Organic Tea -- Is It Worth It?

But how can you be sure the "organic tea" you buy is really organic? Organic beverages such as tea and coffee are also available and they are very popular. We can buy organic vegetables, fruits, and even "organically raised" meat. Organic produce is everywhere.
What's to stop an unscrupulous tea vendor from falsely labeling his tea "organic" simply to get a better price? Organic produce, tea included, is usually more expensive than non-organic brands.
What is Organic Tea?
Organic tea is grown without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. The soil is enriched with natural compost and a layer of mulch retains the moisture while providing extra nutrients as it breaks down.
These competitions are held "blind" so that the judges can only use taste, aroma and color as the judging criteria. Tea competitions in China, Japan, and Taiwan have consistently chosen organic teas as the best teas of their class. This growing method is more labor-intensive but produces superior quality tea.
Scientific studies have shown that these compounds are found in higher concentrations in good quality tea. These are the antioxidants that provide many of the health benefits that tea is famous for. In addition to the improved flavor, organic tea is also higher in health promoting polyphenols and catechins.
This means that the farmer has less expense in replacing tea plants. Tea plants can live more than 100 years, and organic farming methods allow the tea plants to remain healthy for the duration of their lifespan. Organic tea is also better for the tea farmer.
Is it Really Organic?
Organizations like the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have certification programs that examine the growing practices of a particular tea plantation and issue certificates to those that meet their requirements. For one thing, there are several governmental and non-government agencies that certify products as being organic. When you pick up a package of tea that is labeled "organic" how can you be sure it's the real McCoy?
Packaged organic tea is required to meet the standards of the certifying agency, so look for tea which has the label of a recognized agency.
You are paying a premium for organic tea, so accept nothing short of the best. If it is not superb, it is probably not organic. Organic tea should titillate the taste buds with complex flavors and subtle delights. Above all, however, you should rely on your taste buds to tell you whether a tea is really organic.
Paul Dickson is a contributing writer to
Tea Genius.com
Information about the types of tea, tea production, tea growing, the health benefits of tea, and making and serving tea can be found at Tea Genius is a complete knowledge base of tea. .
http://www.TeaGenius.com
If you are a tea lover or simply want to know more about the wonderful beverage called tea, visit
Tea Genius.com
today!

Tea Grades-Kinds-Varieties: Start Learning All About Tea!

TEA PLANTATION IS A LOVELY PLACE TO VISIT!
TEA PLANTATION
is a nice place to visit. Look at the bounty of nature. Have a view of the estates from a few hundred meters above in the sky. Wonder at the natural landscape being manipulated by man for his convenience.
The smooth undulating hill is seemed to be covered with green woolen blanket just to protect itself from the cold weather. See also a few trees other than the shade giving silver oaks, looking beautiful with their own canopy.
You can see the clouds spreading above the tea gardens and a few small waterfalls turning into streams. They fall down and run here and there in between the blocks of the estates and go down to mix with the river far off in the plains.
SILVER SHINE OF TEA FACTORY!
Look at the tea factories located on the hill tops; their metallic tops are shining in the sunlight; they leave smoke in the sky demonstrating that they are active in the production of raw teas.
They are grown to a short height of about 4 feet for all the operational convenience of man. The tea plants are not really short bushes, but tall growing trees kept pruned. When you admire with the birds eye view of the plantation, come down and drive in a jeep and see the estates at a closer look.
BONSAI CULTURE!
You are right. It is a large scale "bonsai culture" of hundreds and hundreds of tea trees grown to a short height, not in earthen pots, but in Mother Nature's lap. The aim is not to exhibit the art of bonsai, but to exploit the nature to the advantage of man with the help of science.
TEA PLUCKING AND PROCESSING!
The tea plucking is a beautiful operation. Just walk and see the plants opening their ‘two leaves and buds' every where in the terminal shoots. They appear in all the pruned shoots, say in hundreds in a bush of tea.They readily allow the women harvester to pluck and put them in tea leaf baskets. Baskets of tea leaves are emptied into small trucks and sent to the factory for processing.
You can see the tea leaves being processed inside the tea factory. To explain in a simple way, the leaves are withered, fermented, roasted, graded through sieves into different sizes and packed in separate bulks in chests and gunny bags in convenient sizes. There may be about seven or eight grades of tea from each factory.
OLD AND NEW!
However, the raw materials are the very same "two leaves and buds". The processing methods are different and so also the resultant teas. The good old method of processing is adopted in some orthodox factories, while ultra modern method of CTC processing is done in most of the factories. There is also difference in making of the teas also.
LOOSE TEA IS BULK TEA!
The teas are now made available in the form of bulk teas. In other words, they are graded and kept in loose form in bulk quantities ready to be shifted to godowns of auctioneers for selling to big traders.
Now, let us see the loose teas in different grades or sizes. Now, the teas are in the custody of auctioneers and tea brokers. You may ask for those samples of teas. Get a shock, here. What a surprise? They give you samples of teas of different kinds and grades and also from hundreds and hundreds of plantations, estates or factories. To a new entrepreneur, really it is a shock and starting of a state of confusion!
TEA
IS NOT A SINGLE OR SIMPLE PRODUCT!
You thought that the packed tea is simply a single direct product; not so; all are not alike; when you make it as a tea drink, it differs every time; taste it sip by sip; feel the difference!
Only when you see the auction catalogues and samples, you will get astonished to see that there are hundreds and hundreds of varieties and kinds; again that all are not the same; they differ in their characters too.
Alright, there is something to know and something to do!
It is wonderful!
Now, you agree that there is a need to understand all kinds of teas,
in respect of their prime characters called, color, taste, flavor and strength.
WE WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT.
Please Note:
This information web site/blog will grow steadily.
However, you know 'time is money and the fittest only survives'!
As a research scholar, grower, planter, trader, retailer or a part of this prestigious tea industry, please contact the author to get more information at a faster way.
CONTACT: teablendspnk@yahoo.co.in or pnkguru@yahoo.com
RESOURCE:
From business and intensive research experience of the author.

A Brief History of Green Tea

The first tea plants known were thought to be grown in Yunnan Province in southern China. From there they spread to other parts of Asia that had the right types of soil and weather conditions. The custom of drinking tea is said to have originated in China with the emperor Shen Nong. Regarded as an iconoclast of Chinese medicine, he introduced the tea plant to people around the year 2700 B.C. The classic on Chinese Tea, Cha jing (The Book of Tea), written by the scholar Lu Yu in A.D. 760, recounts Shen Nong's efforts to discover the medicinal effectiveness of over three hundred varieties of roots, grass, and tree barks. Legend has it that he would try all of them on himself first and whenever he ingested something poisonous he would cleanse himself by eating tea leaves.
In fact, there are still some hill tribes in southern China, Thailand, and northern Myanmar that still eat pickled tea leaves, and only until recent times were they aware that a drink could be brewed from the same leaves! It seems certain that tea leaves were initially eaten as a medicine long before tea became a popular drink.
According to Kouga, the ancient dictionary written during the Later Han dynasty (A.D. 25-220), people in Sichuan Province of western China, compressed steamed leaves into hard bricks to help maintain the quality of the tea over a greater period (very handy when transporting, too). When making a beverage they would season the mixture with ginger or onion. However, this early concoction would not qualify as a conventional beverage in the usual sense because its intended use was medicinal.
During the Three Kingdoms period (221-65), the popularity of tea saw a rapid increase. One cause for this was the widening increase in the practice of Buddhism, which was beginning to gain a wider following. Buddhism prohibits the drinking of alcohol and so that boosted the demand for tea.
During the Sui dynasty (581-618), the custom of drinking tea, previously limited to the aristocracy and Buddhist monks, began to filter through to other classes. In the mid-eighth century, tea shops sprung up, and gradually tea became an indispensable beverage for ordinary city-dwellers.
His expansive compendium of information spanned three volumes, opening with the propitious line: "There are good luck trees in the south that are beneficial to a person's health." When published the book met with great acclaim and is still looked upon today as a bible of sorts concerning tea. It covers the origins, methods of plant cultivation, the types of utensils used, the best ways to prepare and drink tea, and tales relating to tea and tea-growing. The range of Yu's work is impressive. It was around this time that Lu Yu, who came from the tea producing center of Hubei Province, wrote his treatise on tea.
Tea arrived in Japan from China. It was brought by Japanese Buddhist monks who accompanied the special representatives sent to China in the early Heian period (794-1185). Among the monks who traveled to China were Saicho (767-822), Kukai (774-835), and Eichu (743-816). The first record of the custom of tea-drinking in Japan appeared in Nihon koki (Notes on Japan), compiled in the Heian period. Eichu, a priest at the temple of Bonshakuji in Omi, Aichi Prefecture, returned to China in 815. The Nihon koki records that when Emperor Saga (reign, 809-23) visited Omi, Eichu invited him to his temple and served him sencha, suggesting that drinking tea, a popular pastime in Tang times, had also become fashionable in Japan's intellectual circles. Roun-shu, an anthology of Chinese poetry written in Japanese in 814, also mentions tea-tasting.
At that time, tea probably came in the form of hard bricks, as described by Lu Yu. Compressed into a brick shape into a brick shape, tea was not only easy to transport but also held up better during the long voyage from China. This was most likely the type of tea brought to Japan, even though leaf tea was also used in China at that time. The brick was first warmed over a flame and then a portion was broken off by hand or shaved off with a knife. The shavings were ground with a mortar into a powder, which was added to a pan of hot water and brewed and then was served in a bowl.
Emperor Saga tried to encourage the spread of tea by demanding provinces in the Kinki region around Kyoto to grow the plant. He established tea gardens in one district of Kyoto, and started growing and processing it for the use of physicians attached to the court. This imperial tea, however, found use mostly in rituals performed by the aristocracy; the beverage had yet to become an item for consumption by the common people.
Ordinary Japanese only began to drink tea much later, after Eisai (1141-1215), the founder of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, brought back a new type of seedling from Sung-dynasty China. With it he introduced a new way of drinking tea which was known as the "matcha style." Eisai encouraged the cultivation of tea trees, and his Kissa yojoki (Health Benefits of Tea) tied tea-drinking to longevity and launched tea in Japan on a large scale.
Michael Ganzeveld is a health writer for the site
http://www.greenteaphd.com
.
He asks that if you use his article you include a link back to the above website.

Plant A Simple Tea Garden

Materials Needed
30 pellets) 3 packets of organic tea leaves seeds (YOUR CHOICE) Grow-rich or nutrient-rich potting soil 1 decorative clay or metal planter 1 package of clay pellets (approx.
(ASK YOUR NURSERY FOR THE BEST RECOMMENDATION FOR YOUR AREA)
Directions
These will absorb water and promote healthy root development of the tea plants. Spread the clay pellets evenly along bottom of planter. 1.
Moisten potting soil in a large plastic bag and then spread mix over clay pellets in planter, leaving 1/2 inch at top of planter. 2.
Sprinkle seeds on soil, leaving about 2 or so inches between different varieties. 3.
Lightly cover the seeds with dry soil, and then moisten slightly with a spray bottle or a few drops of water. 4.
Label the varieties of tea on the bottom or side of planter, or create popsicle-stick signs to place in the soil. 5.
Move planter to a warm area with natural sunlight. 6.
When tea leaves reach a height of about two inches, thin out seedlings across the total planter surface to provide adequate space for future growth. 7.
Water periodically, only when the soil is moderately dry. 8.
DO NOT OVERWATER!!)
Sit back, sip and enjoy! Pick tea leaves sparingly and brew in a hot pot of water. 9.

Teatime in Thailand - A Visit to the Tea Plantations of Mae Salong

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During my visit to Thailand in November 2004, I traveled through the scenic Yunnanese village of
Mae Salong
, located in the mountains of the
Golden Triangle
Strolling around the small town, you'll find the Chinese influence very strong with most of the shops and many of the homes decorated with Chinese ornamentation and with many of the homes decorated with Chinese ornamentation and with many of the homes decorated with Chinese ornamentation and with many of the inhabitants speaking Mandarin. Many of the villagers trace their ancestry to members of Chinese Nationalist party who fled China, resettling in nothern Thailand during the communist takeover in late 1940's. Mae Salong is a very unique and important place, not only because of its historical origins but also as the one of the most important tea growing regions in Thailand. .
Tea is king here
; the surrounding countryside is covered by a green carpet of tea, as far as the eye can see. Small tea tasting rooms are scattered throughout the small village of
Mae Salong
selling so many different grades of tea including green oolong, which seems to be the crème de la crème of the tea world. The largest tea plantations are located just outside of town and are well worth a visit. Ms. Ming, the gracious owner of
Mae Salong Villa
(the hotel where I stayed)
It seems that the Mae Salong Chinese community has maintained very close ties with Taiwan, which remained a stronghold of the Chinese nationalist party after the Communists took over mainland China. explained to me about the origins of the tea industry and about the different grades of tea leaves sold commercially.
The tea industry got a kick-start when some choice tea plants were carried over from Taiwan and planted in the hills of Mae Salong. Ming's husband owns one the major tea plantations in the area but as Ms. Ming explained to me, there is more money to be made in the tourism business these days as the tea business is very labor intensive and the profit margins are small.
Bus Goldberg is a seasoned world traveler and the director of
Calypso Island Tours
He also maintains his own travel blog, , a travel company that specializes in botanical adventures and nature tours to such diverse destinations as Costa Rica, Thailand and the Caribbean.
Calypso Island Chronicles