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From: sharp@farmer.DEC (Don Sharp, MK Design Services, MKO1-1/B7 DTN 264-6068)
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Re: Tea info wanted
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Date: Wed, 31-Oct-84 08:57:58 EST
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Posted: Wed Oct 31 08:57:58 1984
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I'm not a real tea expert, but since no one else has answered this query
I'll give it a stab.

Most tea in the world come from China. Most of the rest of it comes from
India, and I don't think tea is cultivated anywhere outside of Asia. Tea is
made from the leaves of a tree. When you pick them the leaves are green. You
can brew a beverage from them in this state. Otherwise you can toast them,
and they become black. You can brew a beverage from them in this state as
well. That's the difference between green and black tea.

Tea has very little actual "taste", by which I mean the sensations in the
mouth of sweetness, acidity, saltiness or bitterness. It is mostly bitter,
with some acid. Most of the enjoyable quality of tea (good tea, anyway)
comes from it fragrance, which derives from essential oils and other
volatile components in the leaves. As with coffee beans the process of
toasting the leaves releases the volatile components and changes their
composition to produce a more fragrant and flavorful brew. It takes an
exceptional variety of tea to make a good beverage while still green.  

The flavor of the tea is influenced heavily by the variety of the plant from
which the leaves are picked. Different leaves have different characteristic
volatile components and lead to brews of differing flavor. Besides the tea
variety the method of cultivation and preparation are the major influences.
Different varieties lend themselves more or less well to different methods.
Pekoe tea is almost always toasted into a black tea, while Lapsong Suchong
tea rarely is.

The most common variety of tea is black tea from China. The standard
Lipton's or Salada falls in here, as well as many of the Twining's varieties
(Irish Breakfast Tea comes to my mind). The tea served in Chinese
restaurants is usually black China tea (except at dim sum meals, where a
variety of teas may ber served.)

Don Sharp
Digital Equipment Corp.
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