The healthy
benefits derived from drinking tea make the headlines
in our news stories and fill magazines. Green
tea has taken the world by storm and now white
tea is being touted as the healthiest of tea choices.
Most Americans love black tea and southerners
drink it by the gallon over ice all year long.
Even as we sip it, many of us are confused as
to the differences between these teas.
Black,
green, and white tea comes from the same source.
It’s the processing that makes it different.
Tea comes from an evergreen bush in the Camellia
family that is native to Southeast Asia but it
grows well in many tropical and subtropical locales.
Tea
leaves are picked by hand in order to harvest
the choice “pluck,” which consists
of the terminal bud and the two youngest leaves
that grow closest to it. Tea bushes are pruned
frequently in order to promote the new growth,
which can be harvested as often as every ten days
in the tropics. Tea growers in colder climates
generally harvest five times in a growing season.
What
makes black, green, and white tea different one
from the other is the processing that happens
after harvest. White tea is made from freshly
harvested, unprocessed leaves. It is clear and
of thin consistency but is believed by some to
be the most healthful since it is most like the
original plant.
Green
tea leaves are allowed to wither and then they
are mashed to release and mix the chemical components
bound in the cellular structure of the leaf. The
next step is firing, where heat is introduced
to slowly evaporate the water from the leaves.
Black
tea undergoes the same processes that green tea
does but one step – fermentation –
is added. Fermentation is actually a misnomer
as no yeast or other microbes are used. Between
the mashing and firing steps, the tea leaves are
allowed to stand until they turn a coppery brown,
caused when phenolic substances in the pigment
molecules release tannins. This step gives black
tea its color and astringency.
Whether
you prefer black, green, or white tea, it is certainly
an historical beverage. Record of its earliest
cultivation in China dates back to the 4th century.
Reference:
McGee, Harold; On Food and Cooking: The Science
and Lore of the Kitchen; Fireside / Simon &
Schuster; 1984
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