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A GUIDANCE NOTE ON HOW
TO SELECT THE BEST CEYLON TEA, AND HOW TO ENJOY A CUP OF CEYLON
TEA
The Island of
Ceylon is world renowned for its high quality teas. Today, Sri Lanka is
the world’s second biggest tea exporter. More than 25% of the value of
all Sri Lanka’s exports are accounted for by tea. Tea cultivation is
scientifically managed and skillfully produces the world’s finest,
fragrant blends. This ensures consistency in the flavour, aroma and
colour of Ceylon teas that are marketed.
Tea cultivation was
established, in Sri Lanka, over a century ago and is now produced year
round in the central highlands and southern regions of this beautiful
tropical island. Based on the altitude at which it is grown tea is
classified as high, medium or low grown teas.
The unique climatic
conditions that prevail in the central highlands of Sri Lanka produces
the exquisite high grown Nuwara Eliya and Uva blends, which are renowned
for their taste and aroma. The medium grown teas provide a bold colour
that is in demand by the consumers in North America. Lower grown tea
plantations produce the leafy grades of tea from the tip of the unopened
tea shoot.
Until recently the tea
produced in Sri Lanka was shipped in bulk and repacked in the major tea
consuming countries. Our company now has modern machinery and technology
for tea bagging and packing to expeditiously meet the needs of wholesale
or retail customers and food service companies in any part of the world.
Some of the
advantages of packing tea in Sri Lanka are:
-The
freshness of quality Ceylon blends is retained when purchased by the
consumer.
-The
authorized government lion symbol of the Sri Lanka Tea Board guarantees
that only quality Ceylon tea of specified blends
are contained in the package.
-The
product could be obtained at competitive prices.
-by
the consumers in North America. Lower grown tea plantations produce the
leafy grades of tea from the tip of the unopened tea shoot.
The Grading of
Ceylon Tea
The grade names which follow are an indication of size and/or
appearance of Ceylon Teas (Sri Lanka, but the name Ceylon still applies
to the tea of that island nation) and NOT of its quality. The Tea
Research Institute of Ceylon points out that “there is a lack of
uniformity in the market grades today which makes it difficult to
describe them with any accuracy.” Briefly, however, Ceylon teas are
divided into two groups: (1) the Leaf grades such as were originally
made by the Ceylon pioneers, and (2) the smaller Broken grades which are
in style today.
Leaf grades are
usually divided into:
- Orange Pekoe (O.P)
- Pekoe (Pek.)
- Souchong (Sou.)
Broken grades are
divided into:
- Broken Orange Pekoe
(B.O.P.)
- Broken Pekoe (B.P.)
- Broken Pekoe
Souchong (B.P.S.)
- Broken Orange Pekoe
Fannings (B.O.P.F.)
- Dust (D.)
The grades may be
described as follows:
- O.P. -- Long, thin,
wiry leaves which sometimes contain tip. The liquors are light or
pale in color.
- Pek. -- The leaves
of this grade are shorter and not so wiry as O.P., but the liquors
generally have more color.
- Sou. -- A bold and
round leaf, with pale liquors.
- B.O.P. -- This grade
is one of the most sought after. It is much smaller than any of the
leaf grades and contains tip. The liquors have good color and
strength.
- B.P. -- Slightly
larger than B.O.P., with rather less color in the cup; useful
primarily as a filler in a blend.
- B.P.S -- A little
larger that B.P. and in consequence lighter in the cup, but also
used as filler in a blend.
- B.O.P.F. -- This
grade also is much sought after, especially in the U.K., and fetches
high prices. It is much smaller than B.O.P. and its main virtues are
quick brewing, with good color in the cup.
In addition, there are
various “Flowery” variants of the main grades (e.g., F.O.P and
F.B.O.P.) the nature of which I will describe slightly farther down.
Only a small quantity
of the Leaf and Flowery grades is produced in Ceylon. They find their
chief market in North America and a few European countries. Few of the
Up-country Ceylons make these grades at all, their stable lines being
B.O.P. and B.O.P.F. such as are so dominant in the U.K., Australia and
(less so) in South Africa. The demand appears to be for ever smaller and
smaller leaf, and a great deal of cutting or milling is resorted to
today both in countries of origin and by the packers.
“Tippy” or
“Flowery” teas (such grades as Flowery Orange Pekoe) are still made
in Ceylon and fetch high prices in most Western tea markets. They are
extremely more expensive to produce than the run-of-the-mill grades,
since they involve sorting out the tip by hand. The below article
regarding “Flowery” Ceylon tea appeared in a London newspaper, THE
PALL MALL GAZETTE dated 13 March, 1891:
“Unusual excitement
prevailed on Tuesday in Mincing Lane (the London Tea Auction Houses
were/are located there), on the offering by Messrs. Gow Wilson and
Stanton, tea-brokers, in public auction, of a small lot of Ceylon tea
from the Gartmore estate in Maskeliya (Mr. T.C. Anderson). This tea
possesses extraordinary quality in liquor, and is composed almost
entirely of small “golden tips,” which are the extreme ends of the
small succulent shoots of the plant, and the preparation of such tea is,
of course, most costly. Competition was of a very keen description.
“The bidding, which
was pretty general to start with, commenced with an offer of 1 pound, 1
shilling per pound of tea; as the price advanced to 8 pounds per pound
of tea many buyers dropped out, and at this price about five wholesale
dealers were willing to purchase. Offers where then made up to about 9
pounds, 9 shillings per pound of tea by three of the leading houses, the
tea being ultimately knocked down to the “Mazawattee Ceylon Tea
Company” at the most extraordinary and unprecedented price of 10
pounds 12 shillings 6 pence per pound of tea.”
THIS WAS AN
EXTRAORDINARY PRICE IN 1891. It still fetches an extraordinary price on
the market and to the consumer BUT what a magnificent tea it is indeed.
HISTORY OF CEYLON
TEA
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.
Cultivation
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."
Black Tea Blends
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.
Herbal Teas
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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