Best Buy Teas

Types Of Tea

Ok, so we should talk a little bit about how teas are processed. “Why”, you ask? Well, the way tea is processed determines the type of Tea it becomes. So, lets say I am a coffee nut and am just exploring the world of tea. If I don’t know anything about it, I will have a hard time determining which tea would be right for me. Besides, I really like to know at least a LITTLE about something before I buy it. So, here we go. I have given you some pretty good information and some suggestions for your tea journey. Give them a try. Remember, as a general rule, the more processed the tea, the stronger and more caffinated it is. Black, Oolong, Green and then White.

To ensure the highest quality teas, the newest “two leaves and a bud” of tea plants are plucked by hand. This practice of fine plucking produces the best tasting tea but low yields – around two to three thousand leaves only translates into a pound of finished product.

Just as pruning a flowering bush, this repeated picking of the young leaves and buds promotes new growth throughout the year. Depending upon the origin, bushes are plucked anywhere from three to twelve times a year. Plucking is often referred to as “flushes.”

Four Major Kinds of Tea

Of the four major types of tea, including black, oolong, green and white, all originate from the Camellia sinensis tea bush. The differences among the teas result only from the way the plucked leaves are processed.

Black teas

Making black tea involves withering, rolling, oxidation and drying. Withering – Workers start picking early in the day and usually return to the processing factory around mid-day. These freshly harvested leaves are spread out on racks and left to wither for 14 to 24 hours. During this withering process, the leaves become soft and pliable loosing much of their water weight due to evaporation.

Rolling – Next, from the racks leaves are fed into rolling machinery that break up the cellular structure and release the natural enzymes of the leaf. An elliptical motion created by large rollers exerts just enough pressure to roll and twist the leaf without causing heat damage. The resulting product is a green, pungent pile of twisted tea leaves.

Oxidation – After the rolling, the leaves are transferred to a cool, humid location in the factory to begin the oxidation process, also commonly known as the fermentation process. Over the next two to three hours, the leaves release their enzymatic juices and oxidize upon exposure to air. A chemical reaction occurs whereby the mixing of polyphenols and pectin with oxygen and enzymes cause the leaves to turn black and also give black tea its characteristic flavor. Determining how long to oxidize the leaves involve considerable expertise and different styles of black tea demand varying time for fermentation.
Drying – Upon the reaching the optimal oxidation level, the leaves are fired or dried to stop the fermentation. In essence, the drying seals in that particular tea’s characteristic flavor. Placed on large trays or on a conveyor belt, the tea travels through an oven chamber that halts oxidation and reduces the leaves water content to an ideal 2%.

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Black Sampler “Discover the world of difference between supermarket tea and the gourmet varieties found in this set. Sample black teas from China, India and Sri Lanka. Six tins in total, one ounce apiece.”

Oolong Teas

Oolong teas are partially fermented teas. They sit halfway between black and green tea.
Oolong teas are withered for a shorter period of time. The wilting is done by shaking the leaves in bamboo baskets to slightly bruise and tear the leaves so the enzymes can react with the oxygen, and turn darker in color.
The leaves are fired to stop oxidation and the length will determine the type of oolong.

Oolong Sampler “Discover the world of difference between supermarket tea and the gourmet varieties found in this set. Sample oolong teas from China and Taiwan. Four tins in total, one ounce apiece.”

Green Teas

Green tea differs from black tea in that after plucking, fresh leaves are immediately steamed to stop any oxidation. In Japan the leaves are steamed and in China, the leaves are pan-fried. The active enzymes are now locked into the leaf and it is ready for rolling.

Rolling in green teas determines the unique size and shape of the Green tea leaf. The growing location will dictate the style of rolled tea-resulting shapes include long thin leaves, tight balls, flat natural leaf and gently twisted green teas. The beauty of a tea and the taste profile is affected by the style and tradition of rolling.

Finally a gentle heating allows the leaves to dry, preserving their fresh “green” characteristics. The green tea leaves will have a higher moisture content that black tea leaves.

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Green Sampler “A wonderful introduction to the wide range of green teas, including: green pekoe – light daily brew from China hojicha – charcoal-roasted tea from Japan citron green – green tea with lemon & lime sencha – smooth everyday tea from Japan gunpowder – smoky tea from coastal China”

White Teas

White teas are the least processed of all teas. The youngest buds are freshly plucked and them air of steam dries. Because the buds are plucked young, white teas are not produced in the abundance of black and green teas, thus commanding a much greater price.

White Sampler “Discover the world of difference between supermarket tea and the gourmet varieties found in this set. A nice introduction to white teas from China. Four tins in total, one ounce apiece.”

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Best places to buy tea

This article really is about tea. It is about brewing tea, types of tea and the best places to buy tea. I will get to all of those things but first let me share my story with you.

Ireland is a tea country

My brothers and sisters recent took a trip to Ireland. We traveled to Ireland to visit the old family farm. We got lots of advice from friends who had been to Ireland before us. Everyone who knew me said the same thing, “A coffee drinker, like you, had better bring some with you.” “The coffee in Ireland is terrible.” “ You know that Ireland is a tea country.” Black tea, Oolong tea, green tea, and even White tea. .Adagio Teas

I took their advice to heart and off to Starbucks I went. I was such a coffee freak I even left a pair of shoes behind to make room, in my luggage, for a pound of coffee.

All tea all the time

It was early September and the weather was unseasonably beautiful. Every place we went was all tea all the time. Whether in a restaurant or a pub, if we weren’t sipping a pint, we were sipping tea.

We had a hand-drawn map that was supposed to lead us to the cottage. We needed more help but found that traditional Irish directions were not as helpful as we would have liked.

We stopped a man on the road for directions. He said, “Go down to the road that isn’t really a road and you will see Paddy’s barn. Go past that barn and through the town and turn left at the red barn…”

What we found was not a town but a single house, the barn was red thirty years ago but is definitely not red now. Now it has a beautiful silvery patina.

We had better luck with the next person we stopped. This gentleman lives on the farm adjacent to my Grandmother’s. He drove us there and gives us boots to wear, it was muddy, and showed us where to go.

It is hard to describe the emotion we felt as we rounded the corner and the cottage came into view. The thatched roof was, of course, gone, but the walls were still standing. The soil around the tiny house was strewn with large chunks of rock. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like to farm this soil. What a difficult life.

In the cottage itself, with its dirt floor, stood a giant hearth that burned peat. Attached to one side of the hearth was a smaller firebox. The firebox was used for the tea kettle.

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Cast Iron Tea Kettle

The traditional Irish kettle was made of cast iron and was always kept hot. The weather is so cold and so damp that I imagine coming into the cottage and pouring a hot cup of tea to warm myself and take the cold out of your hands. Before we reluctantly left the family cottage we each wrote a note and tucked them between the rocks that made up the walls.

Our next stop was the farm where our Grandfather lived. His family is still working the land. They have a modern house which includes a big peat stove in the kitchen.

Maggie, my grandfather’s sister, sat at the kitchen table. She is 92 years old. She still rides her bicycle two miles into town most days. On her stove was a cast iron tea kettle. She says it is always hot. Things never change.

We shared many cups of tea and enjoyed each other’s company. Pictures are taken, photo albums came out, stories were told and retold, memories revisited. We were rooted once again.

Maggie told us that all the world’s problems could be solved over a nice strong cup of tea in front of a warm peat fire.

Now, when I think back on that day and the visit we had, I believe that she may be right. We might not solve the worlds problems, but what a nice way to visit. Tea Time. http://s7d5.scene7.com/is/image/Teavana/XCI%20KO%20TD_d?$cses$

As an avid coffee drinker, the switch to tea is a little baffling to me. Black tea, Green tea, White tea, blended tea, infused tea, flavored tea…. Where should a new tea drinker start? Where can I Buy Tea? Where can I find the best tea?
Join me on my tea adventure!

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