tea

High in the Himalayan "Blue" Mountains tea pickers are hard at work . They pluck only young and the most flavorful leaves. The best Assam teas are grown in high altitudes with clouds comforting the tea plant and moisturizing it's leaves. Although tea plants flourish in tropical climate cool mountain air and shade from clouds produce the highest quality teas . Assam , with over 800 tea estates , is one of the major tea producers . Most of the tea is blended for consistent quality Assam . When blended with other teas like African teas or Ceylon teas becomes some of the most famous English tea or Irish tea .

Most of the tea blending is done in Amsterdam and Hamburg . At this point tea is purchased by brokers, packaged and labeled with various brand names. Single estate teas (unblended) are gaining popularity and becoming the teas of choice among tea connoisseurs . Some of the tea estates are producing organic teas. This means that there are no chemical pesticides or fertilizers used in growing the tea . Estates in Darjeeling, India produce teas known as " Darjeeling Teas " also called " Champagne Teas " with aroma resembling Muskat grapes .Tastes vary from malty / complex to bright / simple.
PROCESSING : After tea leaves are picked they are inspected and sorted by hand. Withering takes place as water evaporates and the natural process of fermentation takes place . Fermentation , also known as oxidation , does not produce alcohol . Enzymes oxidize the tea leaf and turn it brown just like a tree leaf in the fall changes colors from green to brown .This process is accelerated by increased heat and high humidity . As a result of these conditions it takes only a few hours to turn green tea into what is known as the black tea - World's number one beverage hot or cold. Of historical note, tea is nearly 5,000 years old and was discovered, as legend has it, in 2737 b.c. by a Chinese emperor when some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot of boiling water. In the 1600s tea became popular throughout Europe and the American colonies. Since colonial days, tea has played a role in American culture and customs. Today American schoolchildren learn about the famous Boston Tea Party protesting the British tea tax -- one of the acts leading to the Revolutionary War. During this century, two major American contributions to the tea industry occurred. In 1904, iced tea was created at the World's Fair in St. Louis,and in 1908, Thomas Sullivan of New York developed the concept of tea in a bag.