TimeOut

AndrewD has asked me to write a series on tea. 

Drinking tea (compared to drinking coffee) is a bit like riding a bike (compared to driving a car). 

It seems simple, we learn in childhood, we never forget how to do it, and anyone can successfully drink tea (or ride a bike).

These statements are true enough. But there's always more to learn about a subject. For example, observe these 3 types of tea (prior to brewing). They don't look very similar, do they?

Here are some names of teas behind piles of the leaves (or textured tea-leaf nodules)

Here's what those same leaves look like afterwards. A few look (and smell) like a dog's dinner, and the others look (and smell) like the forest after a rainfall.

Here are a few containers from which you can consume your freshly brewed tea. How you drink it makes a difference in the taste.

Here are a bunch of packages of tea. All contain 100g of tea leaves. Why do they differ in size (density)?

I know comparatively little about tea. I am not Chinese, Japanese or Indian. 

My family all live in Seattle and drink coffee made from freshly ground beans purchased at the moment of brewing from specialty shops, etc. etc.

But I've lived in England, had thousands of cuppas. attacked the subject like a Purist, scoured the Internet, bought tea in London and Paris tea shops (not duty-free) and spend several decades drinking all sorts of teas.

Shall I continue this exploration of teas?

 

Cheers

I take some pics of the ones we have and post it up for you!

-MW

Just this rainy afternoon I've had some hojicha while listening to beethoven quartets.  Perfect.

 I hope you continue with the whys and wherefores.  I'm a novice, but I'm eager to learn more.

Picnics are another occasion; iced tea works well as an accompaniment with smoked fish or ham, offsetting saltiness better than plain water or lemonade.  Otherwise, I just never seem to have a hankering for the stuff.   Kinda like apples and pears . . . 

 

Tea is something appreciated when you're not inebriated, with all of your senses.  Your sobriety unfortunately makes you much more astute in the subtle nuances of the tea.  My astuteness with wine does fade after the first glass and is gone by the second.  Who knows, you could almost give me an odious poor quality red after my third glass of wine over dinner and I'd probably wouldn't think it's as bad as it was.  

But yes.  Tea is something that I appreciate very much.  And like wine, you can't go back to drinking the bad stuff once you've experienced the good stuff.  

The question for today is: How Much does it cost to prepare a cup of tea?

This question involves all sorts of analysis and speculation, then formulas and calculations. I hope it is of interest to Purists.

Basic unit conversions are needed. Here's why:

1. Tea is usually sold by weight, measured in grams or ounces, or in teabags

2. Tea is measured for use in volume with a teaspoon, or by fingers - "a pinch", or by shaking into a basket

3. Tea is created in a tea pot, and consumed from tea cups

Thus, calculating the cost of a cup of tea means:

1. take the price we paid for the tea (per gram, or other unit of weight)

2. measure out a small pile of tea (now our measure is volume - roughly a teaspoon per 6 ounces (or weight of 5g)

3. place the tea in a large container, using basket, bell, bag, or simply dumping in the tea

4. add hot or boiling water in proportion to the tea (amount and temperature need contemplation and measuring)

5. wait 2-5 minutes (you might measure the time with a Chopard PuristS Edition Chronograph)

6. inspect the color and aroma of the tea for adequate brewing (visual and aromatic inspection)

7. remove and save or discard the used tea leaves, or leave them in the cup if your local custom is to do so (subjective appraisal)

8. transfer your tea liquid into your favorite "cup" of any size (aesthetic and emotional judgement)

9. sip while pondering this topic (gustatory and contemplative pleasure), then sigh

10. prepare a second cup, sip, then start to think seriously.

Now we can calculate "How much does this pleasure cost in cents (pesos, Euro, yen)?"

The factual answer - It depends. The relative answer - probably less than a cup of coffee; more than a glass of water. 

To better understand the variables, you could make a spreadsheet. In a sample case study I performed, using tea purchased in bags or bulk, through various sources, my cup of tea cost between 10 and 65 US cents. 

Because our water and energy costs are relatively low, and the amount of water is small I assumed the boiled water is free, but you could calculate those costs if you wished. 

You might also consider amortizing the expense of your tea equipment across the amount of tea consumed, although it is unlikely to be significant (compared to coffee equipment). There are a few automated tea-making appliances but the few I've tried weren't better than doing it the normal way with a kettle and pot. 

Tea is said to be the most popular beverage in the world, but (speaking as an American) its origins and production processes are not very well known, at least compared to coffee. 

Coffee consists of special beans that are carefully picked, dried and/or roasted, then ground and forced into an encounter with hot (and possibly pressurized) water. There are many more details of course, but these are the basics. Similarly, tea consists of special leaves that are carefully picked, dried, broken and allowed to steep in heated water.

Both beverages provide aroma, flavor, beautiful color and something hot to wrap your hands around on a cold morning. And they have varying amounts of caffeine that contributes a small kick to our systems.

NOTE - in this post I am going to overlook fruity, herbal, roibois, flavored and ice teas that make up a large part of the "infused beverage" marketplace, and focus only on classic Tea .

Traditional teas are made from the leaves and stems of the camellia bush. Camellias are grown in tropical and subtropical climates. Two principal varieties are used (with many clones and varieties within each group): 

1. Camellia sinensis var. sinensis makes up most Chinese, Formosan, Japanese and Darjeeling teas
2. Camellia sinensis var. assamica is used in Pu-Erh and many Indian (Assam) teas

Tea plants grow from seed or cuttings, and must mature about three years before their leaves are first harvested.  They need very warm, very wet climate conditions, and so are grown primarily in near the equator on elevated slopes where more than 1.5 meters of rain falls each per year. Some well-known tea producing areas include China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Japan, etc.

Only the top few centimeters of the branch tips are picked. When a tea plant produces new buds and leaf tips, it is called a "flush". In some areas, like Darjeeling, teas are offered from Spring (first), Normal (second), and Autumn (third) flush. Flavor in a tea comes from the particular variety of plant, the location of the plantation and specific processing styles, but the flushes also affect taste in a distinctive way. As you might distinguish a clean, crisp New Zealand grassy Sauvignon Blanc from a viscous, oaky California malolactic-fermented Chardonnay, so you can tell an astringent, floral spring flush from a dusky, musky autumn flush. 

I think tea is much like wine in its reflection of the terroir or environment in which it is grown. An individual variety can be quite different year-to-year (vintage). Here are some of the varieties that I have sampled: 

After  tea leaves are picked, they are carefully dried. During the drying process, the leaves become darker and tannins concentrate. The leaves oxidize and may ferment. At the right moment, heat is applied (under the drying table, or in a drying room) and the fermentation process stops. 

The amount and timing of drying and heat are very carefully controlled, and determine whether tea is sold as white, green, oolong, black or fermented. After the fermentation has halted, the leaves are sorted, graded, blended (with each other, flowers, herbs) and then flavored or scented (oils, flavors, spices, etc), and/or smoked. 

It seems a bit pedestrian or perhaps trivial to describe tea so briefly but as PuristS know, fine attention to details makes all the difference between a commodity and a luxury. In further posts we can explore some of the distinctions between mass market and luxury teas.