We had a lesson on how to make a good cup.
You must have a porcelain teapot, tea leaves and boiling water. After being left to draw for 4 minutes the tea can be served or you could wait for 6 minutes
The milk and sugar can be added any which way, they are a side issue.
Anthony Elworthy, now retired, gave a most interesting talk on his 50 years of 'Tasting Tea'. He was born and educated in London. He found a job with a company that traded with the East in the early 1960's He spent 2 years as a 'Tea Boy' learning how to make tea and the differences between the teas. The teas were made to enable the Director and Managing Director to taste then select which teas to order for their customers. Similarly, with the wine tasting process, the tea tasters also use spittoons.
His first promotion was to Calcutta where he observed the growing and manufacturing process. Each tea estate had its own processing plant on the property. The tea bushes are grown in a champagne glass shape with a flat top and every 7-10 days the tea is plucked (only from the top) - 2 leaves and a 3rd leaf just emerging from the bud. The green leaves are spread out onto hessian racks to dry for 24-36 hours then washed and put through a rotary machine to be crushed. They turn brown through oxidation and are spread out onto racks to ferment. When the brown leaves are dried in the oven they turn black. The black leaves are poured onto a series of sieves and graded into large leaf, medium leaf, small leaf, very small leaf and stalks, fibres and dust for the tea bags! The tea was packed into tea chests and sent to the auction rooms where it was sold then shipped all over the world.
As with any crop, the seasonal variances do play a part in the quality of the end product. It was while coping with these dilemmas that the blending of teas came into being. The altitude of the tea plantation also affects the quality of tea. The slower the leaves grow the higher the quality. During the early days of Anthony's career, the tea chests were emptied onto a huge tarpaulin lying on the floor then the workers set about blending the dried leaves with shovels. During his time, there was only one complaint from an American customer after he had found a dried frog in his packet of tea.
All teas are from Camellia Sinensis; Darjeeling tea comes from a specific site, small plantations and of good quality; Orange Pekoe - size of the dried leaf; Oolong - type of semi-fermented tea; Assam - fermented black tea; Earl Grey - bergamot oil sprinkled/sprayed over the dried leaves; Green - non-fermented. Bell has to have more than 1 supplier to help deal with the climatic variances. When buying tea leaves look for the word 'Classic' on the pack. Tea bags are filled with tea dust i.e. the stalks and fibres.
Tea is the most popular drink in the world, after water. Why is tea so popular and successful? Because in the 1800s boiling water killed the cholera bugs.
Anthony does drink coffee too.
I am looking forward to next week's presentation by Timaru artist Robert Westaway.
.PNG)
