TEA, CAMELLIA SINENSIS

Garrett, Theodore Francis (edited by). 1898. the Encyclopedia of Practical Cookery. L. Upcott Gill, 170, Strand, W.C. London. Vol. iv

(French THE; German THEE; Italian TE; Spain TE) originated, or was discovered, according to the Chinese legend, by Darma, the son of an Indian king, who paid a semi-religious visit to China about A.D. 519. In order to prove his religious fervour, he led a very austere life, "eating only vegetables, and spending most of his time in comtemplation of the Deity." He made a vow against sleep, to enable him the more faithfully to perform the duties he had imposed upon hi8mself; but unfortunately, "after continual watchings for several years," sleep overcame him. On his awakening, "such as his remorse for having broken his vow," that in order to prevent a relapse he cut off his eyelids and threw them indignantly upon the ground. "New morning" (the legend speaks of the morning as though he had spent the night in sleep again) "he found them metamorphosed into two shrubs, which have even since been known by the name of Chaa," the Chinese for eyelids.

The value of tea depends upon the succulence of the leaves, and this succulence is in proportion to their age, the youngest being best. The smallest leaves and buds give (a) give Flowery Pekoe; (b) orange pekoe; (c) pekoe; (d) first souchong; (e) second souchong; (f) congou ; (abc) mixed pekoe of a superior class; (abcde) mixed pekoe souchong; and any leaves picked below f, such as g,h, bohea.

Tea is divided into two great classes, known as black and green teas, this colour depending upon the mode of manufacture; black tea being allowed to turn colr in the sun before it is curled and dried, and green tea being dried in its freshly-picked state. Amongst the Chinese colourings are used for both kinds, more or less of a noxious character, but amongst our own manufacturers we are protected by law from such iniquitous adulterations.

Berzok, Lindsa Murray. 2005. American Indian Food. Food in American History. Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut.

May kinds of tea were made from various barks, roots and berries such as red sassafras, wild allspice, red sumac berries, wintergreen, sweet fern, rose hip, wintergreen and catnip. In the Northeast and Southeast, cranberries and blueberries might be mixed with soup broth or cornstalk juice. Labrador tea was made from a small, dwarflike plant with slender green needles that grows on the tundra in the Northwest. Chapparal tea came from an infusion of the floweering tops of this plant. The long, green stalks and leaves of the ephedra plants were used by almost all Southwest Indians. Navajo tea was made from the cota plant, found in the Southwest from May to October on grassy plains, mesas and open woodlands from 4,000 to 5,000 elevation. Wild stalks were collected and bundled together to dry and then boiled up with water whenever tea was desired.

Grimes, William. 2004. Eating Your Worlds. Oxford University Press.

is a hot drink made by infusing the dried, crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling. The dried leaves used to make such a drink. It is a hot drink made form the infused leaves, fruits, or flowers of other plants. In Britian it is a light afternoon meal consisting typically of sandwiches and cakes with tea to drink. In Britain it is a cooked evening meal. -
ORIGIN probably via Malay from Chinese (Min dialect) te; related to Mandarin cha

CHINA GREEN TEAS (gunpowder and hyson) and China black teas (English breakfast and keemun) are prized for their fragrance and/or strong, full-bodied flavor.

DARJEELING, grown in the district of the same name in northwest India, has a hearty, deep flavor and, when it is brewed, becomes a sparkling orange-red color.

CEYLON teas are smooth and mellow and are particularly suited to the type of water prevalent in the United States.

JASMINE tea is any variety of oolong that has been scented with jasmine blossoms. Tea scented with orange blossoms or rind is also available.

Ruth Winter.1978. A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York.

The leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of plants having leaves and fragrant white flowers, prepared and cured to make an aromatic beverage. Cultivated principally in China, Japan, Ceylon, and other Asian countries. Tea is a mild stimulant and its tonic properties are due to the alkaloid caffeine; the tannin makes it astringent.

Excerpts from Bender, Arnold E. 1990. Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. Butterworths, Boston.

Prepared from the young leaves, leaf buds and internodes of varieties of Camellia sinensis, originating from China.
Green tea is dried without further treatment. Black tea is fermented (actually an oxidation) before drying; Oolong tea is lightly fermented.
Among the black teas, Flowering Pekoe is made from the top leaf buds, Orange Pekoe from first opened leaf, Pekoe from third leaves, and Souchong from next leaves.

Excerpts from Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking. Hearst Books, New York.

The discovery of tea as a beverage goes back over 5000 years in Chiense history. It is probably the single most documented food in the world with the first treatise on tea, the Cha Ch'ing, being written in the eighth century by the Chinese master Lu Yu. Over the centuries, tea has been planted in most parts of the world, but the prized growing areas remain in India (Assam and Darjeeling), in Sri Lanka (Dimbula), and in various parts of the vast country of China. Each area produces a distinct flavor and this is further enhanced by the method used of picking, rolling, and fermenting and drying. The Chinese drink their tea without milk or sugar and enjoy several distinctly different types. Green tea, sometimes flavored with jasmine flowers, is the most widely used, with bo lai or pu erh a black tea favored in the south. Oolong, some of the best of which is grown in Fukien province, is a smooth, fruity, slightly spicy tea, while lapsang souchong is a strongly flavored black tea with a smoky aroma and taste from the addition of smoked leaves and stalks. A classic known as gunpowder has grayish leaves shaped like small pellets and is one of the earliest Chinese specialty teas still marketed worldwide. Tit kwan yin is an intensely flavored tea that is preferred by the Chinese of Chiu Chow and is served in minuscule porcelain cups that hold less than a single mouthful. Indian and Sri lankan teas are of black variety and are served English style with milk and sugar, or may be brewed with milk, sweeteners and aromatic spices to make masala cha. In Kashmir, green tea is brewed with almonds and spices added, which turn it an attractive pink color. A Russian-style samovar is used in most kashmiri households. Japanese teas differ noticeably from Chinese. Bancha is the everyday drink and has a slightly toasted taste achieved by smoking or roasting the leaves with some of the stem. Genmaicha is bancha with the addition of roasted and popped grains of rice giving it a refreshing mealy taste. Sencha is a better grade of green tea served on special occasions. Gyokuro, which translates as ìjewel dewî is one of the highest grades of tea used in Japan and has a very delicate taste and fragrance. Matcha and hiki-cha are powdered teas which are used for brewing in the Japanese tea ceremony known as cha no yu. The tea is beaten into the hot water with a small bamboo whisk, making an unusual frothy texture. Throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the other Southeast Asian countries, tea drinking is not of major importance, although Chinese green tea may be served in a glass with a meal at a restaurant.

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