Adventures in the Tea Trade

Why not consecrate ourselves to the queen of the Camelias, and revel in the warm stream of sympathy that flows from her altar? In the liquid amber within the ivory-porcelain, the initiated may touch the sweet reticence of Confucius, the piquancy of Lao Tse, and the ethereal aroma of Sakyamuni himself.

Tenshin

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Coffee, as a friend of this blogger has pointed out most unhelpfully, is not without its spirituality. Its use was largely pioneered and promoted among the Soofi orders of the Mohametans and even to this day there are Soofi groups among whom the 'coffee maker' is an esteemed officer. We will concede this, but otherwise the blogger will have none of it. He recalls a conversation on exactly this subject with the late Lithuanian scholar, Dr. Algis Uzdavynys, himself a ten-coffee-a-day man, who explained that the Soofis used the stuff as a means of staying awake during all night vigils. The night vigil, especially during the sacred month of Ramadan, is meritorious in Mohametan piety, and there are Soofis among whom it is a preferred practice. They discovered that coffee, good and strong, will waylay sleep and thereby facilitate extended prayer and recitation through to the dawn salat. They employed it, that is, as a crude stimulant. 

This is most unsubtle, of course. Two lines of cocaine will do the same, and it hardly amounts to a spiritual adjunct in itself. It is more true to say, therefore, that coffee has been used in a spiritual context, yes, but it is stretching a point to ascribe to it any particular spiritual powers beyond keeping one awake. Tea, on the other hand - so this present writers insists - is much more than a mere analeptic. Far beyond just stimulating and refreshing, its energies are inherently internalising and meditative. It is, in and of itself, a spiritual drink. Coffee is incidental to a few Soofi outfits; tea is integral to entire traditions, most notably Taoism, Zen and the Japanese Boodhists.

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Around the Darjeeling hills there is no shortage of tea experts and aficionados who are ready and willing to impart their knowledge and enthusiasm to novices, such as the present author confesses to be. They will explain the history and the processes of quality tea growing to anyone interested. There are, moreover, many tea gardens that offer guided tours that are informative and instructive. The young lady at Happy Valley Tea Gardens, a small concern just out of Darjeeling proper, is - it must be said - deeply knowledgable, articulate, terribly pleasant and gives a thorough account of every aspect of the entire growing, drying and fermentation operation, and is therefore to be recommended. She offers, furthermore, an excellent tea tasting session, explaining all the subtleties and mysteries of flavour. One comes away feeling that the whole business is not so complex after all. There are those who would love to mystify it, but in essence it is simple.

Regarding processes, it goes in stages as follows:

1.Picking

2. Withering

3. Rolling

4. Fermentation

5. Drying

6. Sorting

The leaves are picked. Then they are left to "wither" (i.e. wilt) which reduces their liquid content. Then they are rolled, which is to say slightly bruised. Then the bruised leaves are left in the open air to oxidise ("fermentation")- that is, they go black upon exposure to air. Then, at a crucial point, they are dried to stop further fermentation. Finally, they are sorted and graded. 

So, it is not really very complicated in itself, although tweaking of each stage in the process produces different results, and this is where the experts and egg-heads come in. Picking at different times in the plant's growing cycle will yield radically different flavours. Withering can be longer or shorter. And so on. In particular, the oxidisation stage is all-important. The amount of caffeine and such qualities as anti-oxidents are largely determined by how long and in what conditions the rolled (bruised) leaves are allowed to ferment. 

As far as the finished product is concerned there are really three main types: black, green and white. Green teas have had less processing - especially oxidation - than black teas, and so-called white teas are altogether virgin, having had very little processing at all. Black teas are the most common but have more caffeine and less antioxidants than green or white due to longer oxidation.

Teas are typically graded according to degrees of physical intactness as follows:

1. Whole leaf

2. Brokens

3. Fannings

4. Dust

Whole leaf grades produce a more subtle cup of tea. The broken grades - in which the leaves are broken into smaller portions - typically produce stronger and fuller cups of tea, with tea dust producing the strongest brew of all. 

Then there are seasonal variations. These are:

1. First flush
2. Second Flush
3. Autumnal

First flush - spring teas - are finer and more subtle. The second flush - which is to say the second picking - produces a more full-bodied tea. Autumn teas are more full-bodied again. 

Beyond these grades, teas are then classified according to a quite esoteric system of codifications. The very best grade is coded by the letters FTGFOP which stands for Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - although the standard joke in the tea trade is that it really stands for Far Too Good For Ordinary People. Sometimes, to these letters the numeral 1. will be added, thus: FTGFOP1. This is your highest quality tea. Lesser teas are graded: TGFOP, GFOP, FOP, and so on. 

If readers aspire to become a professional tea snob then these are the codes to learn. 

None of this, however, counts nearly as much in practice as the garden from which the tea comes. Location, soil, climate, slope, season - these are the key determinants. 

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Every year, they say, some 50,000 tonnes of Darjeeling tea is sold and consumed throughout the world. This is a most curious fact because, in actuality, the tea gardens of Darjeeling only produce about 10,000 tonnes of tea per year. Thus, some 40,000 tonnes is spurious. The lesson from this then is beware of imitations. Genuine Darjeeling tea now carries a government-enforced stamp of authenticity, thus:

When purchasing what you believe to be genuine Darjeeling tea look for this label. It will no doubt add to the price of the product but you can at least be sure that the product is the real thing. Darjeeling tea is prized for its special characteristics: its depth and complexity of flavour, its floral and fruity tones and especially its "muscatel" qualities. The tea you buy should reward you with exactly these qualities. This is the true test, above and beyond the label. The question is: Does it taste like a genuine Darjeeling tea, or is it just an ordinary brew like any other with an expensive label?

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Muscatel flavours are characteristic of Darjeeling teas and are most pronounced in the more full bodied second flush, summer and autumn teas. These, at least, are the preferred teas of the present author, in his shamefully limited experience. Here is a sample of those he has tried at Darjeeling tea houses and would not hesitate to recommend:

Red Thunder

From Gopaldhara Garden, a full-bodied muscatel, 6000 rupees a kilo. 

Castleton Muscatel

From the Castleton Gardens, a second flush summer muscatel, 7000 rupees a kilo.

Thurbo Second Flush

From the Thurbo estate. Described as a Tippy Clonal FTGFOP1, only 10,000 rupees per kilo. 

Giddaphar Muscatel

From the Giddaphar garden. A FTGFOP1, second flush muscatel. 2400 rupees per kilo. 

An Orange Pekoe with Red Thunder

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For an excellent blog from one of the world's foremost and expert tea travellers, see

http://www.discoveringtea.com

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Everyone has to build anew his sky of hope and peace… Meanwhile, let us have a sip of tea. The afternoon glow is brightening the bamboos, the fountains are bubbling with delight, the soughing of the pines is heard in our kettle. Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.

- Tenshin

Yours

Harper McAlpine Black