Camellia Sinensis: The Source of All Tea
An excerpt from The Little Book of Healthy Teas

"I am in no way interested in immortality, but only in the taste of tea."
LU T'UNG,
eighth-century poet and tea master

After water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. It's drunk hot, cold, plain, with sugar, with milk, and in the Himalayas with yak butter. It's stimulating in the morning, reviving in the afternoon, and relaxing at bedtime.

With thousands of teas from which to choose, there's a tea for every taste and every occasion. Black or green, strong or weak, sweet or bitter, dark or light, they all come from one plant, Camellia sinensis.

THE TEA BUSH

Camellia sinensis, a shrublike evergreen plant, is grown in tropical climates that provide a combination of hot and cool temperatures and heavy rainfall. Tea plants can be grown at sea level, but the best teas are cultivated at altitudes between 3000 and 7000 feet. Wild tea bushes grow to 50 feet or more; commercially grown tea plants are pruned to about four or five feet high so that pickers can reach the top leaves.

Like fine wine, the quality, flavor, and aroma of tea is influenced by its surroundings. Soil, climate, temperature, rainfall, and altitude all contribute to the unique characteristics of each plant and leaf. Although tea is now grown in about fifty countries, the finest teas are grown on tea estates or plantations, called gardens, in China, Taiwan (Formosa), Japan, India, and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Cameroon, Kenya, and Nepal also produce high-quality teas.

TYPES OF TEA

There are five categories of tea: black, oolong, green, white, and pu'erh, which all come from the Camellia sinensis plant. Each tea category is determined by the type of processing tea leaves undergo once harvested. Tea is also classified, and often named, by the country and region in which it grows.

More than 2000 varietals, or subspecies, of the tea plant exist in the various growing regions, resulting in thousands of teas, each with unique characteristics. Teas are sold as "single estate" when the tea comes from only one source, or as a blend when two or more types of tea leaves from different estates, regions, or even countries are combined to make a new tea. Flavored teas are black or green teas combined with natural or artificial flavors like mint, spices, honey, mangoes, peaches, and kiwi. Earl Grey is an example of a flavored tea; it's made from black tea and bergamot oil.

THE HARVEST

Tea is still harvested the same way it was thousands of years ago--by hand. Pickers, usually women wearing large baskets on their backs, work their way along rows of tea plants, picking leaves according to a "plucking" system. Most tea is gathered by a "coarse plucking," in which the bud and top three or four leaves of a branch are picked. Higher-quality tea requires a "fine plucking," in which just the bud and top two leaves, still young and fresh, are removed. Premium teas are made from only the downy bud and first leaf of a branch. The gathering method for these teas is called an "imperial plucking."

In ancient China white tea, the purest tea, in which only the downy bud is plucked, was served only to emperors. Today it remains a rare and very expensive type of tea known almost exclusively to connoisseurs.

After the harvest, leaves are processed to produce the five main categories of tea.

MAKING BLACK TEA

Fresh from picking, leaves undergo five stages of very careful processing to become black tea. During withering, the first stage, leaves are spread on a rack or mesh screen and allowed to dry for up to twenty-four hours. Some companies use a machine to speed this process by several hours. This step reduces the moisture content of the leaves by one half, softening the leaves so that they can be rolled. Next, leaves are rolled by hand or machines to release essential oils. Only hand rolling allows the leaf tips to remain intact. Rolled leaves are then placed on mats and sorted into different grades according to size and types (whole or broken). (For a complete breakdown of the different classes of black tea, see chapter 6, page 134.)

In the fourth stage, fermentation (the term "fermentation" actually refers to oxidation, since the process does not yield alcohol), the rolled leaves are placed on tiled floors and tables in a humid, temperature-controlled room for one to three hours. The temperature is kept between 72? and 82? F so that the tea can heat up, then cool. If the air is too warm, the tea will have a burnt flavor, and if it's too cold, it halts the oxidation process. It takes a skilled tea maker to know how to time and judge when to stop this stage.

Next, the leaves are dried or fired in large, hot pans or in drying machines to stop fermentation (i.e., oxidation). Again, timing and skill determine the outcome of the leaves. Finally, the tea is packed and shipped to tea companies.

Generally, black tea produces a dark red or brown liquid and has a smooth, strong taste. Depending on how tea is brewed and on the amount of tea used per cup, black teas generally contain about half the caffeine of coffee. A six-ounce cup of tea contains about 40 to 50 mg of caffeine.

DRINKING BLACK TEAS

Tea characteristics can vary from harvest to harvest, region to region, and even between tea estates within a region. The following chart, which lists general descriptions of common appearance, taste, and aroma characteristics, will help you become more familiar with some of the most common black teas. Similar charts will follow the descriptions of oolong, green, white, and pu'erh teas.

As you review these charts, please keep in mind that taste is a subjective experience and that the descriptions here are very brief. There's a whole world of tea out there. Sampling many teas is the best way to find your favorites.

OOLONG TEA

Oolong tea falls in between black and green tea in terms of processing, taste, and other characteristics, and as a result, shares qualities of black and green teas. During processing, the withering and fermentation (i.e., oxidation) stages are combined, and last only four or five hours rather than the twenty-four-hour fermentation process used to make black tea. Then the leaves are fired to halt fermentation, sorted, and packed. This process results in semifermented tea that contains less caffeine than black tea. Below are a few types of oolong teas from China and Taiwan.

GREEN TEA

Green tea is made from unfermented tea leaves. Immediately after picking, leaves are panfired in a large metal wok or steamed to break down the enzymes in the leaf that cause fermentation. Panfiring also softens the leaves for rolling. Next, leaves are rolled, then dried, sorted, and packed. This process generally takes twenty-four hours or less.

Because green tea is the least processed tea, except for white tea, more of the tea leaf's beneficial properties remain intact. Green tea has half the caffeine of black tea and varies widely in appearance and taste. Some green teas are light, mild tasting, and pale green or yellow in color. Others can have a bitter or grassy taste. Matcha, the strong tea used in Japanese tea ceremonies, is characterized by its frothy jade liquid. Most of the world's green teas come from Japan, which produces only green teas, and China, which produces black, oolong, and green teas. Below are several well-known green teas.

WHITE TEA

The purest of all teas, white tea is made from the fresh downy buds of the Camellia sinensis bush. White tea is the least processed and rarest of teas, drunk primarily by tea connoisseurs. You won't find white teas at the supermarket, only at fine specialty tea shops. A premium white tea like Yin Zhen (silver needles) can cost $120 or more a pound.

PU'ERH TEA

Originally produced in China's Yunnan Province and named after the ancient trading town of Pu-er, Pu'erh tea is a favorite in China. In Yunnan, Pu'erh is considered a medicinal tea, drunk with or after a meal to aid digestion. It is also believed to reduce cholesterol. Pu'erh is the only tea that is aged before processing and whose taste improves with age. Premium pu'erh teas are aged from twenty to sixty years. This mystery tea is processed under vigilant security and secrecy. Nobody outside of its manufacturers in China knows exactly what makes this tea so remarkable. In fact, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) trespassers caught on the plantation were executed.

HERBAL TEAS (TISANES)

Technically speaking, herbal teas, called "tisanes" in Europe (tisane is the French word for infusion), are not considered true teas since they are made from dried herbs and do not contain tea leaves. However, for simplicity, all of the warm beverages mentioned in this book will be referred to as "teas."

Like tea, herbal teas have been consumed for centuries as healing tonics and traditional medicines. Their use as refreshing beverages is a relatively recent development, and in Germany, where pharmaceutical-quality herbal teas are sold as over-the-counter drugs, 60 percent of packaged teas are medicinal teas. Peppermint, chamomile, and ginger are just a few types of herbal teas. (See chapter 5 for more information on herbal teas.)

ROBUST ROOIBOS: THE REDBUSH TEA

Rooibos tea (pronounced "roy-boss"), grown only in South Africa, shares the best qualities of black and herbal teas. This herbal tea resembles strong black teas in appearance and flavor, but it is naturally caffeine-free, low in tannins (a type of polyphenol in black tea responsible for its sometimes bitter taste), and, like tea, a source of vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants. Rooibos is sometimes referred to as "redbush tea" (not to be confused with red-colored tea consumed in China). Honeybush tea is another herbal tea grown in South Africa.

A HEALTHY BREW

With no calories, fat, or sodium, tea is the ideal healthy drink. Black tea contains half the caffeine of coffee and is a rich source of potassium and manganese. Green tea contains even less caffeine than black tea. Tea also contains several B vitamins, carotene, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, fluoride, and calcium.

In its simplest application, tea can relax or revive, providing relief from stress, headaches, and indigestion. Research has shown that tea contains powerful phytochemicals called polyphenols, which act as antioxidants in the body. Antioxidants, which are also found in fruits and vegetables, help maintain and protect healthy cells and tissues.

Scientists are studying tea's antioxidants to determine their potential for promoting health and protecting against serious diseases.

Copyright © 2002 by Erika Dillman

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