Friday Knows Tea

"Yes, I'd like two ounces of the Darjeeling...sfff...tug..fop?" We hear your attempts at pronouncing this alphanumeric stew every day at the tea house, and who can blame you? When an estate or region name is followed by a gibberish string of letters and numbers and you have no idea what they mean but remember your grandmother pouring you delicious steaming cups of fine Indian black tea and just want to recreate the experience for some nostalgia and comfort, dang it? Worry not, my dear. I've got you covered. Let's talk tea grades! The mysterious collection of letters and numbers on your Indian and Sri Lankan tea labels is a code and I am here to help you crack it. This is a simple leaf grading system created by our brilliant and hard working South Asian tea appraisers, and understanding what each letter means can give you a hint as to what flavor you are about to enjoy! First things first: the more letters, the higher the grade. If you like a full-bodied, astringen...

When teaching classes, speaking on panels, or even just in casual conversation, two of the most common questions I've been asked are: What is oxidation?  What does fermentation mean in regards to tea?   Tea terminology can be confusing to those who work outside the industry or are just getting their start. We tea workers have our own language for sure! When it comes to oxidation vs. fermentation, things can get especially murky. We hit a translation barrier when working with Chinese tea especially, as it's pretty standard for the terms to be used interchangeably in that region. Generally speaking, however, oxidation and fermentation refer to two completely different processes. Let’s break it down (ha ha cellular biology joke). Oxidation is the process of oxygen getting into the cells and  primary factor that distinguishes between the six true types of tea: white, yellow, green, oolong, black and post-fermented. You know how an apple turns brown when you bite in...

We get asked a LOT what the difference is between white tea and black tea, herbal tea and green tea, and so on. The world of tea is mysterious and a lot of you want to learn more, so let's start with the basics! True tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Always. Any infusion made from the leaf, stem, root or whatever other part of any other plant falls into the "tisane" category, also known as "herbal tea." Those are a whole tasty world absolutely worth your time and attention, but today we're focusing on true teas.   There are six basic types of true tea, delineated by the level of oxidation allowed to occur in the leaf during processing. After picking, tea leaves frequently go through a process of bruising, withering, heating, and drying. (I say frequently because the world of tea is so vast and varied, every facet of the end product is up for flux. How much caffeine? What does it taste like? Is it smooth or brash? The answer is always "it ...