Who invented tea, and how is it made?

Tea is the clear winner, even though many people prefer Coffee. It has a greater historical value, more varieties, and the ability to mix with other ingredients.

Metaphorically, the word “tea” is so powerful. There are so many things that can be said about tea, such as where it came from when it was first consumed, which civilizations it is associated with, and how the word spread around the world.

Basic, herbal, or blended?

Basic tea is a beverage that comes from the tea plant. It is also known as unblended or plain tea because it does not contain any other ingredients. There are also five basic types.

Herbal tea is any herbal or spice infusion that has been heated with. The beverage is not made with tea powder, but for some reason, it’s still called that in the West. There are thousands of different herbal teas available thanks to the huge variety of herbs and spices.

Blended tea is the third option. This tea beverage is made from natural ingredients and blended with others. Earl Grey is a popular type. Earl Grey is a blend of black tea and bergamot.

The Birth of a Child

It is made of the leaves from a plant named Camellia sinensis. This plant is from East Asia, specifically China. In many countries, tea and chai refer to the same drink. In India, however, chai is a regular black tea that has been mixed with flavored milk or herbs and spices. Since prehistoric times, Camellia sinensis has been grown in China. The Chinese believed they ate the leaves of this plant, either raw or cooked, hundreds of years ago before making drinks. According to legend, Shen Nung was the Chinese Emperor who invented the glasses. This is the way it goes.

In 2737 BC, Emperor Shen Nung was relaxing under a tree. He didn’t know that it was a Camellia Sinensis. Some leaves fell from the tree into his servant’s pot as he was boiling water. The Emperor, who was very interested in herbal medicine, wondered how the drink would taste. Someone else would have asked their servants to dispose of the infused drink. This Emperor, fortunately, did not. He dried the leaves, added them to boiling water, and drank it.

The drink must have been bitter for him to say that. The legend goes that when people started drinking it, they began to notice the health benefits and used it as a healing drink. Written records show that the Chinese Emperors drank tea in the second Century. Other documents describe the process of growing the leaves and infusing them with water to create this beverage.

Later, it spread to other parts of Eastern Asia, such as Korea and Japan. It was brought to the West in the mid-16th Century by merchants doing business with China. In the early 17th Century, the Dutch were the first to ship it from the West to Europe. It is now the second most popular drink in the world, behind water, hundreds of years after its invention.

The Process

Why do we turn tea into pellets and then process it? Why not infuse the tea leaves directly into the water? Wouldn’t this be more beneficial in terms of taste, health benefits, and taste? Not exactly.

The opposite is actually true. The processing of tea intensifies the taste, aroma, and color. The result is a better drinking experience. The stages of the tea-making process can also be changed to produce a different variety. In a moment, we will discuss five primary types of unblended green tea.

How is it made then?

The process is fairly simple. The leaves are picked, dried, crushed, and boiled. Each stage becomes more complex when manufacturing tea on a larger scale.

This process involves a series of steps that involve fermentation or oxidation. The oxidation process alters the chemical composition of leaves and enhances their flavor, color, texture, and aroma. The pellets have a sweet taste and are not bitter.

Remember from your third-grade science lesson that chlorophyll gives leaves their green color. When the leaves are exposed to air and chlorophyll enzymes, they combine with oxygen and start to break down the green pigment. The leaves will gradually begin to turn brown. As they dry up, the taste of the leaves changes, as well.

Let’s look at the five steps involved in tea production.

Withering

Solar withering or indoor withering is the process of drying leaves in two stages.

After harvesting the leaves, they are left to dry in air and exposed to indirect sunlight. The master who supervises the entire process determines the duration. The oxidation begins when the leaves are exposed to the sun. The leaves are then moved inside for a few more hours to continue the oxidation process. The water in the leaves begins to evaporate.

Disruption

Disruption can also be called bruising. This stage is to speed up the oxidation of the leaves. After the leaves have withered indoors for several hours, they are transferred to a bruising device, which is a wooden rotating drum.

The machine rotates and tears the leaves. The engine turns, allowing more oxygen to enter the cells and continue to oxidize enzymes. Tearing leaves removes the bitter taste of the leaves by removing any water that may have been left in them.

Fixation

Once the leaves are sufficiently oxidized, it’s time to stop oxidation between 10% and 90 %. Fixation is the process that does this.

In this case, the majority of its green color is still retained. It still includes a large part of its green color. An 85% oxidized leaf is browner than green because the enzymes in it have already reacted to oxygen.

To stop oxidation, the leaves are placed in a heated rotating dryer where they tumble around for 10 to 15 minutes to dry. The taste and smell of the final product are mostly due to this process. It is, therefore, very important.

Crushing

It is now time to transform the dried leaves into pellets. For this, a leaf rolling press and a leaf kneading device are used. These two machines are used to crush the leaves and produce shots that have a stronger taste.

Firing

The pellets must be almost completely dried, with no moisture. They are then dried in large ovens for an hour or so at 180degC. Once the shells have dried, they are ready to be packaged, sold, and shipped.