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Tea 101 - Getting to Know "Camellia sinensis"
By Nora Gubins
What is going on out there? It seems that everywhere you look (and shop) one finds tea….in ginger ale, in dog food, in beer and even in dental floss. Visit any of the many new boutique tea shops sprouting up and you will be faced with a dizzying array of tea. As one of the first certified tea sommeliers in Canada (and not a retailer), I thought I’d de-mystify the hype for our Gremolata readers.
Tea shops generally sell ‘specialty tea’, also known as loose leaf tea, and leave the traditional tea bags to grocers. You can also find excellent specialty teas for purchase on the Internet. Additionally, high end food shops are also carving out space for this popular re-discovered beverage.
The specialty tea market now outpaces regular tea sales in dollar volume. In Canada, the 2008 sales climbed to $92,567,911 as compared to $88,826,995 volume of regular tea. (Sourced from the Tea Association of Canada website). In the US, the market has catapulted from $ 0.27 billion in 1990 sales to $ 1.1 billion in 2007 (Sourced from the US Tea Association website). These big numbers not only mean increased consumption, but also big business.
So what’s the excitement about specialty tea? First - not all those fruity, flowery herbal concoctions get to be tea. True tea is produced from one plant - the Camellia sinensis. The other dried leaf beverages are known as tisanes, and many call these herbal teas. Popular rooibos ‘tea’ (Afrikaans for red bush) is also a tisane. So let’s not get too hung up on the name, yet know that true tea - white, green, black and other categories - comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. It’s this tea that I’m going to concentrate on….as to grapes and wine and wine sommelier, its Camellia sinensis and tea, and me.
Where do we find this plant? Most of you know about “all the tea in China“ and the Brits pinky-lifting in India, yet much of the world’s tea now comes from countries such as Kenya, Argentina, Vietnam and Turkey. The Camellia sinensis plant generally likes it hot and humid so we won’t find tea gardens in North America (Ok, there is a small tea estate in Charleston, Virginia). The plant varies from shrub-like bushes to 50-foot trees depending on the sub-species and climate.
Most of the tea producing countries mentioned above export lower grade tea that gets used in “orange pekoe” tea bags or is used in various ready to drink iced teas. In the tea industry, regular tea is called CTC tea (crush – tear- curl) which refers to the rather brutal manufacturing process. What I note foodies are seeking out in those lovely tea boutiques, is specialty tea. Most specialty tea comes from the traditional tea-producing countries such as India, Japan, China and Sri Lanka.
What’s the difference between regular tea and specialty? The easiest explanation is a visual one. Just open up a tea bag. Every home in Canada and the US has a tea bag. In fact, in Canada we consume 270 cups of tea a day per head. So, before your next cup, slit open a tea bag. Do you now have loose leaf tea? Do you see ANY leaves? Sorry. None. Zero. Nada. In fact, I bet you say that regular tea bag tea looks like coffee. Crush - Tear - Curl. Ouch.
Now look at the loose leaf teas being sold in boutique tea shops or on the Internet - look at the luscious spear-shaped flat leaves of a Long Jing….look at the spiky, stick-like dark green leaves of a Gyokuro tea…..look at the dark, twisted leaves of a high-grown Sri Lankan Nuwara Eliya. There are literally thousands of loose leaf teas just waiting to unfurl in your cup. And, yes, all of them are from our friend - Camellia sinensis. The leaves, their surface exposure and processing, as well as the steeping method and water distinguish specialty teas from their ‘tea bag’ cousins.
However, when faced with one pile of withered Camellia sinensis against another pile of withered Camellia sinensis, what’s a foodie to do? What should you look for? What aromas are key to a quality tea? Should you touch? What about a tasting sample? How do you make the perfect cup? Fear not, all those questions to be answered in future editions - and find out why you will never order “orange pekoe” again!
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