This document provides a summary of tea, including its history, production process, types, and brewing methods. It begins with an overview of tea's origins in China in 2737 BC and important developments like the first tea book written in 750 AD. It then covers the production process from plucking to drying and sorting. Six main types of tea - white, green, yellow, black, oolong, and post-fermented - are described along with famous examples. Brewing recommendations including water type, vessel, temperature and steeping time are provided. The document concludes with a question asking if the audience has any other questions.

1. TEA
HISTORY,
PRESENT
AND FUTURE

2. ON THE PROGRAMME TODAY
TEA CRASH COURSE
History
What is tea exactly?
Production
Brewing
DEEPER EXPLORATION AND TASTING
Green Teas
Black Teas
Oolong Teas
The odd ones out: Yellow and Post-
fermented Teas

3. THE HISTORY OF TEA

4. Shen Nung (son of heaven),
herbologist and sage, drinks
warm water under a tea tree. A
few leaves drift into his tea and…
voila!
Once upon a time, in 2737 BC

5.  750 AD: Lu Yu (scribe) writes the first tea book: Cha Ching.
In it, he describes the plant, production, water quality,
medicinal aspects and brewing method.
 17th Century and onward: tea becomes a
common good in
the Netherlands. In 1878 the Dutch start the first
tea plantation
 1610: The first tea is shipped to the Netherlands
(from Japan, China and the Far East, according to
different sources.)

6. FACTS AND NUMBERS

7.  At least 700 m above
sea
level. Ideally above
2000 –
2500 m.
 Tropical to Sub-
tropical countries.
 Average temperature
18°C – 32°C. No/mild
frost.

8. TEA PRODUCTION

9. TEA CONSUMPTION
1. Turkey 6,87 kg
2. Morocco 4,34 kg
3. Ireland 3,22 kg
4. Mauritania 3,21 kg
5. UK 2,74 kg
24. Japan 0,99 kg
33. China 0,82 kg
42. NL 0,71 kg
97. Belgium 0,14 kg

10. SO…WHAT IS TEA?

11. WATER + CAMELLIA SINENSIS =
WATER + NANA MINT ≠ TEA
WATER + ROOIBOS ≠ TEA

12. SINENSIS
vs
ASSAMICA

13.  Bush 3 – 4 m high
 Small, soft leaves
 Delicate, complex aroma
 Grows in a moderate
climate, even at
temperatures below 0!
CAMELLIA SINENSIS SINENSIS

14.  Tree 15 – 20 m high
 Wider, bigger leaf
 Strong aroma,
productive
 Tropical crop
CAMELLIA SINENSIS ASSAMICA

15.  BLACK (RED)
SIX CLASSES OF TEA
 GREEN
 WHITE
 OOLONG (BLUE)
 YELLOW
 POST-FERMENTED

16. Differences in flavor due
 Climate
 Location (2000-2500m)
 Cultivation
 Picking
 Processing
 Varieties (cultivar)

17. PRODUCTION OF TEA

18.  ORTHODOX: WHOLE
LEAF
 CTC (CUT, TEAR,
CURL): ALL OTHER
GRADES

19. PLUCKING: BY HAND
 About 20-30 kilo per day
 Resulting in 4-6 kilo dry
tea
 Often done by women
because
of their delicate hands.
 Two leaves and a bud:
quality control

20. PLUCKING:
MECHANICAL
 Not as precise as hand-
picking
 Japan mainly harvests by
machine (due to high
labor costs). They have,
however, perfected the
art by creating
sophisticated machinery.

21. WITHERING
 30% fluid loss
 Developing aroma’s
 Continuous blowing of
cold or hot air through
the leaves
 8 – 12 hours

22. ROLLING
 Softened leaves are rolled,
pressed or twisted.
 By heavy metal plates or
brushes, or traditionally by
hand
 Leaves are opened so fluids can
come out. Further developing
flavor.
 Enzymes and oils exposed to
air, starting oxidation.

23. OXIDATION
 Leaves are spread out in a climate
controlled room.
 Leaves react with oxygen, causing a
chemical reaction.
 Polyphenoloxidasis (enzymes) and
peroxidasis react with other polyphenoles
and oxygen changing them to flavonoids
like thearubigin (the brown/orange
discoloration). They also give the leaf its
flavor.
 Can be stopped at any desired time, from
20 minutes to 8 hours approx.

24. DRYING/FIRING At the beginning of the drying
process: 95˚C
 At the end of the drying process:
40˚C
 Different methods, sun drying,
machine drying.
 Goal is to get the moisture
percentage down from 50% to
about 3-4%.

25. SORTING/GRADING

26. LEAF QUALITY

27. BREWING TEA

28. TEA IS 99%
WATER  Neutral PH level (between 6 and 7)
 TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)/Dry
Residue ideally less than 50 grams.
 Examples: Spring water like Spa
Reine, Mont Roucous, soft tap
water or Brita filtered tap water.

29. BREWING
VESSEL DO
- Glass
- Porcelain
- Pottery
- Stainless
Steel
DON’T
- Aluminium
- Tin
- Copper
- Steel
- Cast Iron

30. BREWING TIME
UP TO YOU, BUT OUR ADVICE…
White 90 seconds – 2
minutes
Yellow 2 minutes
Green 2 minutes
Oolong 90 seconds – 2
minutes
Black 2 – 5 minutes
Post-Fermented 2 – 5 minutes

31. AMOUNT
AGAIN, TO YOUR TASTE…
 2 grams per cup
 12 grams per liter
 Use a scale, not a measuring spoon!
Different size tealeaves = different
weight

32. TEMPERATURE
TO TASTE, AS YOU GUESSED, BUT
ABOUT
White 70˚C
Yellow 80˚C
Green 60-80˚C
Oolong 80-95˚C
Black 95˚C
Post-fermented 95˚C

33. GONG FU CHA
 Literally means: making tea with
effort
 Goal: joy, honesty and freedom
 Originated in Fujian, China

34. TOOLS
GAIWAN
YIXING
TEAPOT
TEA TRAY
CHA DAO
TEA
PITCHER
CUPS/
AROMA
CUPS
STRAINE
R
TEA PET

35. TEA TYPES AND FAMOUS
EXAMPLES

36. WHITE TEA – BAI
CHA  Processing: only withering and
drying
 Needs specific terroir
 Specially cultivated varieties of
Camellia Sinensis Sinensis
 Traditional Budset from Fujian
(just buds)
 New style, 2 leaves and a bud

37. FAMOUS EXAMPLES
SILVER NEEDLE/BAI HAO
YINZHEN
The finest white tea, made only of silvery
white buds. With a delicate, light, and
slightly sweet flavor.
WHITE PEONY/BAI MU DAN
Next highest in quality, consists of buds and
leaves. Flavor profile is more intense, darker
than Yinzhen.

38. GREEN TEA
KILLING THE GREENS (Un-
oxidized)
- Sun Drying
- Pan-Firing (Chinese preferred
method)
- Steaming (Japanese preferred
method)

39. :
FAMOUS EXAMPLES: CHINA (LU
CHA) GUNPOWDER/ZHU CHA
Tightly rolled into small pellets. Quite
strong, smokey flavor. Produced in Zheijang
province.
DRAGONWELL/LUNG CHING
Chinese national tea, flat shaped, fresh
green leaves. Early spring picking. Vegetal,
chestnut notes.
FUR PEAK/MAO FENG
First harvested around march, in Anhui
province. Two leaves and bud. Smooth,
mellow, very vegetal.

40. FAMOUS EXAMPLES: JAPAN
(RYOKUCHA) SENCHA (many types)
Most popular tea, 80% of produced tea. Spring
harvest. Flavor depends on quality, grassy,
oceanic.
GYOKURO
Yabukita cultivar. Shaded under mats for up to 20
days. Slow growth create deep green colour, sweet,
intense, creamy flavor.
GENMAICHA
Poor people tea. Bancha (summer harvest) and
roasted rice. Warm, nutty flavor.
HOUJICHA
Made from twigs, roasted over charcoal. Toasty,
caramel like tones. Very mellow and rounded.

41. YELLOW TEA (HUANG CHA)
 The rarest type of tea, hard to find
authentic types.
 Production like green tea, but with
one added step:
 Yellowing, or moist heating. The
leaves are wrapped in paper and
placed in warm, humid conditions
for up to 48 hours.
 Endresult is a mellow, unique
type of sweetness.

42. BLACK TEA: CHINA (HONG
CHA) KEEMUN/QIMUN
Most famous black tea. Grown in foggy,
mountainous area. Fruity, hints of pine, dried
plums.
YUNNAN/DIANHONG
Different varieties, main difference with other
black teas is the use of many “golden tips”,
giving the tea a sweeter, honey like flavor
without astringency.

43. BLACK TEA: INDIA
ASSAM
Low growing tea, lots of rain. Produces strong,
black tea used a lot for breakfast teas. First flush
seldomly sold, used for blends. Second flush is
best to get the typical, malty flavor.
DARJEELING
GI-tagged, from West-Bengal region, high
grown teas. Harvested in flushes: first flush,
second flush, monsoon flush and autumn flush.
Floral, slight tannins,
muscatel flavor profile.

44. BLACK TEA: SRI
LANKA/CEYLONLOW GROWN
Southern Sri Lanka, from sea level to about
600m. Stronger, reminiscent of Assam teas.
Also often underpriced and produced in bulk for
bags and blends.
HIGH GROWN
Plantations around the highlands in the middle
of the country, above 1200m. Higher qualities,
big range of flavors but often characterized by a
minty, eucalyptus
undertone.

45. OOLONG/WU LONG
 Partly Oxidized
 Anywhere between 8% and 80%
oxidation can be categorized as
Oolong.
 Can be rolled or twisted. Often
rolled many times to prevent the
core from staying moist.
 Main production regions China and
Taiwan

46. FAMOUS EXAMPLES
POUCHONG
Separate category Oolong. Very lightly oxidized,
think 8-10%. Mainly produced in Taiwan,
sometimes China. Beautiful, light, floral flavor
profile.
TIE GUAN YIN (IRON GODDESS)
From the south of Fujian, China. Traditionally
roasted and oxidized quite dark, but currently you
find many lighter “jade” varieties (20-30%
oxidation). Rolled leaf. Harvested in seasons.
DA HONG PAO (BIG RED ROBE)
From Wuyi mountain area. Also referred to as rock
tea. Much darker oxidation. Nutty flavor profile,
with mineral tones from the soil.

47. POST-FERMENTED
 Many types, most famous: Pu’er
 Starts with producing a
semifinished product, the green tea
Mao Cha
 We distinguish between raw (sheng
cha) and ripe (shou cha) pu’er.
 Made from Assamica variety, with
leaves as big as your hand.

48. RIPE/SHOU PU’ER
 Sometimes referred to as Cooked
pu’er, and many other synonyms.
 Made by an advanced aging
process, discovered in the 70’s.
 Put in big piles, kept hot and moist
for a few months, turned with
pitchforks to encourage the
bacteria, yeasts and molds to grow
more quickly.

49. RAW/SHENG PU’ER
 The traditional method, natural aged. Often
many years.
 Leaves are lightly steamed and then pressed
into “Bing Cha”, tea cakes and wrapped in
rice paper.
 Has been done for thousands of years.
 The right aging conditions can yield
incredibly complex, earthy, sweet and
expensive teas.
 Has an “awkward phase” between 7 and 16
years

50. THAT’S ALL! ANY
QUESTIONS?