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tea

Evergreen shrub or small tree whose fermented, dried leaves are soaked in hot water to make a refreshing drink, also called tea. Known in China as early as 2737 BC, tea was first brought to Europe AD 1610 and rapidly became a popular drink. In 1823 the shrub was found growing wild in northern India, and plantations were later established in Assam and Sri Lanka; producers today include Africa, South America, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, and Iran. (Camellia sinensis, family Theaceae.)

The tea plant

In the wild the tea plant can grow as tall as 12 m/40 ft, but in cultivation it is kept down to a bush 1.5 m/4 ft high. The young shoots and leaves are picked every five days.

Processing

Once plucked, the young leaves are spread out on shelves in withering lofts and allowed to wither (dry and shrivel up) in a current of air for 4-18 hours. Black teas (from Sri Lanka and India) are macerated (soaked and softened) in rolling machines to release the essential oils, allowed to ferment, and then dried and graded. The fermentation gives them a blackish-brown colour. Green teas (from China, Taiwan, and Japan) are steamed or heated and then rolled, dried, and finally graded. They are green or partly green in colour.

Some teas are scented with plant oils: Earl Grey, for example, is flavoured with oil of bergamot.

Grading

Grading is carried out according to the size of leaf. For example, some Sri Lankan (Ceylon) tea grades are orange pekoe, flowery pekoe, broken orange pekoe, broken pekoe, and fannings. The latter grades are mostly the black teas sold in tea bags. Black teas make up 75% of the world's trade in tea.

Tea customs

Methods of drinking tea vary in different countries: in Japan special teahouses and an elaborate tea ceremony have evolved, and in Tibet, hard slabs of compressed tea are used as money before being finally brewed.

Recent research

Black tea contains flavonols, antioxidant chemicals that remove harmful oxidizing agents from the body. In 1999 US researchers concluded that tea drinking can provide some protection against heart attacks, with tea drinkers experiencing a 44% reduction in heart attack risk compared with non-tea drinkers.

In the US, tea with lemon and honey is a cold remedy, but iced tea has become a year-round soft drink, sold in cans like colas. After the American Revolution, the new US citizens turned away from tea (as being British) and imported coffee instead. Only after 200 years did tea revive its popularity in the US.

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