The
Arab market used to prefer orthodox teas but consumers there are
steadily moving towards European tastes and are demanding more tea in tea bags. Sri Lanka?s fine orthodox teas, considered by many to be among the best teas in the world, are not suitable for tea bags.
Only 3 percent of production in 1993 was CTC and producers are having to
decide whether to convert to CTC production in order to reach a wider
market. Some manufacturers think that there will always be a market for
the orthodox teas; others think that CTC is the best way forward.
New customers are also being sought for the increasing range of packeted
teas?in sachets, cartons, economy packs, reed ware, basket packs, soft
wood boxes, tins, and canisters?that are now available. Products
containing 100 percent Ceylon tea are now using the Lion logo, developed
by the Ceylon Tea Board, that guarantees the country of origin and
protects the image of Sri Lanka?s quality teas. |
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Produced mainly from bushes that grow above 4,000 feet
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Sri
Lanka?s finest teas are produced mainly from bushes that grow above
4,000 feet. The bushes grow more slowly in the cooler, mistier Climate, and are harder to harvest because of the steep angle of the slopes on which they are planted.
There are six main tea-producing areas. Galle, to the south of the island; Ratnapura, about 55 miles east of the capital Colombo; Kandy, the low region near the ancient royal capital; Nuwara Eliya, the highest area that produces the finest teas; Dimbula, west of the central mountains; and Uva, located east of Dimbula.
The teas produced in each region have their own individual
characteristics of flavor, aroma, and color. Low-grown teas, produced at
1,500 to 1,800 feet, are of good quality and give good color and
strength but lack the distinctive flavor and bright fresh taste of the
higher-grown teas and are usually used in blending. Mid-grown teas,
grown between 1,800 and 3,500 feet, are rich in flavor and give good
color.
High-grown teas, from heights of between 3,500 and 7,500 feet, are the
very best that Sti Lanka produces, giving a beautiful golden liquor and
an intense powerful flavor As well as the wonderful black teas, some
estates also produce silver tip white tea that gives a very pale
straw-colored liquor and should be drunk without milk All Sri Lanka?s
black teas are best drunk with a little milk. |
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In the
1840 a Scotsman by the name of James Taylor read about the Jewel of an
Island called Ceylon and the opportunities existing there for growing
coffee. A few months later he moved to the Hill Country area and planted
not only coffee but also some tea seeds from India.
The "ugly little shrub" was grown next to his acres of coffee and
provided large yields. It wasn't till a couple of seasons later that a
virulent leaf disease devastated his whole plantation but the "ugly
little shrub" was immune and the Tea Industry came into being. Soon the
perilously steep mountainside of the hill country were carpeted with the
vibrant green of tea bushes. And Ceylon Tea became the worlds favorite
beverage.
The origins of Tea was with the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung who was
boiling water when the leaves from a nearby plant Camellia sinensis
plant floated into the pot. The emperor drank the mixture and declared
it gave one "vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of
purpose." Perhaps as testament to the emperor's assessment, tea the
potion he unwittingly brewed that day today is second only to water in
worldwide consumption.
The U.S. population is drinking its fair share of the brew; in 1994,
Americans drank 2.25 billion gallons of tea in one form or another hot,
iced, spiced, flavored, with or without sugar, honey, milk, cream, or
lemon. |
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The Tea
plant, Camellia Sansis, is cultivated variety of the tree originating
from the region between India and China. The tea leaves are mostly hand
plucked. When the plant is plucked two leaves and a bud are cut. An
experienced plucker can pluck up to 30 kg tea leaves per day. To make
one kg black tea, approximately 4 kg tea leaves are needed. One tea
plant produces about 70 kg black tea a year.
In a warm Climate
the plant is plucked for the first time after 4 years and will produce
tea for at least 50 years. A suitable climate for cultivation has a
minimum annual rainfall of 45 to 50 inches (l, 140 to 1,270
millimeters). Tea soils must be acid; tea cannot be grown in alkaline
soils. A desirable pH value is 5.8 to 5.4 or less.
Scented and spiced teas are made from black tea. "Scented teas look just
like any other tea," says FDA chemist and tea expert Robert Dick, "
because the scent is more or less sprayed on. They're flavored with just
about anything peach, vanilla, cherry. The spiced teas, on the other
hand, usually contain pieces of spices cinnamon or nutmeg or orange or
lemon peel so you can see there's something in there." |
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Like
coffee plants, tea likes hot days, cool nights and plenty of rain, and
also like coffee, most high quality tea is grown in mountainous regions.
During the growing season, tea is harvested every seven days. Only the
two tender uppermost leaves and terminal buds are plucked by hand.
After this gentle beginning, the leaves are left in a hot room to
wither, then put into a machine that rolls the leaves and releases their
juices.
These juices react with the air (oxidation) giving black teas the color
and flavor we love. The tea is then dried in ovens (fired) and graded
according to size. (this grading process is what is responsible for all
of those confusing letters: OP (Orange Pekoe), BP (Broken Pekoe), and
even FTGFOP (Fancy Tippy Golden Flowery Pekoe). Generally the more
initials the better the Tea. |
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Not tea
at all. Dried flowers, roots and bark have been brewed into a
consumable hot liquid for many centuries as folk medicines throughout
the Orient and Europe.
The European tradition is to use only one main herb, such as Chamomile.
Americans, on the other hand, traditionally concoct potions containing
many different herbs and flowers such as Rosehips and Hibiscus. |
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Everyday around 300,000 estate workers pluck several million tea leaves
by hand. This is the first step in the manufacture of quality Ceylon
tea.
Only the bud and the two youngest leaves are plucked, for it is only
these leaves that have the flavour and aroma. In other parts of the
world plucking is done by machines. These machines pluck the bud, the
young leaf, a lot of coarse leaf and few twigs as well. Coarse leaf and
and twigs just add bulk and not flavour to the tea.
The plucked tea leaf is then brought to the muster sheds where they are wheighed in, and first quality inspection is made. The leaf is then moved to the factory where they are withered using large blowers.
The next step in the manufacturing process involves, cutting the leaves.
This brings out the juices and begins the fermentation process.
Fermentation is the critical step. The humidity, temperature and
fermentation time has to be well controled or the flavour is lost.
After fermentation is completed, the leaf is fired, to lock in the
flavour, to dry it and to improve the keeping qualities. Absoloutely no
preservative or artificial flavouring are added in the manufacture of
pure Ceylon tea.
The final step is the separation of the product according the color and
the particle size. Here strignent quality control is done and anything
that does not measure upto the standards is rejected.
The finished product is shipped in bulk to mainly to europe, the
middle-east, Australia, and North America. Only the best tea is
exported. Unfortunately once it leaves Sri Lanka it is mixed with lower
quality and cheaper produce from the African countries and India. |
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