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Posted by Edward
Since the invention of North Fujian Water Sprite Oolong Tea in 1821, this oolong tea has been considered one of the best floral oolong teas. It also has rich and fruity flavours.
The original Water Sprite tea tree variety was found in a cave around Tai Lake, and the name of the cave was called ‘Zhu Xian’ (meaning: prayers to the gods). Mr. Su, the person who found the bush, picked the tea leaves and made the tea, following the oolong tea production method. The result was stunning. The flavour of the tea was rich and floral. The locals named the tea after Shui Xian flowers because of the similarity of pronunciation between ‘Zhu Xian’ and ‘Shui Xian’ (Shwey Shien), which is flowery with light and refreshing fragrance.
The leaves of North Fujian Water Sprite trees are thicker and more vivid in their green hue compared to other species of oolong tree varieties. The trees’ flowers are also very large. Because Water Sprite tea bushes root deeply, the volume of the soil required is large, and the bushes cannot be planted too close to each other. These bushes have to be trimmed and looked after regularly otherwise they easily attract insects and bacteria which causes disease.
The trees can be picked throughout four seasons: Spring (2 or 3 days before Chinese Spring Monsoon), Summer (3 or 4 days before the longest day of the year), Autumn (3 or 4 days before the beginning of autumn in Chinese Lunar Calendar), and Winter. The interval of each season is around 50 days.
Generally, the making method of this tea is similar to the making of other Wuyi oolong teas, apart from the technique of kneading and rolling which is typical of that of the oolongs of Southern Fujian. The oolong teas from Northern Fujian are normally twisted into strips only. The shape of Water Sprite is believed to resemble ‘the head of a dragonfly and the legs of frogs’.
North Fujian Water Sprite used to be one of the largest tea exports from China. During the end of 18th Century and the beginning of the 19th, a total of 500 tons were exported each year to a variety of destinations including Hong Kong, Macau, Southern Pacific Islands, Singapore, British Colonies and San Francisco in the USA.
Nowadays, the production of this tea accounts for 60% to 70% of the total oolong tea production in the North of Fujian.
Posted by Edward
The finest Yunnan black tea is composed entirely of golden tips – often referred to in English as Yunnan Gold Black Tea.
Yunnan Gold Tea
The three features of Yunnan black teas are: large leaves, golden colour and rich fragrance. Compared to other black tea varieties in China, Yunnan Gold is a newcomer, first created in 1938. The purpose of its invention was actually not for the Chinese domestic market but for the British market, trading through Hong Kong. It was said that Queen Elizabeth was very fond of this tea and even stored it in a glass container for display. This tea was precious and was once sold at £800.00 per lb. The production was unfortunately frozen for about 50 years due to civil wars in Mainland China, and its production and skills employed therein were revived as recently as the end of the 1980s.
Yunnan Gold is grown between 1000 and 2000 meters in a climate with an average temperature of 15-18 degrees. These natural conditions make it possible to harvest the tea for nine months of the year. The Spring crop is considered the best. This is because the tea leaves picked in spring tend to be plump and tender. Due to climatic changes, the leaves from the summer and autumn crops tend to carry harder stems and less tenderness. The majority of the production comes from the tea gardens based in West Yunnan Province, followed by those in Southern Yunnan.
The level of gold colour of the tea leaves varies depending on the season as well as the origin. In general, the tea produced in West Yunnan carries a gold that is slightly more orange, and the tea from Menghai and Shun Jian in Southern Yunnan are bright gold. Spring crops carry the lightest gold colour which becomes progressively darker through summer and autumn.
Black Tea Fields in Menghai, Yunnan
As far as fragrance is concerned, the Yunnan Gold from West Yunnan is regarded as the finest, especially from the region of Yun County (Yun Xian). Southern Yunnan Gold is in comparison more astringent.
Posted by Rachel de Thample - Food Writer, Waitrose Food Illustrated
The beauty of a little heap of steeped leaves, the bubbling sound arising from the kettle, the aromatic waft in the air once the leaves are infused and that sip of luscious gold or green… this ritual and all its sensorial attributes have inspired poetry over time.
For me, tea breaks are essential. They’re what motivate me. I strategise my day with tea breaks. ‘Finish this section of my To Do list by 10am,” I tell myself, “and then you can stop for tea.’
In fact, my tea breaks are scheduled at the times the old-fashioned tea trolley would roll around a post-war factory floor: at 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock.
Ah, but what to drink? What to drink…? Pondering this thought does, sometimes, distract from my work.
A deep, velvety Puerh? A toasty, invigorating Dragon Well? A fragrant and malty Keemun? Or, Sitwell’s tea of choice – a smoky Bohea?
I select my teas according to mood, and to chime in with the sort of work I’m doing. If I’m under pressure, I’ll opt for a something a bit stronger, like Keemun. If I’m mellowed, I’ll opt for a green or white. If I need to distress, I’ll go for Puerh.
Whatever the tea, it must be high quality, and preferable loose tea. If you have one of JING’s porcelain straining mugs, then making loose tea at work is as easy as unwrapping a tea bag. Simply add a few pinches of tea to your strainer, pour a bit of boiled water over (add a splash of cold if you’re making white or green tea) and top your mug with the lid.
By the time you return to your desk your tea will be ready to sip. Pop the lid off and set your strainer on top. Then, when your colleagues call for the next tea round, all you have to do is pop your strainer back in and ask for a top up of hot water. They may give your mug of leaves a peculiar look, but they’ll be envious once the fragrance of the infused tea tickles their nose, they’ll be asking you where you source it!
MY FAVOURITE JING TEAS FOR WORK:
1 Mini Puerh Tea this is my favourite tea for work. Puerh give me a creative buzz like an espresso would but I don’t get that nasty crashing sensation that coffee tends to give you. The cake shape of this tea means you don’t even have to worry about measure your leaves out. Just unwrap a cake and pop it into your infuser mug. Use really hot water and the leaves will start to unravel. It’s heavenly, and I can credit this tea for lots of finished projects!
2 Organic Bohea Lapsang Tea – like Puerh, bohea is both relaxing and invigorating. It’s aroma is also just so enticing and wonderful to have swirling around you as you work.
3 Organic Dragon Well Green Tea – I like to brew this with quite hot; almost fully boiling water. It gives it a creamy texture. It feels really nourishing and is a great one if you’ve been rushing around all day and haven’t had a chance to eat much lunch. It’s also lower in caffeine so you can justify drinking several cups of it throughout the day.
Edith Sitwell, perhaps, paused for a cup of Bohea, a fine, pine-smoked tea from Fujian, when writing her long poem, “En Famille”:
In the early springtime after their tea,
Through the young fields of the springing Bohea,
Jemima, Jocasta, Dina and Deb
Walked with their father
Sir Joshua Jebb -
An admiral red, whose only notion,
(A butterfly poised on a pigtailed ocean)
Is of the peruked sea whose swell
Breaks on the flowerless rocks of Hell.
Under the thin trees, Deb and Dinah,
Jemima, Jocasta, walked, and finer
Their black hair seemed (flat-sleek to see)
Than the young leaves of the springing Bohea;
Their cheeks were like nutmeg-flowers when swells
The rain into foolish silver bells.
They said, “If the door you would only slam,
Or if, Papa, you would once say “Damn” -
Instead of merely roaring “Avast”
Or boldly invoking the nautical Blast -
We should now stand in the street of Hell
Watching siesta shutters that fell
With a noise like amber softly sliding;
Our moon-like glances through these gliding
Would see at her table preened and set
Myrrhina sitting at her toilette
With eyelids closed as soft as the breeze
That flows from gold flowers on the incense-trees.
The Admiral said,
“You could never call -
I assure you it would not do at all!
She gets down from table without saying “Please”,
Forgets her prayers and to cross her Ts,
In short, her scandalous reputation
Has shocked the whole of the
Hellish nation;
And every turbaned Chinoiserie,
With whom we should sip our black Bohea,
Would stretch out her simian fingers thin
To scratch you, my dears, like mandoline;
For Hell is just as properly proper
As Greenwich, or as, Bath, or Joppa!”
Ceylon Tea Fields High Grown
I just got back from a visit to the office in Hong Kong to see Jack, my brother in law who runs it. I also visited some customers in Malaysia and growers in Sri Lanka. It was a great trip and I can’t pretend I was delighted to be back in the cold of London.
Visiting Sri Lanka or India always makes me think more about the differences between the tea industry there and the Chinese tea industry. All three countries produce some fantastic teas – that’s irrefutable. However, when you spend time in Sri Lanka you get a sense its tea industries original purpose – mass production – has made tea available to people all over the world but has also proved limiting in terms of quality. Tea is produced all year round more or less. It’s very standardized. Many gardens respond to the monthly or weekly demands of the market in terms of leaf size and taste rather than simply aim to do one thing spectacularly well.
Mass market teas are produced like this in China, although not all year round. However, the uniqueness and beauty of the Chinese tea industry is that there are so many regions and countless extremely high quality specialist producers in each who have been maintained and fostered by the demands of the local market. Of course, there are some producers like this in India and Sri Lanka but it is the exception rather than commonplace.
My life is very much centered around appreciating foreign cultures and I would not be doing what I do now without export of cultures and products. Ironically though, I have become more and more aware that many of the world’s greatest food (and tea) cultures have been maintained and protected by the demands of their local markets. To some extent, the stubbornness and almost dogmatic way in which local markets want something to be made a particular way (for centuries) is exactly what keeps the culture and expertise in tact.
These days, everyone in business (and even in food business) talks about innovation. I think innovation is great, I love to have the latest technology. Simple innovations to the tea industry such as specialist machinery, packing and storage methods have greatly improved the tea quality but many traditional methods still remain, (for example hand firing, charcoal roasting) simply because they are the best way and there are people who demand the best.
When I drink tea I think of how, in this world of technical innovation, our teas are produced by old methods whether it’s the firing of our Big Red Robe and Iron Arhat over charcoal in tiny batches, our Anji Bai Cha is meticulously hand laid out, almost leaf by leaf to wither on bamboo trays, and how many of our puerh teas are picked from ancient wild tea trees in the jungles of the south of Yunnan Province. It makes the tea taste even better.
Posted by: Edward
Inspired by one of our customers, I thought I would write a quick post to show how easy it is to make fantastic cold tea infusions using whole leaf teas.
First choose the tea you’d like to use, from previous experience we’d recommend Ali Shan Oolong tea, Phoenix Honey Orchid Oolong, Anji Bai Cha Green tea, Jade Sword Green tea or Blackcurrant and Hibiscus.
Use a large glass, pitcher, teapot, tea-iere or plastic bottle for on the go.
Cold Infusion - Anji Bai Cha Green Tea
Add roughly double the amount of tea as you would for a normal infusion when using hot water, 3-5g (1-2 teaspoons) per cup. Next add cold water and refrigerate overnight, or longer for a stronger taste.
In the morning you’ll have a refreshing infusion, perfect if you want a cup of tea but don’t fancy a hot drink. The above example is currently in the fridge. Unfortunately I don’t have a “here’s one I made earlier” photo to add today so I’ll add one tomorrow – looking forward to it already
Posted by: David
I’m currently on a sourcing trip in Sri Lanka looking for new Ceylon teas for us to stock.
I’ve been tasting the freshest crops from many low, medium and high grown estates trying to find the perfect blend for our Earl Grey Black Tea base. I’ve also seen some of the packing factories we use to ensure that the tea we select is packed perfectly to remain fresh for as long as possible.
Tea Picker Ceylon
Ceylon teas vary in flavour with the height at which they are grown. The low grown teas (the estate factory is located less than 2000ft) are the richest and most full in flavour with the darkest liquor. Medium grown teas (the estate factory is located between 2000 and 4000 ft) have a lighter liquor but with a balance of strength and more complex higher notes. High grown (the estate factory is located at more than 4000ft) have the lightest liquor and flavour, and are often less oxidised.
Sri Lankans call high grown tea the champagne of teas due to its light, sparklingly bright flavours – not to be confused with Darjeeling, which Indians also refer to as the champagne of teas!
Ceylon Tea Fields High Grown
Our Earl Grey is a blend of fantastic low grown teas for rich strength coupled with zesty and complex medium grown teas to balance and compliment the sparkling citrus flavours of the bergamot with which it is flavoured.
Earl Grey Supreme Black Tea
Ceylon teas are very popular in the Middle East, Russia, and are developing popularity in Australia. Compared to these, the UK hardly imports any Ceylon tea even though it was the basis of many of the most famous British tea company’s blends. It’s a shame really, because Ceylon teas are rich, smooth and rewarding.
Posted by: Edward
Pre Rain Orgnaic Dragon Well Supreme
We came across this article detailing the health benefits of drinking green tea in the Times yesterday. It quotes some research from the Athens Medical School and focuses mainly on the effects of green tea, first on the heart:
“Black and green tea comes from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. To make green tea the leaves are steamed immediately after harvesting and chopping. This stops an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase from oxidising the most powerful super nutrient in the tea plant, known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In a nutshell, green tea is full of EGCG, whereas black tea has very little”
“According to scientists from Athens Medical School, sipping a cup of green tea has recently been shown in volunteers to widen the artery that runs from the shoulder to the elbow by 4 per cent within half an hour of drinking, suggesting a short-term benefit at least on large blood vessels. This may help to explain why studies looking at large populations of people appear to show lower rates of heart disease and stroke in those who drink four to five cups a day”
Secondly on weight:
“As for your waistline, there have long been mumblings in the nutrition world of green tea having potential effects on fat-burning mechanisms in our bodies. New research in the Journal of Nutrition supports the notion, indicating that it could be fat around our tummies that is the first to be burnt off. The study, on 132 obese adults, showed that while all had the same calorie intake and did the same amount of exercise, those drinking green tea lost 2.2lb more weight (with larger reductions in abdominal fat) over 12 weeks than those who had only a caffeine-containing beverage.”
The article then points out that over a long period of time, this could make the difference between being overweight and a healthy weight. The conclusion scientists have drawn is that “it may be EGCG that speeds up the rate at which fat is broken down in our bodies.”
Thirdly, potential effects of green tea and cancer prevention. Research has shown that “extracts from green tea that include EGCG stop or slow down the growth of some cancer cells”.
While this could potentially be great news, it’s important to note that research is still being carried out in this area and as the Times article explains, Cancer Help UK say “that evidence from human studies has yet to prove that drinking green tea has a cancer-preventing effect in real life”.
Here at JING, we aim to keep up with all the health news surrounding tea and we’ll keep this blog updated with anything we see which is well researched, authoritative and clear.
