Tea Life

Tea, it’s one of those everyday things that people consume without much thought as to where it was grown or how it is processed prior to ending up your cuppa. Until I met Elise Scott, owner of Pearl Fine Teas, I never gave the shriveled leaves in the bottom of my mug much notice. Tea was something that came in a paper bag with a tag, more often served cold after being made by the gallon with several Lipton bags in a glass jar left in the window—Sun Tea. During winter, cold and flu season, hot herb tea in the afternoons with honey and lemon became a favorite.Even after several years of keeping myself in teas and tonics from Pearl Fine Teas at Central Farm Markets, the idea that tea was farmed didn’t register until hearing about Elise’s travels to Korea to source products and increase her knowledge of tea. Coffee and cocoa tend to take center stage in the arenas of Fair Trade and the other assorted certifications ensuring products the farmers have produced the raw materials using ethical and environmental practices as well as having received fair compensation. “People tend to only see the end product, but there is so much that goes on,” said Elise when I first broached the subject with her.For this week’s Dishing the Dirt, I interviewed Elise about her travel adventures in the quest for the finest teas available, including ones hand-carried from small, independent tea farmers that might not otherwise make it out of the geographic region in which it is grown.The first thing I wanted to learn was about the tea plant and the farms—called gardens--where it is grown. Elise has visited tea gardens not only in Korea, but also Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and Japan with China slated for next year. She described tea gardens as “Breathtaking. Peaceful. Neat. Organized,” some being hundreds of years in production.What is tea and where is it grown?Tea is a plant called Camellia Sinensis. In fact, Elise points out if the product isn’t from the Camellia Sinensis plant, it’s technically not tea. The plants are perennial evergreen bushes or trees grown in hilly areas. Tea typically grows to a height of 4 feet. Countries with commercial tea gardens include Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and China. In the U.S. there are several very small tea farms beginning which have already formed the U.S. League of Tea Growers, but the industry is still in the experimental stages.Growing & HarvestDepending on the country, there are typically four growing seasons. For example, Darjeeling black teas from India have four growing seasons: First Flush in late winter/early spring; second flush in late spring; Summer and Autumnal. Harvesting is referred to as “plucking” since most tea leaves are picked by hand. Elise offered an insight into the labor required to pluck tea, “The pluckers are mostly women and must navigate steep hillsides.” Japanese teas are often plucked and processed in spring.  The varietal in Japan is called Yabukita. It grows upright allowing for machine harvesting. After plucking, the leaves and then withered. This can take place indoors or outdoors with each method resulting in distinctly different flavor profiles.Processing—where the magic happensAs with many other agricultural endeavors, for example; dairy and grapes, a multitude of end products can result out of a base product depending upon how it is processed. Elise explained the variety of ways in which tea is processed and finished imparts different qualities. Typically the leaf is processed with the first couple of days (sometimes hours) after plucking from the bush, with each phase affecting the final flavor. The methods used vary greatly depending on the desired tea outcome. In addition different countries, locations and farms may also employ different proprietary methods of production depending on the tea and desired outcome-- White, Green, Yellow, Oolong, Black, Puerh/Aged Tea.Not so differentMy curiosity turned from farming practices to the farmers themselves as Elise exclaimed, “Wonderful! Knowledgeable! Willing to help and teach! Basically rock stars to a tea nerd like me,” and I thought much like many of the farmers I know, too. While in Korea, eight different tea growers gathered to show their teas. When a Square reader (seems like a ubiquitous app among farmers no matter where we are in the world) failed to function, Elise returned with the tea farmers—a husband and wife team--to their property where they grew and processed their own tea to complete the transaction. Small-scale producers direct marketing a quality niche product. Hhhmmmm, sounds mighty familiar. Thanks to a technical glitch, Elise was able to cultivate a personal relationship with tea farmers from whom she can source single-origin teas directly with confidence. “Like all things, it’s important to know who you are buying from. There’s not a lot of transparency in the tea industry, so the more information a tea seller can give you the better,” said Elise, “There’s always a story attached to any tea we sell.”