It's Teatime GmbH

About tea

Tea, a healthy treat!

 

 

Every story that spans thousands of years begins with legends. This is also true of tea. It was primarily monks who cultivated tea in their monastery gardens and spread their knowledge around 5000 years ago.

 

Tea is obtained from a shrub or tree: the two original plants, Thea Sinensis and Thea Assamica, belong to the camellia genus and are originally semi-shade plants.

The bushes are pruned regularly for cultivation. The plants need a tropical or subtropical climate to thrive, up to an altitude of 2100 m above sea level. The variety of flavors in tea is also significantly influenced by sunlight, soil conditions, and, of course, the season (harvest in spring, summer, or fall) and the type of processing.

 

The largest and best-known tea-growing regions are in India, Sri Lanka, China, and Japan.

 

The tea plantations on the southern slopes of the Himalayas are among the most renowned tea-growing regions. The special location at the foot of the mighty eight-thousanders and the special climatic conditions develop this floral, tangy aroma. Darjeeling, also known as the "champagne of teas," grows at altitudes of up to 2,300 m. The more than 80 plantations have wonderful names such as "Margaret's Hope," "Rishehat," etc.

Assam teas come from the largest contiguous growing region in the province of the same name in northeastern India. The climate here is predominantly tropical. These strong, malty black teas also go very well with our hard water. Assam tea often forms the basis for tea blends and flavored teas. Today, there are over 2000 different Assam plantations with beautiful names such as "Mangalam" and "Mokalbari."

 

Ceylon teas (from present-day Sri Lanka) grow at altitudes of 1,000 m to 2,000 m. Tea cultivation is closely linked to the English colonial era. This is one of the reasons why many traditional English tea blends contain Ceylon tea. They have a tangy flavor with a slight citrus note. The colors in the cup range from golden yellow to the typical copper tones to bright red. The best-known growing districts are Dimbula in the west, UVA in the east, and Nuwara Eliya, located at 2000 m.

Black teas from China are described as soft, light teas. The Middle Kingdom is considered the birthplace of tea and can also claim to be the world's largest tea producer. A special feature of Chinese teas is that they are not sold under garden names (such as Assam), but are given wonderful names that describe the place of cultivation or the appearance of the tea.

 

Even today, high-quality tea is still harvested by hand by tea pickers and then gently processed. This processing method is known as "orthodox." Incidentally, an experienced tea picker harvests up to 25 kg of fresh tea per day. This yields up to 6 kg of dried, finished tea. To ensure good quality, only the bud with the two top leaves is picked: "two leaves and one bud."

Only Japan has perfected its mechanical harvesting methods to such an extent that the tea does not suffer any loss of quality.

 

In Japan, the tea leaves are steamed (with water vapor) for ½ to 3 minutes after harvesting to prevent them from fermenting. The fine Japanese green teas taste grassy and fresh to slightly sweet. In Japan, green tea is considered the national drink.

 

In China, on the other hand, iron pans are used to heat the tea leaves. Chinese green tea tastes rather smoky and strong.

 

The unfermented green tea leaf contains up to 400 ingredients. Important ones to mention here are caffeine, tannins, vitamins, minerals, and fluorides. Did you know that the caffeine in tea has a delayed but longer-lasting effect and does not affect the cardiovascular system, but rather "wakes up the mind"?

 

Between fermented black teas and unfermented green teas, there are also semi-fermented teas: the rather rare yellow tea and the remarkable oolong tea. This is mainly produced in Taiwan (formerly Formosa) and China. Its taste is described as bready, nutty, and overall soft. It can be green or rather black (depending on the strength of fermentation).

 

White tea is almost unfermented. This tea is the finest that a tea bush can produce. At the same time, white tea is also the most natural, as it is only dried in the sun. This processing produces a mild, sweet taste. In ancient China, white tea was reserved exclusively for the emperor! It gets its name from the white fuzz that covers the buds.

 

 

Tea awakens the good spirit and wise thoughts.

It refreshes the mind. If you are feeling down,

tea will cheer you up.

 

Shen Nung (around 2,800 BC), Chinese emperor