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.

Is it really tea?

Photo Credit: Wikimol

What is this thing called tea? Let’s face it, it’s a bunch of leaves thrown in some hot water.  The leaves are brewed at the right temperature to infuse the water with flavor and voila!  We have tea!  Or do we?  Many other drinks referred to as tea can be prepared the same way using flower petals, dried fruit, leaves from all sorts of plants, roots, etc.  Is it all tea?

Technically tea is derived only from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant.  It's the different processing techniques that create the many different varieties of tea - black, green, pu-erh, oolong, et al.  The Tea Council of the United Kingdom estimates as many as 1,500 tea varieties.  Tea making, like wine making, has been refined over centuries to unlock the beautiful multi-faceted essence of the tea plant.  Processing techniques include aeration (aging in air), maceration (chopping), drying (can take 5 years), and rolling of the leaf (locks in flavor).  In addition to processing, where the tea is grown affects the varietal characteristics - flavor, color, caffeine content.

But what about the other drinks referred to as tea?  Hot drinks brewed in the style of tea, but not technically tea, are tisanes, a.k.a. “herbal teas.”   Tisanes are very popular and can be found in the tea section of any store or café.  Some are enjoyed simply for their non-caffeinated flavor, others for their reputed health benefits.

So is it really tea? You decide, but for me it doesn't really have that special "oomph" unless it's the real thing, Camellia Sinensis.

 

Tea in Old Town

 

Photo credit: Le Pain Quotidien

We begin our Tea Dreams in historic Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia located about 15 miles away from the nation's capitol.  Since the American colonial period, Old Town has been a vibrant center of commerce and an attractive home to notable people, including our very first president George Washington, who built a town house in Old Town and stayed there when business and inclement weather did not permit travel to his estate at Mount Vernon.   Old Town's original charm - Colonial architecture and cobblestone sidewalks - is carefully preserved.  Old Town is also where a bakery called Le Pain Quotidien can be found.

Le Pain Quotidien is a Brussels-style establishment known for its fresh baked organic breads and pastries. Less well known is its fabulous tea! This past holiday season my sister and I tried their Brussels Breakfast, which is an organic Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka.  It is a bright full bodied beverage brought to the table brewing in a ceramic pot with two small bowls - one to drink it from and the other for the used tea bag when finished brewing. It has a lovely dark reddish brown color and a pleasant aroma.  And when you taste it, this tea delivers!

Interestingly, Brussels, Belgium is not known as a place with much of a tea culture.  According to a Trade for Development Centre 2009 study, Belgian tea consumption measured in kilograms per capita is only 28% of the average per capita tea consumption of other European countries (http://www.befair.be/en/content/availability-sustainable-tea-belgian-supermarkets).  If Le Pain Quotidien Brussels Breakfast tea is representative of the quality of tea that that small group of Belgian tea lovers enjoys, then they are quite discerning.  Lucky for us all, Brussels Breakfast dry tea bags are available to take home from the bakery.

The Brussels Breakfast stands on its own as a wonderful tea, yet part of our experience the day we tried it was the atmosphere at Le Pain Quotidien in Old Town.  The bakery has a casual, slightly rustic decor.  Perhaps some of its charm is captured in this, our first attempt at video commentary: