Germany and Tea

Don’t think of Germany as a major tea country?  You may want to think again. 

While Germans may not be known for being major tea drinkers[1], Germany is actually a power house in the tea community.  Indeed, Hamburg Germany is considered by some to be the tea trade capital of Europe because about 70% of all tea traded in continental Europe is handled in the city.[2]

How much tea do Germans drink?  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands reports that Germany is the third largest tea consumer in the European Union, with a market share of 10%.[3]  East Frisia is Germany’s top tea drinking region, drinking 12 times the national average.[4]   East Frisia, a region in northern Germany, has a robust “teatime” tradition dating back to the 17^th century.  East Frisian tea is typically “a thick, dark, malty tea served in espresso-size porcelain cups” with “a piece of rock sugar in the bottom and heavy cream.”[5]

As noted by the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, Germans are known to “have a reputation for demanding the highest quality” in tea.[6] Indeed, the German Tea Association has adopted a Code of Practice for Quality Assurance.  The Code provides guidelines for tea sampling and issues requirements for pesticide examination.[7]

I visited the booths of a few Germany companies while attending the World Tea Expo 2013.

 

Halssen and Lyons impressed me with their innovative design in their new product tea to go, that is “Teatogo.”  Teatogo is a tea bag integrated into a disposable cups lid. 
When steeping is complete, the user simply pulls the tea bag into a pocket in the lid to remove it from the liguor without needing to remove it from the cup. Halssen and Lyons gave me a sample to try and I found getting rid of the tea bag was fast, clean and easy.  No wonder Halssen and Lyons patented their Teatogo system.

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[1] Tea & CoffeeTrade Journal, (Volume 177 Issue 11) 

[2] DeutscherTeeverband, 2010

[3] CBI Report on Black Tea in Germany 

[4]  DeutscherTeeverband, 2011. 

[5] New York Times, February 24, 20013 Travel Article

[6] Tea & CoffeeTrade Journal, (Volume 177 Issue 11) 

[7] Deutscher Teeverband website (German Tea Association)

World Tea Expo 2013 – Tea Pots and Tea Pops

Did you think it would only be about the tea leaves at the World Tea Expo?  Well, tea pots and tea pops would prove you wrong.

What’s a Tea Expo without beautiful tea pots?

In the middle of the convention floor filled with tea merchants selling tea beverages, Fuji Merchandise Corporation displayed a large selection of Japanese tea wares.  I couldn’t help but stop and take a picture of their teapots.  I thought for sure these pretty porcelain tea pots would be expensive.  The tea pots, however, were offered at only $10 - 12.50.  But, this importer of Japanese wares only sells to retailers, so I imagine these prices may get marked up.

 

How about a tea pop?

The Winner of Best New Product by the 2013 World Tea Expo is TeaPops by DeeBee’s Organic Frozen Treats.  This company  out of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada makes pops from green, white and black teas, as well as rooibos.  DeeBee’s Founder, Dionne Laslo-Baker, PhD, was inspired to make the pops when looking to give treats to her young sons.  Dionne calls herself a “fanatic about the food her family eats.”  It’s not surprising then that these pops are ridiculously health and spirit conscious as they are organic, kosher, vegan, dairy free, gluten free,  soy free and nut free.  Discerning customers who appreciate Dionne’s fanaticism will purchase for the quality of the pops.  If they purchase one box, they will be yearning for more.  Dionne gave me a sample of her pops at the Tea Expo and they are undeniably yummy - to kids and adults. 

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World Tea Expo 2013 (Tea processing seminar)

We took a two day seminar on tea processing at the World Tea Expo.  We, the students, actually processed the fresh cut tea leaves and created yellow, green and black teas.  The class culminated with students drinking our own finished creations.

First, Eva Lee, co-founder of the tea estate, Tea Hawaii & Company, flew in fresh cut tea leaves for the class.  The leaves were grown within the rainforest at the summit of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano.  Lee, prior to the class, had cut and separated the leaves as appropriate for the creation of green, yellow or black teas.

Next, we students heated the leaves only for the green and yellow teas, but not the black.

We rolled and shaped the leaves for all three tea types. 

The smell from the leaves as we crushed and pressed them was amazing.

We ended the first day of class leaving the leaves for the yellow tea sweltering in a sauna.  We also set aside the leaves for the green and black teas in the open to oxidize overnight.  The next day we roasted the tea leaves to finalize the process.  At last, we brewed and drank our delicious creations.

Embarrassing Tea Moment at the World Tea Expo 2013.

Despite being surrounded by tea and tea merchants everywhere on the convention floor of the World Tea Expo 2013, I still managed to have an embarrassing tea moment. 

“Are these cute little golden balls chocolates?”  I asked the exhibitor at a Taiwanese company’s table.  She had the good graces not to laugh.  No, these delicate looking bon bons exquisitely wrapped in golden foil and arrayed in a beautiful tin box were balls of tea.  Expensive little balls of aged Pu-erh tea sized for individual cups.

In the next aisle, when I saw sparkling silver and gold bon bon looking balls at another exhibitor table, I made up for my earlier mistake.  I proudly marched up to the exhibitor and regaled her with my knowledge of Pu-erh.  She said that she was pleased that I didn't think the balls were chocolates like so many other expo attendees!  She then gifted me with lots of samples of both raw and ripe Pu-erh.  I can't wait to try them back home!

World Tea Expo 2013

World Tea Expo 2013 Tea merchants from all over the world, large and small, are here in Las Vegas this week for the 2013 World Tea Expo.  My sister and I and thousands of other tea enthusiasts have flocked here as well.

I was near giddy with excitement when Rajiv Lochan of Lochan Tea gave me a cup of the Darjeeling tea, second flush, from the Jungpana Estate in Darjeeling. I couldn't say “yes!” fast enough to a gift sample bag of the tea leaves. 

We started our day with a seminar on tea cupping and how it is used in commercial quality control. 

We then combed through the vendors on the convention floor. We spoke with the winner of the Expo's 2012 Best New Product. Brandon Ford, the owner of Vintage Teaworks creates wine inspired tea blends.

 
We chatted with the ladies of Octavia Teas and got samples of their ginger peach white tea and blueberry green tea.  

We took in the colors of bowl after bowl of tea leaves on display.

We smelled the aromas of leaves.

Auntie Widgie

When I enter a cafe with my cousin there's a moment of angst.  I see it in his face as I open my mouth to order.  We both know what's coming.  It's to be expected, afterall, I learned it from his mother, my dearly departed tea goddess Auntie Widgie.  Like my mother, her sister, Auntie Widgie was very particular about her tea. Unlike my mother, if the water in her tea was not at the right temperature, Auntie Widgie would let it be known loudly until it was done right.  To her credit, she would try to head off that type of scene at the pass by firmly describing the steps to making her tea at the time she ordered, "Put the dry tea bag in the empty cup, pour the boiling water on top of the bag before you bring it to the table." God help the waiter who didn't follow her orders.  All 4' 8" of her would burst forth with a roar, "I ordered tea! not luke warm water with a dry tea bag on the side!"  Nothing would soathe her until the tea came back done right.

My mom's family came to the U.S. from the British West Indies where tea is a big part of the culture.  It's traditionally black tea with a little sugar and evaporated milk, not to be confused with condensed milk which is pre-sweetened.  Everyone in my family takes tea and part of it, at least for the girls in my family, is having one's tea done just so. 

My mom likes her tea steeped only briefly so it doesn't become, in her words, "heart rocking."  She puts her milk in slowly pouring it over a spoon without stirring so the milk suspends in the tea liquor at different densities from top to bottom.  Then she sips it using a straw.  As a matter of fact, she carries a supply of straws in her purse just for this purpose.  A little neurotic you might say.  Just imagine watching her explain how she wants it to a waiter.

One of my sisters takes her tea at Starbucks in her own quirky way.  She has it steeped in hot steamed milk from the latte machine.  She's had quite a few...uh...discussions with the staff when trying to put in that order, but as an attorney she's used to getting her way.

Photo credit: Huwoo Ping

Me, I like to think I'm a little more low key.  Nevertheless, I feel miffed when the water for my tea is not hot enough.  I never need to admonish my waiters because, thanks to my Auntie Widgie, I learned to head them off at the pass.  A little painful for waiters who don't know how to prepare tea.  And familiar, yet still a little painful for my cousin to sit through as he never quite got used to the particularities and quirks of the tea snobs in his family and their quest for the perfect cup of tea.

Raw or Ripe

It beckoned to me from across the room at the San Francisco International Tea Festival.  It was raw, it was ripe, I was trying to avoid it.  I was having a Puer moment!  My friends kept telling me how wonderful Puer could be, but that wasn’t how I remembered my first cup. It was bitter and chalky.  Why was Puer so popular?  I had to know, so I ventured over to the table where the family run company Pure Puer was holding tastings…and I’m glad I did.

I learned from Larry and his son, who prepared for me a lovely tasting Puer, that there are two keys to a proper cup of Puer.  One is in the steeping preparation.  Puer is a delicate tea.  The water should not be at boiling temperature.  Once it reaches a boil, let it sit for one to two minutes.  Then briefly rinse the tea once or even twice.  I’ll repeat that, RINSE the tea…for about two seconds once or twice.  Doing this removes chalkiness and loosens the dry leaves which have typically been stored in tightly compressed cake shapes.  Next, submerge the leaves in the hot water and count just 25 seconds before removing them from the water.  Now you have tapped into the earthy depths of a pure Puer experience.  Don’t toss your wet leaves away, they’ll have enough flavor to provide you as many as ten more cups. 

The other key to Puer is in how the tea leaves are processed from harvest to storage.  Puer, unlike most teas, is not roasted or heated much during processing.  It is a raw tea. That means microorganisms that naturally live on the leaves remain alive to ferment the leaves slowly over time giving a unique flavor.  The raw leaves are wilted in the sun, then dried and rolled, then compressed into cake shapes and wrapped in paper that allows some degree of airflow during storage, never sealed in tins or other air tight packaging.  The microbial fermentation continues and the tea improves as it ages.  It takes about 5 years to reach a respectable earthy smoothness minus youthful pungency.

The aging process can continue for as many as 65 years. For that reason, Puer is one of the few teas that actually has a vintage.  Vintage Puer over 10 years old is prized.  Just last year, CCTV News of China reported that costs for it had soured higher than gold!

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2012-03/27/content_24995472.htm

So that’s the traditional Puer, a.k.a. Raw Puer, but in recent times there’s been another version of Puer called Ripe Puer, a.k.a. Black Puer, where the fermentation has been accelerated.  It was developed in the 1970’s. The difference is that before compressing into cakes, the leaves are wet, put in piles, and tossed now and then for about 70 days.  It’s a bit like composting.  Then the leaves are dried and pressed into cakes.  Ripe Puer cakes need about 4-5 years for maturity and then can continue to age for up to 25 years. One result of the “composting” step is that much of the caffeine content leeches out, and so Ripe Puer has good reason to be considered one of the more relaxing teas.  So remember, when you purchase your Puer, make sure you clarify whether you’re getting the traditional Raw which has regular caffeine content, or the Ripe with less caffeine.

So Raw or Ripe, here’s the secret to Puer – seek high quality tea aged at least 5 years, rinse it twice and steep it gently.  You won’t be disappointed.

Tea Terms

If you’re like me, you’ve been trying many different kinds of teas for some time now.  At first, differentiating between them may have been as simple as “black tea, green tea, hibiscus flavor, etc...”  As I’ve become more educated and so much more discerning, it’s been more challenging to describe tea.  Thankfully, there is actually a tea language so to speak, or rather, the tea tasters’ terminology.  Here are a few basics to help you navigate the tea world.  This abbreviated list, far from complete, has been compiled from a several different sources including The Tea Association of the USA.

Aroma  -  smell or fragrance.

Astringency  -  drying sensation in mouth caused by tannins in the tea.

Bakey   -  unpleasant taste due to over-fired tea leaves during drying process. 

Biscuity  -  pleasant baked aroma due to skillfully fired tea leaves during drying process. 

Body  -  strength and fullness of flavor, ranging from wispy, light, medium or full. 

Brassy  -  unpleasant, strong and bitter aftertaste. 

Bright  -  sparkling liquor color and vibrant fresh taste. 

Brisk  -  lively and pleasant taste, as opposed to flat or soft. 

Character  -  attribute of the tea based on place of origin. 

Clean  -  free of fiber, dust and any extraneous matter and free of character. 

Coppery  -  the color of copper, indicating a good quality tea liquor. 

Earthy  -  aroma or flavor of grass or soil. 

Grassy  -  raw, hay-like flavor. 

Finish  -  flavors that linger in the mouth. 

Flat  -  tea lacking astringency or briskness. 

Full-bodied  -  tea rich in flavor, intense in aroma, and pleasant in color. 

Hard  -  a strong and astringent tea. 

Liquor  -  brewed tea liquid. 

Malty  -  sweet barley aroma or flavor found in certain Assams. 

Muscatel  -  grape or fruit flavor found in certain Darjeelings. 

Pungent  -  astringent with a good mix of briskness, brightness, and strength. 

Smooth  -  tea without astringency that is full-bodied and pleasant. 

Soft  -  smooth and subdued flavor. 

Tarry  -  smoky aroma or flavor found in Lapsang Souchong teas.

Wondering what to do with your tea terminology? You might consider keeping a tea journal to document your experiences. It's a great way to broaden your knowledge and to be able to compare different teas without having them side-by-side.  Her's a template my sister and I like to use. It's available for your use at this link: Tea Dreams Tasting Template.

A Win for Tea Purists!



Photo credit: Joydeep

Darjeeling tea growers in India have won legal protection for the Darjeeling brand name from the European Union.  Like champagne - which the European Union recognizes as a sparkling beverage from only wineries in La Champagne, France - the European Union now recognizes Darjeeling tea as tea grown only in Darjeeling, India.  Is it just a coincidence that Darjeeling tea is often referred to as the “champagne” of teas?

Photo credit: David J. Fred

Darjeeling tea, known for its flavor, quality, and premium price, is a tea that has been produced in the foothills of the Himalayas in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India for over a century and a half.  It was the British who introduced Chinese tea plants into the region in the 1800s.  According to the Tea Board of India – which regulates all tea from India - the combination of the climate, soil conditions, altitude and meticulous processing has resulted in the special aroma and rare fragrance of Darjeeling tea, making it the most coveted tea. Today, however, the bulk of the tea sold worldwide as Darjeeling tea is in fact, not from Darjeeling.

In response, the Tea Board has been active in protecting the Darjeeling trade name and has registered Darjeeling tea as a “geographical indication” (GI) for tea, which is recognized by the World Trade Organization.  A GI is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin.  On December 17, 2012, the European Union agreed to phase out within the next five years the misuse of the Darjeeling tea name with the marketing of tea consisting of blends from outside of Darjeeling, India.