Better Tea: Man or Machine?
While it is stating the obvious that careful and selective picking of tea leaves by hand will always give you better quality tea, the case is now being made for mechanical plucking methods.
The best tea is produced by careful picking by hand of two leaves and the bud from the new growth or ‘flush’.
However continued rising costs and the growing of tea in new regions, as against the traditional tea growing countries of China, India and Sri Lanka, have opened up tea plantations to mechanical harvesting of the tea leaf.
The issue with mechanical or ‘lawn mower style’ harvesting is that it also picks up lesser quality leaf and stalk, which adversely affects flavour.
Mechanical harvesting can also be only carried out on tea plantations that have been developed on relatively flat terrain and cannot be used on hilly or undulating plantations – where generally the best teas are cultivated.
The proliferation of tea bag use also hides the sins of lesser quality leaf that may also contain stalk which adds to the weight of the crop but reduces its flavour content.
- Published in Black Tea, Green Tea, Infusions, Lessons on Tea, Production, Selection, Tea
How Do You Brew?
Good quality tea and good water are the essentials for a great cuppa.
However to brew the best cup of tea the quantities used, as well as the brewing or steeping times, are crucial.
The table below will give a guide to the amount of tea to be used as well as the optimal brewing time.
Water temperature is also important:
Black Teas – 100 degrees C – water just at the point of boiling.
Green Teas and White Teas – 90 degrees C
Herbal Infusions – 100 degrees C
However in domestic or commercial situations it is not always easy to ensure the exact and correct temperature, though recently available variable temperature equipment will enable this to be done.
The safest option is to use water at the point of boiling. Do not let the water boil for too long as this adversely affects the flavour of the tea or infusion.
Winter Warmers
While honey and lemon added to your favourite tea or herbal infusion is a great way to beat the winter chills and ills, there are some teas and herbal infusions that are better suited to drinking in winter.
A dozen suggestions are:
Moroccan Mint (green tea with mint)
Green Tea with Chilli (sweet South American chilli)
Green Tea with Eucalypt (and lemon myrtle)
Genmaicha (Japanese green tea with rice and popped corn)
Smoky Earl Grey Tea (with bergamot)
Dream of Winter Tea (China black tea with orange peel, almonds and mallow flowers)
Chai Masala Tea (black tea with exotic spices and flavour)
Spicy Fruit Tea (black tea flavoured with fruits and berries)
Rooibos Oriental Spice (healthy and caffeine free with fragrant herbs and spices)
Goji Berries and Hibiscus Infusion (with lemongrass, peppermint camomile and ginger)
Lemongrass and Ginger Infusion (with liquorice and peppermint)
Rosehip (high in Vitamin C)
Tea and the Winter Chill
When the cold, windy and blustery winter sets in, a steaming cup of delicious hot tea or for those who prefer it, a herbal infusion, is a good way to bring back warmth and good health back into your life.
Make a cup of your favourite tea or infusion, maybe slightly stronger than you usually have it, and sweeten it with a teaspoon or two of good quality natural honey. Then add to it the juice of half a lemon.
The honey tends to make the healthy drink not only sweet tasting but also slightly thicker.
The lemon will of course give you that much needed Vitamin C boost to keep away colds and the flu as well as adding a delicious tangy twist.
When the cold, windy and blustery winter sets in, a steaming cup of delicious hot tea or for those who prefer it, a herbal infusion, is a good way to bring back warmth and good health back into your life.
Make a cup of your favourite tea or infusion, maybe slightly stronger than you usually have it, and sweeten it with a teaspoon or two of good quality natural honey. Then add to it the juice of half a lemon.
The honey tends to make the healthy drink not only sweet tasting but also slightly thicker.
The lemon will of course give you that much needed Vitamin C boost to keep away colds and the flu as well as adding a delicious tangy twist.
Tea, Coffee & Caffeine
As a general rule, a cup of tea contains about a third of the caffeine content of a cup of coffee. Herbal infusions such a Peppermint and Fruit Infusions do not contain caffeine.
A cup of green tea contains approximately half the caffeine content of black tea and white tea has even less.
Caffeine affects different people in varying ways. Moderate tea drinkers (5 to 6 cups of black tea per day) have no reason for any concern. An upper limit of around 8 cups of black tea, 4 for ladies during pregnancy, is recommended.
It must also be remembered that moderate caffeine consumption does have its benefits such as increasing alertness, reducing fatigue and aiding digestion.
Decaffeinated teas which are the usual traditional black and green teas which have been ‘decaffeinated’ using a non-chemical high pressure water process are imported from Germany and are readily available.
An interesting method of reducing caffeine in tea is to brew the tea slightly stronger than usual and then getting rid of the infused liquid tea after one minute. The tea leaves are then re-infused for 3 to 4 minutes. It is said that most of the caffeine in tea emerges in the first minute of brewing so by using this method most of the caffeine is removed. This method can also be used for reducing caffeine in teabags.