GREYS TEAS
- 15 GUY'S CLIFFE TERRACE
CV34 4LP WARWICK, WARWICKSHIRE
Phone: 01926 419180
E-mail: Send messagewww.greysteas.co.uk
Short profile:
Tea is an evergreen shrub thought to have originated wild in the Brahmaphtra valley of northern India and in northern Yunnan Province of western China. Separate species, Camellia assamica - native to the west, has developed from Camellia sinensis, or Chinese Camellia, which is native to the east. These areas are divided by the Patkai highlands of Burma. The tea plant has a life of around 50 years.
It takes two and a half to five years to become fully mature. It is pruned every two to four years to keep its height down to a manageable three feet with a flat top for ease of picking. Left unpruned, a tea bush would grow to become a tree of 30-40 feet in height.
In this natural state tea is used for seed production.
Detailed description:
Tea is picked during the 'flush' or growth phases of the tea bush. In India these growth periods occur during December and January, but it is all year round in Sri Lanka. April onwards is the best period for China teas. For good quality tea only the bud and top two youngest leaves are picked. A skilled picker will pick thirty to sixty pounds of tea per day.
A pound of manufactured tea may require as many as 3, 000 shoots. Black tea will have been picked on a clear morning when the dew has just evaporated. Picked tea is withered on mesh racks for between 8 and 24 hours. Any stalks or impurities are removed by sieving.
Tea must be manufactured near the tea gardens as it must be made from freshly plucked leaves. In the traditional orthodox method, the tea is crushed by rolling, releasing juices onto the surface of the leaf. It is this method by which virtually all teas offered by Grey's Teas are made.
Keywords:
Organic Tea, Blended Tea, Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, White Tea, Flavoured Tea, Tea Collections