Famous Tea Quotes

• “If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you.” ~ William Gladstone

• “Tea is one of the main stays of civilization in this country.” ~ George Orwell

• “Women are like tea bags, they don’t know how strong they are until they get into hot water.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

• “To an Englishman, tea is of far greater importance than toilet paper.” – anon.

Introduction

• Hello Everyone. My name is Margaret Harris & the title of my course is: “Tea, Coffee, Chocolate – become an expert”.

• In today’s class and the next week class we will be talking about TEA. After that, in the 3rd week about COFFEE, and in the 4th week about sweet topic: CHOCOLATE!

Self Introduction

My name is Margaret Harris.I’ve been teaching about tea, coffee & chocolate since 2006. We hold Tea Classes in our store Margaret’s Fine Imports on every 1st Wednesday of each month and I am also available for Tea Classes and Tea Tasting events outside the store, like here.

I am a member of USA Specialty Tea Institute and also a member of Western Pennsylvania Tea Association.

My affection for tea started back in my native Poland, when I suspect I had my first “tea” when I was a day old

Self Introduction pg2

Tea is one of the main household beverages in Poland, and for that matter in many countries of the world like England, France, Russia, China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and so on…

I became even more interested in tea since I’ve opened my business 7 years ago. I am a graduate of Warsaw Medical College (1982) and also have an RN Diploma. I have not been practicing either profession for several years now, but my educational background still comes very helpful in better understanding of the health issues related to the consumption of tea, coffee & chocolate.

But enough about me. Let’s now move on to our main character: TEA!

Today’s Agenda

• What is tea

• Tea growing regions

• History of tea & teapots

10 min Intermission

• Types of tea

• Non-teas: Tisanes, Rooibos, Yerba Mate

What is tea?

• All true teas: white, green, black & oolong come from the same plant Camellia Sinensis.

• Camellia Sinensis is an evergreen bush that can grow up to about 30 ft high, however is trimmed usually at the waist level for easier leaf picking and to produce more young fresh leaves.

Camellia Sinensis-------

Tea plant & tea picking

Most of the tea leaves picking is still done by human hand, as the leaves are very delicate and machinery would damage some of them.

• The actual Tea is the Tea Plant, however we also refer to tea as to the beverage obtained steeping the tea leaves in hot water (usually).

Tea Statistics

• Tea is the second world’s most consumed beverage after water.

• It’s been used as beverage for nearly 5000 years.• The largest producers of tea are China & India with over

800,000 tons of tea manufactured per year (each).• Approx. 80% of tea consumed in USA is in a form of Iced

Tea.• Average cup of tea in the world holds 6-7oz of tea,

however average cup of tea in USA holds 12-14oz of tea!

History of Tea pg 1

2700’s BC According to the legend the first person to discover tea was the Chinese Emperor

Shen Nung , who one day found a leaf from the nearby tree in the cup of hot water next to him, and decided to try this new concoction. He enjoyed it very much and sent servants for more leaves. And so the tea was born. However for many years tea in China was used mostly as medicine.

805 Tea brought to Japan by Japanese monks

1400 – late 1500’s Development of the Japanese Tea Ceremony: Zen priests Murata Shukoand Sen-no Rikyu

1557 First tea trading from China to the West by Portuguese merchants, who received the exclusive right to trade in Macao. Then from Lisbon tea would be distributed to other European ports mostly by Dutch.

Japanese Tea Ceremony

• Japanese Tea Ceremony

History of Tea pg 2

15th CenturyFirst teapots created from special purple clay in Yixing region in China.

1602Dutch East India Company establishes bases in Indonesia and Japan trading directly with Orient.

17th -18th Centuries Tea drinking becomes more and more popular in many European countries. (Queen Anne in England chooses tea over beer(!) as her usual breakfast drink…).Invention of Samovar (self-heater) in Russia.

1650 Introduction of tea in the USA (New Amsterdam, later New York) by Dutch Director General, Peter Stuyvesant.

1773The Boston Tea Party.

1830 First tea plants planted by British in India

History Of Tea pg 3

1904First Iced Tea invented by Englishman Richard Blechynden, a tea trader at St. Louis World Fair. (it was very hot..)

1908First teabag invented by importer Thomas Sullivan in New York. Eventually design was improved by Thomas J. Lipton in England and tea bags mass produced in USA buy the 1920s.

Origins of the word “TEA”

• 1610 Dutch were denied Canton or Macao(Portuguese had a sole right ) and they started

buying tea in Java port, now Indonesia.• Their suppliers were from Chinese provinces:

Fujian and Hokien, which were close to the border with Taiwan.

• The Fujian & Hokien word for tea is t’eInstead of ch’a or cha, and is pronounced “tay”.• And since all other European countries, except &

Portugal, bought their first teas from Dutch, they call it in the similar way.

Where tea likes to grow

• “Tea Belt”: geographic belt that runs between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn – from the equator to 42° north

• Climate: tropical & subtropical, warm temperatures, and substantial rainfall – 80 to 100 in a year

• Elevation 3,000 to 6,000 feet• The higher, the thinner tea leaves, but

more concentrated flavor! (better)

Tea Growing Regions

IndiaChina

Sri Lanka (Ceylon)Kenya Turkey

IndonesiaJapan

VietnamArgentina

Malawi TanzaniaTaiwan

Zimbabwe

Main Tea Growing Regions India

Assam, Nilgiri, Darjeeling

Tea Growing Regions China

Yangtze Valley

Tea Growing Regions China pg2

Fujian Province Zhejiang Province

Green Tea

• In processing of the green tea leaves are subjected to heat: steaming, pan-firing, or roasting

• The heat stops enzymatic changes and prevent oxidation

• Then leaves are rolled, twisted, and dried.• The color of green tea remains green or grayish

green• Green tea has 8-10 time the antioxidants than

any other plant

Black Tea

• Black tea leaves are first spread on trays and withered in the sun for 18-24 hours

• After drying leaves are rolled, twisted in order to break down the cell walls and accelerate oxidation process.

• This causes leaves to ferment and to release components responsible for characteristic color, aroma and taste.

• The last stage is firing in order to stop fermentation and dry them completely.

• Color of the leaves: dark brown or black

Oolong Tea (Chinese word for Black Dragon)

• Oolong is partially fermented tea.• The leaves are withered in sun, but for a

shorter period of time than black tea, only about 4-5 hours.

• When the leaves are only partially fermented (different degrees), they are fired to stop the fermentation (oxidation) process.

• Oolong tea leaves are reddish – brown.

White Tea

• White tea is the least processed tea.• It contains only new growth buds and young

leaves (2 top).• Steamed or gently dried on bamboo racks

indoors.• The little buds are covered with white-silvery

hairs which give this tea whitish appearance.• White tea is very light in color and flavor.• High antioxidant level!

Non – Tea

These "teas" are made of ingredients other than true tea, Camellia Sinensis.

      Roots, Flowers, Leaves, Seeds, Fruits etc       Tisanes or Herbal Teas are caffeine free,

examples: Chamomile, Peppermint, Hibiscus, Chrysanthemum, Lemon Verbena– Rooibos: Asphalatus Linearis, grows in South Africa (no

caffeine, high antioxidants)      Some non-teas may contain caffeine, such as Yerba Mate: Ilex

paraguariensis.Grows in Argentina, Brazil, Chile & UruguayDifferent type of caffeine than in coffee: no side effects, high

antioxidants

Next week’s topics

• How to make good cup of tea

presentation & demo

• Storing Tea

• Health Benefits

• Tea & Dieting

• Cultural Tea

• Quiz