Tea
in india
Three Indian women are plucking tea leaves. They are wearing big round hats to keep the sun away.
Production of Tea
The production of tea starts with the most important step, plucking the tea leaves. People say that plucking the tea leaves is an art by itself. The quality of the tea depends on the age of the two leaves and the bud. The second step is to shrivel the tea leaves. This is the first part of drying the tea. It is done by drying the fresh green tea leaves at 25-30 degrees Celsius. This reduces the water level to 60%-70%. The third step is rolling the leaves. This takes half an hour and gets the real taste and aroma out of the leaf. The fourth step is the leaves going through fermentation. This decides on what kind of tea it will be. They use an air-blown technique that gets the specific aroma and color. Lastly, it goes through an extensive drying process. It is dried at 95 degrees and only leaves 4-5% of the moisture in the leaf. There are many steps for producing tea.
Did You Know...
Did you know that tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, after water?
History of Indian Tea
They know tea in India has been growing since around the 1830's. Before that, people did not realize that tea plants had been growing wildly in the jungles of north east Assam. There were three accounts of the East India Company pushing away tea growing for profit, once in 1788, once in 1823, and once in 1831. In 1788, they did not know that tea was growing wildly. In both 1823 and 1831 two brothers said that they could make a profit on tea and proved in 1831 that tea was growing naturally in the Assam area. The East India Company said no all three times because they had good connections with China for trading tea. They knew they did not need to waste time and money on something they already had. This all changed when they lost their alliance with China. With that, they set up an committee. The secretary of the committee was sent to China to get 80,000 tea seeds. These seeds were going to be planted in the Botanical Gardens in Calcutta. Meanwhile, Charles Bruce and other pioneers worked on making the existing tea plants richer with nutrients. They were also clearing areas of land to make tea plantations. In the process of doing this, they got the help of two Chinese tea makers. The tea makers helped them learn the secrets of tea making. The seeds that the East India Company planted did not last. They decided to just regrow the native tea bushes in Assam, India. In 1838 the first twelve chests of tea leaves were shipped to London and sold at auctions. In the mid 1850's they expanded into a town called Darjeeling. In 1853 they exported 183.4 tons of tea leaves. In 1870 they exported 6,700 tons of tea leaves. Finally, in 1885 they exported 35,274 tons of tea leaves. They came a long way from the beginning of when they had just started to make tea.
Did You Know...
Did you know that India is one of the largest tea producers with 13,000 tea gardens and more than 2 million people working with tea?
Tea gardens that are in northern India.
Health Benefits for Drinking Assam Tea
Assam tea has a lot of antioxidants. It does not have as much as green or white tea, but it has many other health benefits. Assam tea can decrease the chance of heart attacks or strokes. It can also improve blood circulation and enhances the immune system. In addition, the tea decreases the risk of alzheimer's and helps relieve tension and nerves. Another great benefit is that it strengthens teeth and fights cavities. Assam tea lessens the risk of cell damage. It fights off free radical bacteria which can lead to cancer or harmful diseases. Finally, if you think you can't drink tea instead of coffee, you are wrong. It has enough caffeine to get you started in the morning, but with more benefits than coffee.
Work Cited
TeaMuse "The Origins of Indian Tea" by Jane Pettigrew http://www.teamuse.com/article_000803.html
Tea Blossoms "Assam Tea"
http://www.teablossoms.com.au/tea-resources.php
JIVRAJ "Production Process" by Khyati Infotech
http://commerce.nic.in/publications/anualreport_chapter10-2008-09.asp (picture of ladies plucking tea)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/adverse-weather-spoils-the-world-tea-party/article3985042.ece (picture of tea garden)