas.

Ankit Tiwari

I’m a Blogger, always ready to explore new things. Starting from Technology to Seo, webiners etc. Driving more and more traffic to our website is my passion.

The post From The Gardens of Kangra! appeared first on Teafloor Blog : All About Tea | Health Benefits of Tea.

Nepal is every traveller’s favourite destination. The travellers prefer to see Nepal at a more refined pace, admiring the peaks from a Himalayan viewpoint, strolling through the medieval city squares of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, joining Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims on a spiritual stroll around centuries-old stupas and monasteries. Down south of Nepal has the wild and woolly national parks, where nature buffs scan the treetops for exotic bird species and comb the jungles for rhinos and tigers from the backs of lumbering Indian elephants. Then there’s the adrenaline kick of rafting a roaring Nepali river or bungee jumping into a bottomless Himalayan gorge. Canyoning, climbing, kayaking, paragliding and mountain biking are all the reasons that will make you fall in love with Nepal.

Amongst these mystic experiences, lies Nepal’s growing tea industry. In a global tea market that has been thriving for more than a century, Nepal is a relatively new player. The geography of Nepal and several other factors make its lush fields the ideal places to grow tea. Nepal tea offers wonderful array of flavors and unique taste of tea leaves that are grown at high altitudes.

Are Nepali Teas like Darjeeling Teas?

Much of Nepal’s prime tea-growing lands are quite close to India’s famed Darjeeling regions.  Even their harvesting methods are similar to those that of Darjeeling.  Yet, Nepali tea has a distinct taste and aroma. Nepal tea plants tend to be hardier and younger, a fact that can significantly affect all the qualities of a tea by the time it arrives in a cup.

Nepal orthodox tea is either hand-processed or is processed by rolling it in the machines which mimics the hand rolling technique. The special teas, like green tea, oolong tea, white tea and hand rolled tea can be considered as the orthodox tea.

Nepali Tea Cultivation

Orthodox tea in Nepal is characterized by four flushes

• First flush that begins in the fourth week of March and continues until the end of April gives tender leaves and has subtle aroma and flavour. This is expensive because of its light flavour and scanty production. The demand for this tea outstrips the supply.
• Second flush starts during the second week of May and lasts until the last week of July. This gives stronger leaves and exhibit characteristics of tea in contrast to the first flush tea. According to experts, the best tea is made during the second flush.
• Monsoon flush, also referred as “Rainy tea” begins around the last week of July and continues until the end of September. The monsoon tea exhibits an intense fusion due to the continuous rain. The tea now develops its full color and strength, resulting in a full bodied tea.
• Autumn flush, usually begins in October and lasts until the end of November. The autumn tea gives a fantastic combination of musky flavors, tangy aromas and an amber liquor.

How do Nepalese make tea?

Tea is an integral part of Nepal’s culture. Usual way of consuming Nepal tea is to have it with milk, which is boiled right alongside the tea and sugar. There are various local varieties, but most locals add some cardamom, cloves, black pepper, ginger or ghee (a clarified kind of butter from cow or buffalo milk) as well to get the perfect taste!

Standard Nepali Tea Recipe

In case you ever want to make a tasteful cup of Nepali tea, here’s our recipe to help you.

• Boil 1 cup of water with 2 teaspoons of tea for about 5 minutes.
• Add 2 teaspoons of sugar, along with a little black pepper, ginger and cardamom (to taste).
• While its boiling, add 1 cup of milk and bring everything together to a boil.

Apart from milk tea with spices, the taste for butter tea is to be developed like the Mongolian butter teas. Some of the traditional Nepali recipes are an acquired taste for Westerners who have never had anything but sugar with plain tea.

Decaf the Nepali Tea (works for all kinds of tea)

This trick works for any kind of tea that is prepared by steeping. To remove almost all the natural caffeine, let the tea steep for between 20 and 30 seconds, then pour the water out and steep the tea again, in a new batch of water. Because of the chemical makeup of tea leaves, the huge majority of caffeine is released into the hot water very quickly, in about the first 15 or 20 seconds of steeping. A short “pre-steep” of a half-minute or so coaxes almost all the caffeine out. Then, you can use the same tea to start over, this time without caffeine!

As Nepal’s tea industry continues to thrive and build an international following, look for more name brand teas from the region that proudly proclaim “tea from Nepal.” After a slow start from the mid-1800s until the 1970s, the small, isolated nation has become a lion into the global tea market.

Ankit Tiwari

I’m a Blogger, always ready to explore new things. Starting from Technology to Seo, webiners etc. Driving more and more traffic to our website is my passion.

The post Nepal And Its Growing Tea Estates appeared first on Teafloor Blog : All About Tea | Health Benefits of Tea.

Now while you’re ticking off things on this list, you need a companion who makes the doing it, fun for you. We do have a recommendation here to help you find a friend that will help you refresh every now and then and keep you enthused. It is one cup of strong Nilgiri tea. Want to know why? Read on to know.

Benefits of Nilgiri Tea :-

Why do we have Nilgiri Tea?

Having Nilgiri tea yields many benefits. If you tend to have a difficult digestion, finding yourself bloated or with acid reflux frequently, then drinking a cup of Nilgiri tea after each meal might just help having a relieved stomach. Nilgiri is rich in flavonoids, which helps improve blood flow, strengthen your heart and circulatory system. Another benefit of tea is that is contains the amino acid L-theanine. A component that relaxes and soothes the mind. So you  are alert, relaxed and focused on your work.

A good cup of Nilgiri tea has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial powers. It helps you heal faster and boosts your defenses at the same time. While tea is no miraculous fountain of youth, it does help protect your body from environmental damage and stress. Black teas like Nilgiri tea, are rich in antioxidants which are being studied for their ability to protect cells from degenerating through exposure to pollution or daily strain. This means that in the long run, regular consumption of tea slows down the aging process. This tea also helps in preventing the growth of tumor cells that could lead to cancer.

Where do we get Nilgiri Tea from?

Nilgiri tea as the name suggests is grown in the Nilgiri mountains (also known as Blue Mountains) located in Tamil Nadu. The mountains belong to the southern portion of the Western Ghats in South India. This is a beautiful region with varying altitudes, warmth and humidity that allows the tea to grow throughout the year. Nilgiri tea owes its flavour to the weather of the region. It is dark, strong flavoured and intensely aromatic. It is the result of the winter harvest, when the cold weather concentrates the flavour with sweet and rosy notes.

How is the Tea planted?

Nilgiri tea plantations are represented by the Nilgiri Planters’ Association, an organizational member of the United Planters Association of South India (UPASI). UPASI is the peak body representing plantation owners in South India. However, plantations only account for around 30% of tea production in Nilgiri District. The vast majority of production is undertaken by small growers, who typically own less than one hectare each. The majority of Nilgiri tea small growers are the Badagas, a local community of agriculturists. The best harvests occur from January to March, a season when other teas are rarely ready for picking.

Once picked, Nilgiri frost tea leaves go through an intense withering process that removes the majority of moisture drying the leaf borders. The dried leaves are rolled and twisted into their final shape. The resulting tea liquor is intense, but at the same time it is both fresh and sweet.=

When was Nilgiri Tea discovered?

It was only in the mid-19th century that Nilgiri tea first began being produced by the British using the camellia assamica tea plant variety. Soon it became a well-known region in the tea industry after Darjeeling and Assam. Its production takes place in two methods.

The CTC (crush, tear and curl) Production Method has been used by majority of small farmers in producing Nilgiri tea for a long time. This mechanized method however, results in lower quality tea, so most of it is unfit to be sold as loose leaf tea. More than half of all tea production is destined for exportation to be used in tea bags or blends.

Due to growing competition from other countries forcing low prices for CTC tea, Nilgiri tea growers have also been investing in organic tea production or Orthodox Production Methods to stand out in the global tea market. Black tea grades such as Orange Pekoe are now being produced using traditional processing. These tea grades use whole high quality leaves from the top of the tea bush. If you search for these rarer teas, you will get to taste quite unique  flavors. They may be a bit more expensive, but a good tea is worth the investment.

The Extra Benefits

In November 2006,  Nilgiri Tea achieved “Top Honours” and fetched a world record price of $600 per kg. This was at the first ever tea auction held in Las Vegas. Even though the Indian tea industry is constantly under flak for its labor issues, in Nilgiri one can actually see togetherness and growth amongst the locals as well as migrant labour.

The migrant workers come from various parts of the country like from Orissa, Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand. Our neighbor country Nepal also contributes a lot to the workforce here.

The whole experience of procuring teas is not merely transactional .if you get to visit Nilgiri, One would get to know the people who are making these teas, understand their story, the local culture as well.

How to prepare a special cup of Nilgiri Tea for yourself :-

When brewing Nilgiri tea choose a large round teapot so the tea leaves may open up and have lots of space to swirl and brew properly. Pre-heat your teapot and cup by filling them with hot water until they feel warm and then discard the water. Place one teaspoon of loose leaf Nilgiri tea per cup of water (250ml) inside the teapot. Heat water to boiling point or just about boiling and pour into the teapot. Make sure to use good quality water as chemicals or impurities may ruin the flavor of your tea. Set a timer for about 3 to 5 minutes to let the tea brew. The longer the tea brews, the stronger it will taste. So adjust brewing time according to your taste. Pour into your tea cups and enjoy it sweetened or unsweetened as per your preference. Adding a slice of lemon will bring a tangy flavour to your tea. You could also add milk to it if you like milk tea. To get the most authentic flavour of Nilgiri tea, at least try this tea once without sugar, milk or lemon. Oh by the way, Nilgiri tea also makes a wonderful iced tea as it does not cloud when iced! So now your summer coolers can be health beneficial too! Isn’t Nilgiri tea a delicious beverage to be enjoyed all year-round? On that note, did you check out our range of Nilgiri teas?

Ankit Tiwari

I’m a Blogger, always ready to explore new things. Starting from Technology to Seo, webiners etc. Driving more and more traffic to our website is my passion.

The post Nilgiri Tea – A Healthy Gift From The Blue Mountains! appeared first on Teafloor Blog : All About Tea | Health Benefits of Tea.

In the 18th century, Britishers launched the tea industry in India. They used Chinese seeds, planting and cultivating techniques, and converted large tracts of hillsides into tea plantations. Today, India is one of the biggest tea producing countries in the world. Interesting fact is that 70% of the production is consumed in India itself.

Tea belongs to camellia family of plants. Its bush grows only in tropical and subtropical climate, and is harvested by hands. The art of planting tea has been loved by many tea lovers and tourists. In fact, many tea estates in India allow tourists to be a part of plantation first hand. So where would one find these lovely tea gardens in India? Here are a few we picked for you.

Assam

Assam is the largest tea producing state of India and gives us our most loved tea – Assam Tea. The tea produced here is black and is loved for its malty flavour, result of Assam’s tropical climate. The Banyan Grove, near the Gatoonga Tea Estate here, is more than hundred years old and gives you an inside view of how tea states work. The best time to visit here is from May to end of June. The state also hosts ‘Assam Tea Festival’ in the month of November that gives an opportunity to make a visit to the magnificent tea Gardens of Assam.

Darjeeling

Any cafe’s menu is incomplete without the famous Darjeeling Tea. A perfectly brewed Darjeeling Tea yields a light-coloured infusion with a floral aroma. Though traditionally Darjeeling tea is a black tea; the variety of oolong, organic and green teas from Darjeeling make it a place for different varieties. A place you must visit here is the Happy Valley Tea Estate. Established in 1854, these gardens are the highest in the world at an elevation of 2750 meters. The best place to visit here is from March to November in order to witness the plucking in action.

Munnar

The hill station of Munnar is synonymous with rolling hills that are carpeted with verdant plantations of tea. Tea in Munnar is grown on its undulating terrain, or sometimes, terraced plantation. The Tea Museum at Munnar is India’s first ever tea museum that will take you through the tea history of Munnar and help you get insights on the glorious tea industry of India. August to May is the perfect time to visit the region.

Nilgiri

Tea grown in Nilgiri Mountains is dark, distinctly aromatic and has a strong flavour. Tea has been cultivated here for over a hundred years and is an important industry in the region. Nilgiri Tea is also called Blue mountain tea. When you’re visiting Nilgiri mountains, visit the Tranquilitea Tea Lounge and check out the exotic teas on offer.

Kelagur Tea Estate, Karnataka

Spanned across 1,500 acres, the Kelagur Tea Estate is the world’s highest grown Orthodox Tea Estate. The process of tea making has been certified as organic and uses traditional techniques and is a major attraction for tea enthusiasts. The seven step process of tea-making involves rolling, withering, fermenting, drying, sieving, grading and fiber extraction. The tea produced here has distinct flavour and light due to its plantation technique.

The Cooch Behar Tea Estate, West Bengal

Located at the foothills of the Darjeeling Hills, The Cooch Behar plays host to 30,000 small tea growers in North Bengal and attracts people from all over the world. Established in the year 1950, Coochbehar Tea Corporation Limited offers the most effective and qualitative range of products to their esteemed clients.

These are a few places amongst the many places that grow tea across India. So when you sip your next cup of tea, try and guess where it comes from based on its taste and fragrance.

Ankit Tiwari

I’m a Blogger, always ready to explore new things. Starting from Technology to Seo, webiners etc. Driving more and more traffic to our website is my passion.

The post Beyond the leaves appeared first on Teafloor Blog : All About Tea | Health Benefits of Tea.

Tea has innumerable health benefits from fighting cancer to losing weight. Owing to this, more people have now getting into tea drinking and enjoying the health benefits of different tea varieties, it’s interesting to consider how tea drinking varies across the globe.

More than three million tons of tea is produced worldwide each year, and their journey from plantation to teacup combines art and science, ancient tradition and modern innovation. All the varieties of tea are produced from the same tea plant i.e. Camelia Sinensis, only the process of the leaves determine whether the tea would be black, oolong, green or white tea.

Let us explore the journey of your cup of tea. Learn how your tea is made from the leaf all the way to your perfect afternoon tea time.

TEA PRODUCTION STYLES

The production of tea falls basically into the following two production styles i.e. Orthodox style and the Non-Orthodox style. The Non-Orthodox style is also called as the ‘CTC’ or ‘Crush Tear Curl’ method.

Orthodox Production

This includes the basic tea production steps which are universal in nature. It starts from Plucking, Withering, Rolling, Oxidation and ends at Drying or Frying. These steps can be adjusted depending on the style of tea being produced.

Non-Orthodox Production

This is also known as the ‘CTC’ or ‘Crush Tear Curl’ method style of production. This is actually a very different type of process wherein all the basic orthodox production steps are being performed but much more rapidly. This method is much faster than the orthodox ones and was specifically invented for the black tea industry.

There are some basic differences between the Orthodox and CTC teas.

The first and the foremost difference lie in the “appearance of the leaf” in both the process. In orthodox production, the tea leaves are not chopped, shredded, minced, etc. No matter whether it’s green tea, oolong or black, Orthodox processing uses the wholeness of the leaf itself to create a diverse range of flavors in the cup. By contrast, CTC teas do not rely on the wholeness of the leaf.

The second major difference is regarding the “type of machinery” involved in both the processes. The CTC process takes place in machinery where the fresh whole leaves are macerated (crushing, tearing and curling). The grounded leaves are then rolled up into little pellets and oxidized, visually resembling like Grape Nuts cereal or large coffee grounds. A whole batch of tea can just take two hours or a little longer than that. In orthodox processing, true tea artisans who have trained for years are involved. The tea vary in shape and are never cut intentionally or torn apart. They are carefully rolled and handled just enough to produce a certain flavor.

The final major difference is “the flavor profile” of both the processes. Since, CTC was invented specifically for black tea production. You can’t use the CTC method to make white teas, oolongs, etc. Their flavor is very one-dimensional: bold, powerful and brightly coloring with a pungent astringency.  Orthodox tea on the other hand doesn’t produce this type of color and body.

PROCESS DIFFERENTIATION: BLACK TEA, GREEN TEA AND OOLONG TEA.

Black Tea

Harvesting & Plucking —Withering—Rolling–Controlled Oxidation–Drying

Green Tea

Harvesting & Plucking —Withering—Pan-frying or steaming– Rolling–Drying

Oolong Tea

Harvesting & Plucking —Withering–Leaf Bruising– Rolling–Controlled Oxidation–Drying

HARVESTING & PLUCKING

The green leaf is harvested on a regular basis at intervals ranging from 5 days to 8 days from each field. Only the bud and two small leaves are plucked from the best tea plants to ensure the best tasting tea.

During quality periods i.e. First Flush or Second Flush, two leaves and a bud are picked – this is called fine plucking, resulting in high quality teas. At other times, even three or four leaves and a bud are plucked – this is called coarse plucking. The plucking cycle is maintained at about 7 day intervals. The plucked leaves are collected in bamboo baskets, taking care that they are not crushed by overloading the baskets.

It is generally undertaken by well trained women, because of the agility of feminine hands. Once the tea leaves have been plucked, they are taken to the factory for processing. Since, there are only 24 hours between the moment the tea leaves are plucked and the minute they’re packed up, the tea factories are located close to the tea gardens in order to maintain the freshness of the tea leaves. Further, the leaf is sent to the factories from the fields three to four times a day.

WITHERING AND STEAMING

“When a tea leaf is plucked from the tea plant, it begins to wilt naturally, a process we call withering”

The green leaf after the eradication of any foreign matter undergoes this process. The process of withering involves laying the tea leaves into large indoor area or any factory premises in order to dry them and reduce the water content and to allow for the development of aroma and flavor compounds in the leaves. The period of withering can vary from 18 to 24 hours depending on the moisture content. Controlling the withering process means closely monitoring humidity, temperature and air-flow over time. The longer the wither, the more aroma and flavor compounds develop in the leaves. This is because during the withering process, many of the chemical compounds in the leaves degrade into volatile compounds.

The leaf, when properly withered, gives off a fragrant odor. Great care is also given to the density of the withering leaves to ensure that they wither evenly. The withering process is complete once the tea leaves have achieved a desired percentage of water-loss. This is determined by the final weight of the tea leaves after withering or by the flaccidity and changes in the aroma of the leaves.

“Withering is particularly important for white, oolong, black and pu-erh teas while in case of green tea, leaves are steamed instead of withering. This is done for green tea to arrest the oxidation of the leaves so that they remain green.”

The withering time differs for different types of tea and is very important for the particular kind of tea.

White: 12-36 hours

Chinese Green: 2-4 hours

Japanese Green: 30-60 min

Oolong: 30 min – 2 hours

Black: 4-18 hours

ROLLING

Rolling is a process where rollers are used to rupture the cell walls of the withered leaves for oxidation of the polyphenols in the presence of oxygen from air. In the past, the tea leaves were rolled by hand but today it is done in factories by placing them on a rolling machine which rotates horizontally. The rolling machines have deep jacket, a pressure cap to apply pressure on the leaf, and the table itself has battens and a cone at the center to twist the leaf. There are also the more modern “Rotorvane” machines, which also give the same twisting and turning effect. This process takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Thereafter to separate the twisted leaf from the untwisted, and to reduce the heat buildup, the rolled leaf is passed over a roll breaker. This machine has meshes which separate rolled leaf. The unrolled is put back into the rollers for further rolling whilst the rolled leaf is fermented.

This process transforms the appearance of tea leaves to thin and wiry making them eligible for the process of oxidation. Rolling also releases the juices and oils from the leaves, encourages a more uniform oxidation, and gives each tea its distinctive flavor.

OXIDATION

Oxidation refers to a series of chemical reactions that result in the browning of tea leaves and the production of flavor and aroma compounds in finished teas. The process of oxidation is one of the most crucial processes in the manufacturing of the tea, simply because it determines the tea’s color, taste and strength.

Oxidation occurs best between 80-85F and is slowed, nearly to a halt at 140-150F degree. The tea leaves are left open in air at temperature of about 26°C for about 30 min and two hours. During this the enzymatic reaction takes place inside the tea leaves, changing the leaves’ color from green to beige, to a rich, deep brown.

To make a tea with a lighter taste, the oxidation process is stopped when the leaves are light brown. For a stronger tea, the leaves will remain in the warmth until they’re rich and coppery.

One important thing to note here is that: “The greener the leaf, the less oxidized it is.”

Black teas are usually described as being fully oxidized as the tea leaves are allowed to fully oxidize before they are heat-processed and dried.

Green teas are usually described as being completely un-oxidized. When green tea leaves are processed, they are minimally oxidized. After being harvested, they are quickly heated and dried to prevent too much oxidation from occurring that would turn the green leaves brown and alter their fresh-picked flavor.

Oolong teas are usually described as semi-oxidized. Oolong tea is in the middle of tea oxidation – usually between 20% and 80% oxidation. The oolong tea oxidation process is stopped by pan roasting the leaves.

DRYING OR FIRING

After the process of oxidation, the tea leaves are passed through hot dryers to reduce the water content to about 3% only. It helps to halt the oxidation process and lock in the final flavor of the tea.

The drying process takes about 20 to 25 minutes and the initial temperature is about 120 Degrees F(50 Degrees C) and is finished off at a temperature of 200 Degrees F (93 Degrees C) to 220 degrees F (105 Degrees C) . The moisture content of the teas when drying is completed is approximately 2% to 3% and the coppery brown fermented tea particles are now back.

GRADING (SIFTING):

The fired teas after cooling are graded / sifted according to size and shape, as the trade demands. The different grades of tea are identified nomenclature. On completion of the grading, teas are stored in airtight bins of boxes. The sifting is carried out on a series of grading and cleaning machines, which have several trays of different mesh sizes, to separate the tea particles to the various grades of tea and to remove the stalk and fibre.

SORTING AND PACKING

The tea leaves are now ready to be sorted and packed. Sorting of the tea leaves is done before it leaves the factory, and all the tea – black, green, white and Oolong – are graded and sorted. Since, different sized leaves brew at different speeds, the leaves are separated into batches of the same size.

These were the basic steps by which tea leaves are processed and made for consumption. After packaging, you can use tea bags or go loose, drink it hot or drink it cold. Either way, tea is fabulous — or so are all of its benefits.

For all the tea veterans, keep drinking your way to good health!!!

Ankit Tiwari

I’m a Blogger, always ready to explore new things. Starting from Technology to Seo, webiners etc. Driving more and more traffic to our website is my passion.

The post The Making Of Tea appeared first on Teafloor Blog : All About Tea | Health Benefits of Tea.