Specialty Tea Tips - Life is Better with Tea

Specialty Tea Tips

Types of Tea

Two Leaves and a Bud

All tea comes from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis. The difference is in the way it is processed. Specialty teas are plucked from new leaf growth and only the first two leaves and bud are selected for processing. New leaf is the sweetest. There are five main styles of tea.

Black Tea

Black tea is fully oxidized producing a hearty deep rich flavor of amber colored tea. It is the most popular style of tea in most western countries and used in many blends such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast and Chai.

Green Tea

Green tea is not oxidized. It is roasted, rolled and either steam or pan fried preventing oxidation. This produces a refreshing tea with a sweet smelling aroma. Green tea has a lighter flavor than black tea.

White Tea

White tea is barely oxidized and has a sweet subtle flavor. White tea is mostly processed from the bud only but can incorporate the first or second leaf as well.

Oolong Tea

Oolongs are partially oxidized, within a range of 12 to 80 percent. Oolongs are some of the most prized teas due to their intricate processing, which provide a complex flavor that evolves with each sip. The flavor is complex and depends on the skills of the tea maker.

Pu'erh Tea

Pu'erh tea is an aromatic black tea originating in China. The leaves undergo double fermentation and are compressed into bricks or cakes. This made it easy to transport and exchange tea in ancient China. Still produced today, this is perhaps the most exotic of Chinese tea.



Brewing The Perfect Cup

First Throw Away Your Tea Ball

Brewing specialty tea is an art you can easily learn. And well worth the effort. There is not a one size fits all formula for brewing loose leaf tea. Whole or partial leaf tea comes in many diverse styles so steeping times will vary with the tea.

The amount of tea you use will also vary with the size of the leaf and the preference of the tea drinker. The tea ball was designed for western use when the available loose tea was always cut very fine. Now with specialty teas becoming more available to the west from eastern tea growing nations, the premium tea leaf is just too large for the confined space of a tea ball. It will not steep properly. Use an open mesh strainer instead. If you don't have one, simply steep the leaf loosely and pour into a new cup through a strainer for drinking. The leaf has more room to open up and infuses much more flavor.

Water Quality

In general, it is best to use filtered water. Many municipal waters can have a chemical taste and well water may be too high in mineral content. The ideal water has a neutral pH value of 7.0. Most bottled spring waters will work well if you don't like your filtered tap water.



Measuring Tea by Weight & Volume

The ideal ratio of leaf to water for most tea is two to three grams of tea leaf for six ounces of water.

You can use this baseline as a guide. Most quality tea retailers will provide brewing instructions for the type and style of tea leaf. Follow the instructions provided by your tea company.

In general, the larger the leaf, the larger the volume needed. Notice the weight remains the same regardless.

Style of Tea

Weight

Volume

Small leaf or small bud

2-3 grams

1-2 teaspoons

Medium size leaf

2-3 grams

2-3 teaspoons

Large leaf

2-3 grams

1-2 tablespoons

Time & Temperature

Water should be boiled only once. If you are not using a thermometer, temperature can be assessed by eye. You can follow this very general guide:

Tea Type

Temperature

Visual

White or green

160?-170? F.

Column of steam steadily rising.

Oolong

1800?-200? F.

"Fish eyes" or lazy bubbles.

Black

190?-200? F

"String of pearls" or almost boiling.

Pu'erh

200?-212? F

"Turbulent waters" or rolling boil.



Guide to Buying the Best Loose Leaf Tea

The Quality of Loose Leaf Tea

One determination of quality is seasonality. Like vegetables, teas are also grown according to the weather conditions of the tea growing regions.

The seasonality directly affects the taste of loose leaf tea.

Summer

During the summer season, the grown tea leaves and buds are exposed to excessive sunlight and high temperatures. This results in a higher concentration of catechins. Excess of catechins result in developing a bitter taste. This is best for strong teas. The tea leaves harvested during this season are cheap in comparison to other season's loose leaf tea. Most of the popular black teas are grown and harvested during this season.

Winter

The loose leaf tea prepared during the winter season is sweeter and richer in aroma and astringency. The leaves are devoid of sunlight and higher temperatures. The winter season is mostly a hibernation period. The plants don't grow much but they continue to absorb nutrients.



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