Useful Information About Tea

Tea is drunk in more countries than any other beverage. It is one of the most popular drinks today. Little wonder it is known as "the cup that cheers."
The only difference between them is the way they are made. The main types of tea available today are black, white, green, and oolong. China is a major producer of green tea. Other countries that produce tea are Kenya, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

India is one of the leading tea producers offering 720 million kilograms each year. The yearly worldwide production of dried tea leaves is over 2.6 billion kilograms.
Though mechanical pluckers are sometimes used, hand plucking is said to be a better option. Approximately 18 kilograms of tea leaves can be harvested a day to produce about 4.5 kilograms of manufactured tea. or a growth of new shoots with many leaves and a bud, which are picked by hand. Grown on hill slopes on tea estates, its botanical name is "Camellia sinensis." In about four to five years the tea tree produces a ?flush?

The tea tree is an evergreen plant with small, white, sweet-smelling flowers.
Tea is graded according to the size of the leaves, which has nothing to do with the quality of the tea. In order of size, they are orange pekoe, pekoe, and pekoe souchong. The smaller or broken leaves are used in tea bags. Each tea company has tea tasters who select only specific teas.
1773 was the year of the famous Boston Tea Party. By 1657, it was being sold in English coffee houses. In the 1600s, it was imported into Europe from China by the Dutch.

In Japan, tea drinking was elevated to a full-fledged ceremony by 600 A.D. It finds its mention in Chinese around 350 A.D. It was supposed to have been discovered by Emperor Shennong of China in about 2737 B.C. Tea has a colorful history.
Today tea is a popular beverage all over the world. The country importing the most tea is the UK, importing a total of about 180 million kilograms per year. It has been calculated that the British drink 3.2 kilograms of tea per person every year. Australians and New Zealanders are also great tea drinkers and each person would, on an average, be drinking about 1.4 kilograms of tea annually. Special varieties of tea are also gaining ground; the market is expanding and offering a greater choice to the consumer. It really is the cup that warms a lot of hearts all over the globe!
Tea
provides detailed information on Tea, Green Tea, Herbal Tea, White Tea and more. Tea is affiliated with
Benefits of Green Tea
.

Tea Manufacturers India

Tea and Wine: Educating the palate
Why do connoisseurs pay more for a Chateau Neuf du Pape or a Merlot and insist on a particular year over the others? And how much did you pay for it? When was the last time you bought wine which said ‘French Table Wine, and poured out of a box?
On the other hand why do the same people feel content buying tea out of a box, which says Indian or Ceylon tea?
Tea, like wine, has qualities that depend on its geographical location. So just as a red wine from Chile will taste differently from a red wine from France, orthodox teas from India will be very different from orthodox teas from Ceylon or Kenya. Wines in France, too, will have regional differences with a Cotes du Rhone having a taste and bouquet unlike that of a Burgundy or Loire grape.
Then, of course there is the difference between vineyards within the region as it is with tea estates, which depend not only on the geographical location, but also on how the property is run and its quality controls. Similarly, among the teas in India, Terai teas will taste differently from Darjeeling, Assam or Nilgiris.
But once you master it, becoming a connoisseur of tea can be as much fun, as fascinating, if not healthier than being a wine connoisseur. All of this may be bewildering at first. And then there are the different qualities of wine of each vineyard as there are different grades of tea of each estate.
Normally, the so-called ‘estate-fresh' specialty teas that you buy in the supermarket gets there after passing through the hands of a number of middle-men, often sitting in warehouses of dusty ports for months before it reaches your cup. Unlike wines, though, tea does not do well with age.
Try a cup of tea, which has reached you directly within days of being plucked.
Most tea estates limit their expertise to the manufacture of one type of specialty tea. Nuxalbari Tea Estate India is probably one of the very few gardens that is proud to make all three different types of specialty Indian teas with equal finesse.
Upon espying a choice piece of virgin land, the young man would scoop a handful of earth, bury his nose in it, inhale deeply and pronounce, "good, plant," or "rubbish, move on." Family legend has it that he built his fortune led entirely by his nose. In 1899, my great-grandfather, the Nawab of Jalpaiguri, traveled on elephant back across the swampy jungles of northeast India, clearing great swathes of land and planting delicate tea saplings imported from China.
It was first established in 1884 by a British tea planter, and bought by the Nawab in 1910, who then doubled its production by planting areas thought to be unfit by the earlier owner. Nuxalbari, though, was one of the few tea plantations that he did not plant himself entirely. By the end of his life he owned 22 tea plantations from upper Assam to the Dooars.
His genes survive. The Nawab of Jalpaiguri, Musharraf Hussain was one of the first Indians to make tea planting his passion.

An Excercise of Emotions with the Tea Guru

I had heard hundreds of stories about him and his tea estate particularly his love for animals, environment and above all his people. Rajah Banerjee of Makaibari Tea Estates, was possible. An honorable meeting with the most reputed Tea Guru I have ever known, Mr.

Why? Today's day will be the most memorable day in my life.
Upon hearing so many stories, I had taken a ‘particular snapshot' of him in my mind and was eagerly waiting to synchronize as soon as I set my foot on Makaibari's premises. Although, I had gone there to procure some organic teas for my selected clients, I found out that I was inclined more towards meeting him than procuring the teas. I guess, the love for tea which Mr. Banerjee shares with the world made my thoughts draw an arrow of urgency towards Mr. Banerjee's presence.
Bannerjee and I were having email sessions from beforehand, I was called inside instantly without any hesitation. As Mr. I guess those were necessary questions to be asked to anyone entering inside and I totally agree, afterall its one of the most reputed tea estates of the world. Whom do you want to meet?" the guard standing on the gate asked.

"Excuse me Sir, what work do you have here? I got down and entered the Makaibari gate - Guess what?
Yes, we were friends in no time I started my part and after a while we were laughing like little kids engrossed in our own world of friendship. Well, the silence was broken when the Tea Guru handed me his visiting card, shook hands with me and asked me with a smiling and welcoming face - "So young man, it's a pleasure to meet you, please tell me your story?" The down to earth behaviour from the other side evaporated my hesitant feeling from every pore of my body into thin air. Well, I was literally hesitant to speak up anything, thinking that I might speak something which may prove to be blatant and inappropriate. After a couple of moments, he was free to chat with me.

He signaled me to take a seat and requested me to wait for sometime as he was attending to his official work with one of his office staff. The first impression of my imprinted thoughts synchronized well regarding the outfit he was wearing - an essence of the British Raj reflected with his Khaki outfit, and I guess that is how it must have felt when anyone was meeting a ‘Bara Sahib' in the olden days.
By the time we finished our little chat for about an hour (yes, with heavenly amber sips in between), I could devise my brain instruments to record it and synchronize with my previous imagery. I found him to be a person, who is capable of walking hand-in-hand with his tea laborers, a person who respects life, believes in equality and above all a person who understands the importance of respecting other's feelings. A person you would dream to meet.
Now it was time for our little tea tasting session of the First Flush Silver Tips I was buying. Oh Boy! A heavenly brew which opened all of my sensory gates. The Tea Guru gave me a good number of tips on tea tasting and guess what; it was of great help and a new discovery when done following his guidelines. What he says about tea tasting - "Tea tasting is ABSTRACT, learn to associate with known flavors you know about and you will get your tea's divine description".
The tea tasting session was over and after spending more than two hours with him, I didn't want to waste anymore of Mr. Banerjee's time. Some Japanese group was waiting for his presence downstairs and it was now time for me to pay and head for home.
My Wife Made Me Look Stupid!
(quoted with her permission):
In the morning when I headed for Makaibari, I had told my wife to get the money in the bag and leave it on the bed. I got my digital camera, pushed it inside my bag and bid goodbye. I had about One Lac INR and now I was in Makaibari ready to pay the required amount to the man concerned. I had kept the bag inside Mr. Banerjee's office which had an open door leading to the tasting room and a long corridor which could be traversed by any of his staff members. I opened the bag and Boom! A thunder exploded right on my head - No money in the bag!! Guess about the situation!! I informed Mr. Banerjee about the situation and he too was utterly confused. All of the staff members were confused and don't ask about me - you can guess -
A Dead Man standing live!
I was dialing and at the very moment my wife called I was dialing and at the very moment my wife called - "Darling, I want to tell you one thing, but before I say, promise me you won't get angry"; I was literally irritated and she said, "I am sorry, but I put the money inside the bag otherwise she wouldn't have placed the bag on the bed as I had directed her to do. I was sure that my wife had put the money inside the bag otherwise she wouldn't have placed the bag on the bed as I had directed her to do. The news brought a sigh of relief to all of the staff members suggested me - "why don't you try and call home, you might have left it at home" - Not in a million.

I was sure that my wife had put the money in the wrong bag" - A mixed feeling of joy and anger ran through my vein. My brains could not work and from a corner, one of the staff members suggested me - "why don't you try and call home, you might have left it at home" - Not in a million.
After a while everything was normal and the memory was cherished instantly when the accountant of Makaibari and myself sat laughing and chatting sipping in the ethereal silver tips.
I headed home with a tremendous feeling of joy, happiness and yes of course with a yearning to scold my wife, but that didn't happen - the story itself proved so funny that I forgot everything and we were busy brewing the new silver tips. Banerjee goodbye - "Benoy keep dropping down to Makaibari" with a similing face that had initially welcomed me. The Makaibari Silver Tips got loaded on my vehicle and I bid Mr.
Guess Dalle is right! Banerjee's personal tea maker assistant) still is reverberating in my ears "Sir, whatever happens, it happens for good and maybe it was God's wish which prevented you from really losing your money through other means". To conclude, the words of Dalle (Mr.
:) Banerjee forget's me in the future, I can pull in the story anytime I meet him and bring back the hilarious past. Even if Mr. Maybe it is!

Or is it that God wanted the whole Makaibari family to remember the incident forever.
Author:
Benoy Thapa is a Tea Lover from Darjeeling, India. His love for tea has ignited a fire in him to write out his thoughts on tea and share it with the world. He has a tea company based in Darjeeling, which deals with
exotic Darjeeling Teas
You can check his .
Darjeeling Tea
company's site at
http://www.thunderbolttea.com
Copyright © Benoy Thapa, Darjeeling, India