Knowledge Of Indian Tea
Knowledge Of Indian Tea
Knowledge Of Indian Tea
Darjeeling
Darjeeling is renowned throughout the Western world as the champagne of teas. Darjeeling is nestled below the Himalayas. Air is clean and water is crystal clear. All vital components in producing high quality tea.
Darjeeling name originates from Tibetan, meaning 'Land of the Thunder Bolt.' Due to its altitude, Darjeeling appears to touch the touch the sky and during storms is illuminated by lightening and shaken by the rolling thunder.
Assam
India's most Easterly state is home to a distinct and robust tea. Assam is now India's largest tea producing region.
Historically, Assam was one of the earliest frontiers of the 'Gold' rush which saw Britain's first mass cultivation of tea outside of China. Assam and much of Burma was seized by the East India Company around 1826, the move was strategic to secure India's borders and to access the valuable jungles and to increase opium production. Assam provided the British with another vital discovery, one which would eventually revolutionise tea cultivation in India. Though discovered earlier by brothers Robert and Charles Bruce, it was not till 1835 that Camilla Assamica was formally acknowledged as being tea, rather than just one of the many of other flower Camilla which had been found. It was not until 1837 that the first batches of Assam tea were shipped to Calcutta; nonetheless tea production was very slow to take off due to the unyielding jungles of the region. It was not until the 1860's that volumes grew, even then it production was mired by the unbelievable rates of death and horrendous working conditions.
For those interested in this part of tea's history we highly recommend Alan and Iris MacFarlane's great book 'The Empire of Tea'.
Dooars
Also located in West Bengal, the tea gardens of Dooars have in recent years seen increased investment and in turn improvements in quality and yields. The majority of Dooars tea production is focused upon CTC, or Cut Tear Curl.
Nilgiri
Near the old summer retreat of the British Raj. Nilgiri is not only a beautiful area, it is also a producer of some fine, distinct and wonderful teas.
Darjeeling Tea Facts
According to the census carried out in the hills in 1971, the total population of three hill sub-divisions Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong was approximately 600,000. From the records maintained by the tea gardens, the resident population is over 300,000.
Apart from tourism, Tea is the biggest industrial activity, offering the largest employment in the hills. The turnover of the Darjeeling tea industry is nearly 7.5 million USD, which is more than the money generated by tourism in the Darjeeling hills. Because of its location, Darjeeling was the hot-weather headquarters of the Bengal government under the British Raj and a popular vacation spot. It is famous today as the place of exile of the Dalai Lama.
The Tea
The fine quality and flavour of Darjeeling tea has resulted in it having a worldwide reputation for excellence. The tea is grown at an elevation of 750 - 2000 metre in century old Tea Gardens. It can take up to ten years before the leaves are ready to be plucked. The tea bushes are nurtured by intermittent rainfall, sunshine and moisture laden mellow mists. The soil is rich and the hilly terrain provides natural drainage for the generous rainfall the district receives.
The high quality results in extremely low yields, only some 10 million kilos of tea a year. The taste of Darjeeling varies with the seasons. The first growth after the Winter dormant period (the First Flush) producing astringent flavoury teas much prized by some buyers, particularly in Germany. However, some people thinks that the finest tea produced each year comes from the second growth (Second Flush) which produces a more mature and lasting flavour. The tea has a full taste with a hint of muscat.
There are only 86 Tea Estates which produce Darjeeling Tea on a total area of 19,000 hectares and the tea from Darjeeling makes up for 3 per cent of India's total production. The Darjeeling tea industry at present employs over 52 thousand people on a permanent basis, while a further 15,000 persons are engaged during the plucking season which lasts from March to November. More than 60 percent are women and the employment is on a family basis.
The income of a garden worker is half in the form of cash and the other half by way of perquisites. For example, the workers are provided with free accommodation, subsidised cereal ration and free medical benefits. Gardens used to run primary schools which have since been taken over by the government but the buildings continue to be maintained by the garden management.
Facts About Tea
The history of tea has been traced back as far as the 4th century so facts about tea are easy to find. Tea originated in Eastern Asia and China and its first use was for medicinal purposes. Today, tea is more flavorful and although it is still used to treat many conditions, it also is a social beverage for pleasure and relaxation.
While heating hot water and pouring it over a teabag seems like the most popular way to prepare tea in the United States, in reality it is not. Iced tea is the number one drink. In fact, just about eighty percent of all the tea sold in the United States is ice tea. Ice tea has been around since the 19th century but credit for its invention is given to Richard Blechynden. He was a tea merchant from Great Britain who created ice tea for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
Facts about tea also tell us who first came up with the idea for the teabag. Thomas Sullivan was a merchant who sold tea in New York City. Just after the turn of the 20th century, he started selling his tea in cloth bags because of the rising price of tin boxes. It is said that one of his customers just put one of the bags in a pot and poured hot water over it. That was all it took for the birth of the modern teabag.
When it comes to favorite drinks, tea comes in second to water as the most popular drink in the world. It is also one of the cheapest drinks you find anywhere. You should be able to get as many as two hundred cups from one pound of tea. And, if you are watching your caffeine, tea has less than half as much caffeine as coffee.
One of the most interesting facts about tea is that all tea comes from the same tea plant, Camelloa Sinensis. This includes regular black tea, green tea, Oolong tea and white tea. The tea plant is a dark green and grows in tropical environments. It thrives where there is lots of heat and humidity.
There are five countries in Asia which produce most of the world's tea. These include China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Formosa. China used to produce around 50% of the tea in the world but now its production is down to around 10% of the total tea grown. China produces mainly green tea.
When you look at the facts about tea production, you will see that India is the number one country when it comes to growing and exporting tea. Black tea is the favorite type of tea in India. The third highest producer of tea is Sri Lanka, also known as Ceylon. The famous Thomas Lipton of Lipton tea spent a large amount of money building the tea industry in Ceylon. Originally, Ceylon exported more coffee than tea but the coffee industry there was consumed by disease and never reestablished.
The facts about tea processing tell us exactly how tea is dealt with when the leaves are ready to be harvested. Tea leaves are handpicked. They are then left to wither or dry up for around twenty-four hours. Next, tea leaves are pressed between metal rollers which mix together all of the substances within the leaves. The leaves are left out to air dry for many hours and then heated to remove any moisture that remains.
Depending on whether the tea is black, green, white and oolong, the oxidation process may take longer or shorter periods of time. Even though green tea is becoming more popular in North America because of its antioxidant properties, roughly 75% of all tea produced is black.
There are so many flavors of tea you are sure to find at least one that you like. The antioxidants in tea, flavonoids and catechins, have been shown to help people reduce their risk of such diseases as cancer, diabetes, and stroke. Some studies even show that tea has anti-aging benefits.
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