Every harvest we travel to some of the most remote regions of China and south Asia to work directly with the most famous tea farmers in these historic and great tea regions. We go to these extremes not only to participate in the art and craft of tea but because the process of making a world-class tea is not done in a warehouse or in a catalog. [picture #1]
Tea: The Basics
If you walk through the aisles of a contemporary grocery store or visit your local tea shop you might be deluded into believing that tea is a dried herb, a blend of spices, or a collection of dried flowers or fruit. Unlike these often-mislabeled tisanes and aromatics, tea is something altogether different. It has a very unique history, comes from designated growing regions, and uses processes not used in the creation of any other agricultural products. These discoveries enabled the creation of thousands of unique types of teas all made from an extraordinary evergreen plant from the sinensis species in the genus Camellia of the Theaceae family in the plant kingdom: Camellia sinensis, or simply tea!
Although all tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, all tea is not created equally. Tea is typically divided into six subdivisions or types: white, green, yellow, oolong/blue, black/red, and dark/fermented. Each type of tea, in turn, is defined by the specific processing used to create it. To make any given tea there are essentially eight steps that must take place: plucking, sorting, cleaning, withering, manufacturing, firing/drying, sorting, and packing. Only through the meticulous care during each of these processes can a tea taste, smell, and look extraordinary. This is why we take the effort to work directly with the masters with which we work. [picture #2]
Tea: Tea Craft
Plucking
As its name suggests, plucking is the process used to extract leaves from the tea plant. The way a person plucks the leaves plays an important role in the taste and aromas of the resulting tea. At its most simple, plucking triggers a tea bush to produce a sweet sap (a collection of chemicals that are responsible for the unique taste and aroma of tea). The more sap a farmer can create in his tea bushes, the more sweetness the leaves can produce and the more sweet his tea will taste.
Once the tea production begins, the plants will be plucked continuously for most of the year. This is done not only to gather more leaves but also to prohibit the tree plants from flowering. As soon as tea plants flower, they direct their energy toward sustaining the flower, forcing the leaves to go into hibernation, a stage in which the leaves become tough and brittle. If a bush or tree is plucked too aggressively, however, the tea farmer can severely damage the plant or kill it. A tea farmer must balance his needs for promoting sweeter teas with the plant’s need for growth. [picture #3]
Withering
Another important process for creating high-quality tea is the process of withering. Withering is responsible for the myriad of shapes teas take, it initiates many of the important chemical changes that take place during the processing of tea, and it is one of the processes responsible for creating color, taste, and aroma. Virtually all teas are withered, even if it is just for the twenty to thirty minutes that a plucked leaf spends between being plucked and being transported into the production facility. Even so, not all teas are withered the same!
There are two distinct withering processes, both of which play an important role not only in creating complex tastes and aromas but also in determining what type of tea is being made. These processes are colloquially referred to as physical withering and chemical withering.
Physical withering reduces the moisture content of the leaf and makes the leaf pliable so that it is easier to manipulate in subsequent processes. All teas go through at least some physical withering. Without at least a little physical withering, it would be very difficult for a tea master to create the beautiful and distinctive shapes of tea.
Chemical withering, on the other hand, is a more time-consuming process and facilitates the breakdown of the complex chemicals in a leaf’s cells, changing these complex chemicals into simpler chemicals that add body and flavor to a tea. If allowed, chemical withering can also start the oxidation process. Depending on the type of tea being processed, the tea master may limit the amount of chemical withering a leaf undergoes to create the desired taste and aroma profile. Or, as in the case of most of the unoxidized teas, he may avoid such processing altogether. [picture #4]
Rupturing/Rolling
Oolong and black tea are unique from the other types of tea because they both undergo a process in which the leaf’s cell structure is ruptured. By rupturing the cell walls of the tea leaf, known as rupturing or rolling, the tea master introduces oxygen. [picture #5]
Firing/Deactivating PPO Enzyme (“Shaqing”)
Almost all types of tea undergo some sort of firing in which the leaves are heated to deactivate the enzyme responsible for oxidation. This is known as the shaqing or kill-green process. There are many ways to fire a leaf, but the process usually consists of exposing the leaves to temperatures above 185°F (85°C) for anywhere between thirty seconds and five minutes. The shaqing process has a profound effect on how a tea tastes and smells. In some ways, this process is the hallmark of tea production. [picture #6]
Drying
All teas also go through a drying process in which the moisture content of the leaf is decreased to below 4–5 percent. Drying not only stops any enzymatic reactions (oxidation process), but it also removes moisture from the leaf so that the leaf is “shelf stable.” [picture #7]
But, this is just the beginning…
Joe Uhl decided to study in Malaysia. This decision began a lifelong journey that took him around the world and gave him a passion for teas’ craft and culture. Through this journey he met extraordinary tea growers and producers and connected with luminary connoisseurs all over China, India, Europe, and Africa all of whom guided him through the cultural and philosophical importance of tea. Yet, because he thought he did not know how to run a business and because he thought he wanted the security of an office job, Joe returned to Detroit, earned a law degree, and became an attorney at a Detroit law firm. It was not long, however, before he felt out-of-place; the work’s purpose was not his. So, after eight years he resigned, reconnected with old friends and mentors and resumed his journey. This time, however, he wanted to share his knowledge and passion for tea and to introduce the teas produced by the best growers and producers he met throughout his journey. Today, Joe returns to China and South Asia every harvest and works directly with his friends so that you can experience and enjoy the world’s best black teas.
