A Flower of Tea

No many may know, but the tea plant bears beautiful flowers too. Flowering is an indication of the approaching end of harvesting period. The C:N (Carbon to nitrogen) ratio on a plantation is maintained in such a manner that vegetative growth is encouraged and seeding discouraged. Thus, magnificent flowers usually set on ther seed bearing trees, and it is a sight to see.

Tea And Cancer

Yet another Japanese green tea study has shown impressive results indicating the reduction of blood and lymph cancers.

The research was undertaken by Tohoku University, which recorded a 42 percent reduction for blood cancers and 48 percent reduction for lymph cancers in subjects with high green tea consumption.

40,000 Japanese people from all gender, geography and age were studied over a ten-year period.

An increasing number of western studies too have found similar results. Some such outstanding works have been carried out and published by the Mayo Clinic of Minnesota, American Association for Cancer Research, department of thoracic/head and neck medical oncology at the University of Texa, and many more.

One common factor emerging is that tea or tea extracts has the potential to "prevent" development of malignancy, and to "supplement" and "complement" the normal couse of treatment. But one cannot cure cancer with tea alone, the studies have emphasised.

Technically, the research have found that EGCG, an antioxidant catechin which is found in abundance in tea, is the main ingredient responsible in inhibiting the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR).

Catechins are active polyphenolic antioxidant metabolites in green tea. The DHFR enzymes they inhibit are needed by cancer cells to proliferate. Upon closer scrutiny of green tea ECGC, they determined that its molecular structure closely resembles that of the cancer drug methotrexate used in chemotherapy. The binding properties of EGCG is not as intense as the drug methotrexate. Therefore, the side effects of tea are minimal.

Caution:- EGCG binding to DHFR can inhibit the folic acid needed by women pregnant in their first trimester. This situation has been shown to increase the risk of her child being born with spina bifida or other fetal neurological disorders.

Because of this, it is recommended that women curb their green tea consumption just prior to pregnancy and during the first trimester.Note:- The studies have been carried out in some cases with "Black Tea", which is "Fermented" or "Oxidised", and in most cases with Green Tea, which is not "Fermented". Results are similar for both variants, but Green Tea is accepted the world over as the healthier of both options.

The following sources have been used in compiling this article:-
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health
http://www.whfoods.com/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health

Things you can do with tea

Friends, this list is in no way exhaustive. Its just a quick compilation. Read on!

Pain Reliever

The tannic acid in tea is useful as a balm to soothe the pain of sunburn, mild scalding and razor cuts.

• Make a paste of brewed tea (cleaned of any milk or sugar) and baking soda and use on the spot of pain
• Dip a tea bag in a solution of baking soda in water, and use the tea bag as a pack
  

Eye Soother

• Use used or fresh wet, refrigerated, or sufficiently cool tea bags take away eye puffiness.
• To soften a sty, use a warm tea bag as an eye pack

Feet Cleanser

• Washing feet in tea liquor removes foul odor and prevents foot infections. The tea plantation workers do this in a routine manner!

Shampoo!

• Tea can be used for the final rise after shampooing, to leave an extra shine

Marinate

• Tea can be used to marinate and tenderize meat.

On Wooden Furniture

• Tea can be used to clean wooden furniture. For normal stains, just use a cloth made wet with tea.
• For extreme cases, try the same with a cloth made damp with dipping in boiling tea
  

Natural dye

• Tea can be used as a natural dye for both, cloth and leather
  

Compost fertilizer

• Tea belongs to the "camellia" family. The tea you use is nothing but green leaves of the plant Camellia sinencis
• It takes on different shapes due to processing
• When brewed, it just unfurls, and becomes "fine leaves", waiting to decompose
• Roses in particular love tea. Just make sure that there is no trace of milk or sugar left in the tea

Tea Meditation and Harmony

In the early days, tea was reserved for the Buddhist Monk and Kings of China. It has always been the stimulant of choice to aid in meditation.

Tea is the most popular drink all over the world as a breakfast, afternoon, evening or “just about anytime” drink.

It is served in a variety of ways: just as a plain decoction for its inherent flavor and goodness, laced with salt for replenishing body’s loss due to sweating, with a dollop of butter for those extra calories in the high mountains of Tibet, with milk and sugar in the English way, as ‘masala chai’ with milk and sugar which sometimes is scented for an extra refreshment, with lime for that extra astringency and many more.

It is consumed both, hot and cold. Its brewing too ranges from just one cup with a modern tea bag to a community brew in a big samovar.

And its service can range from self service from a community pot to a full fledged English service, complete with silver spoons and fine bone china pots, tea cozy and a shining tea trolley, to the typical “kulhad”. In Japan, drinking of tea is a ceremony and a tea room is the norm in every contemporary house.

Whatever the style or type of tea, one thing common with its serving and consumption is the ambiance of bonhomie; of coexistence and harmony, of love and respect which manifests itself automatically over a cup of tea.

Processing of Tea

Wide varieties, green, black, oolong, and white teas are created by different processing methods. The flavor of tea depends upon how the tea was processed, in what part of the world the plant grew, time and quality of harvest, weather, soil conditions, altitude etc. It is an established fact that quality comes from the field, and the factory’s job is to preserve it. Yield and Quality are usually in inverse relationship with each other. Generalization of all plants irrespective of its individual traits dilutes the optimum potential from fruition.

Withering of Tea leaves is an activity wherein the freshly plucked leaves are dried with the ambient or warm air (air with a hygrometric difference of minimum 4* Fahrenheit). The purpose of withering is two fold. First is to remove about 20 to 40 % moisture so as to make it flaccid and render it capable of withstanding further rigors of processing. This is known as physical wither. Second is to increase the concentration of enzymes in the leaf, while simultaneously allowing the chlorophyll to undergo chemical decomposition. This is known as chemical withering. Withering is done only for making Black Tea and not done for making Green Tea. Finer leaf can take harder wither; coarser leaves can not take hard withers. An average factory may have up to 40 withering troughs having Axial Flow fans of 7.5 HP each.

Steaming or Pan Frying is a process wherein the freshly harvested leaves are subjected to steaming or frying on low heat to deactivate all the enzymes present in the leaves. Steaming or drying is done only for making of Green or Oolong tea, and not done for making Black Tea.

Rolling or CTC is a process by which the cells of the leaves are ruptured. Rolling is a gradual process of cell rupturing, wherein the leaves are rolled in rolling tables for certain duration, at the end of which the leaves become twisted and curly. This process is known as the “Orthodox” process. CTC is a rapid process of complete cell rupturing, wherein the leaves are fed into the CTC rollers through a BLC or Rotor-vane for Cutting, Tearing and Curling, at the end of which the Tea leaves become round and granular in shape. A factory may have 12 rolling tables of 15 HP each or 6 CTC machine of 30 HP each and another 25 HP for a BLC machine.

Fermenting is a process wherein the leaf is oxidized for a duration of 1-3 hours during which the exposed juices of the leaves react with atmospheric oxygen. This is where the polyphenols and liquoring characteristics of all Black Tea is developed. There is no fermentation of Green Tea. This is the most potent stage for bacterial growth in tea, hence immaculate hygiene is essential at this stage.

Drying is a crucial process from the end users point of view. It serves a dual purpose. One, that of arresting further Oxidation of leaves by rapidly reducing the moisture content of Tea from 60%-70% to 3%-4%. Second, drying locks in the carefully developed characteristic flavors and provides keeping quality or shelf life to the Leaves. Driers may be Coal, Furnace Oil or Gas fired. A factory may have 4 to 5 dryers using 50 HP each.

Sorting of Tea is the process by which different sizes of grains / leaves of tea are separated. In the process of sorting, flakes, fibers and stalk of tea is also removed to give it a clean appearance. There is nothing wrong with drinking clean teas of mixed sizes. The terminologies used in naming of grades have a Chinese origin, and confusing at its best.

Packing of Tea is the final process on a plantation, wherein the graded Tea Leaves are packed in approved bulk packages. The packaging choices available are Wooden chests with an Aluminum or poly Lining, Jute Bags with poly liner, HDPE Bags with poly liner, Multi walled Paper Sacks and Vacuum Packs. Wooden chests have become almost obsolete. Paper sacks can be palletized, and hence preferred by exporters. Jute Bags are preferred by domestic buyers due to its resale value.

Botanical Description and Cultivation

Botanical Description and Cultivation

Camellia sinensis. The Tea plant. Properly speaking, tea is the beverage brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Camellia sinensis is an evergreen tropical plant which can grow upto 10 meters in height in the wild. An average estate in India may have up to 56 million plants.

The Tea plants may be grown from seeds, which are usually hybrid seeds and also by means of vegetative propagation. Seed varieties are more robust, but may vary in uniformity of yield quality and behavior from plant to plant. Plants grown from vegetative propagation are more uniform and inherit all the characters of the mother plant. An average estate in India may have a nursery with 2-4 lac plants.

Tea prefers an acidic soil, with the soil ph in the range of 4.5 to 5.5. The soil must be well drained up to a depth of 1 meter. Some shade is useful to keep the leaf temperature low in very hot climate. The shades grown are evenly spaced and are of the leguminous variety, which help replenish nitrogen in the soil from atmosphere. Drains are laid and cut on contours after surveys to prevent soil erosion.

The tea plant is trained from the time of its planting to form into a dense shrub with a flat or slightly curved top surface which is also known as the harvestable surface. Up to 16000 plants can be planted in a hectare of land with a spacing of 100 cm X 60 cm X 60 cm. This population is denser than the vegetation of even the densest forests in the world. Ideally the foliage of plants intermingle in such a manner that it gives an impression of a thick green carpet like surface, through which direct sunlight cannot penetrate to the ground below. This prevents growth of weeds that may compete for nutrients with the Tea Plants. Until 3 years of age, the plants are categorized as Young Tea.

Harvesting of the leaves may be done with huge mechanical harvesters (Japan), by using shears or traditionally by hand. Hand plucked leaves are the best for making premium quality Tea, but shortage of and increase in cost of labor necessitates mechanical harvesting. Harvesting of leaves can be done at intervals of 7 days to 14 days. Proper control of harvesting rounds is essential to achieve a good quality harvest. Shorter rounds give lesser crop, better quality and lesser leaf per plucker. Pluckers are paid incentive on quantity of leaf plucked. This arrangement goes against the goal of harvesting a good quality crop.

Maintenance of the vast fields is an arduous task. Economical harvest can be obtained even from a 100 year old plantation if it has been properly maintained. Maintenance of a Tea Plantation requires an integrated pest management system, adequate drainage, scientific manuring, irrigation, Pruning, De-snagging, Hoeing, Forking, Shade maintenance and a highly trained and committed workforce to carry out these activities scientifically. A lot of physical labor is required to do these jobs. Physical fitness is of prime importance but malnutrition, alcohol and illiteracy are a hindrance

Vintage Letter

Dear friends,
I was reading a very old book, "Manual of Tea Producing Companies", by de Zoete & Bevan, 25 Finsbury Circus, London Stock Exchange, London, EC2M 7EE. Hereunder I would like to share this here with you.

I have always maintained, no tea is bad. It's just that some teas are better, and that's the reason this industry functions the way it does. Similarly, here too I implore upon you not to find good or bad, or feel offended by some of the text of the letter, or to construe any meaning at all. Just sip it like a vintage cup of tea.
Tea Cheers!
Jayesh S Pandya

Tea for Two
(An unexpurgated application for tea garden vacancy in Ceylon)

Most honoured and respectable Sir,
Having come to understand that you require the services of a trustwothy and sober Tea-maker clerck, I humbly beg to apply for the vacancy in fervent hopes that your honour will favourably consider same and bestow upon me this blessing for my ability and every prayer.

I am unmarried Hambantonian aged 36 years of respectable parents(now deceases R.I.P) of same province. Now I am poor orphan with no any support and imancipated condition, tossed hither and tither llike compost upon the billows of high seas in monsoon time, daily with empty stomach, but under the wing of your honours care and in the security of your honours family bosom, I am having full hopes like bride on night of honeymoon, to throw away poverty out of the window and bring prosperity through the door.

I have received a good education at Ananda Suriyadala College in Hambantota, and passed Matric with full honours by the fertile brain and can give all information by dilligent study of the encyclopedia when required, owing to untimely surmise of my deceased father and no money I was unable to take up my B.A degree which I pass simply. When I dismiss the college I learn Tea-making under my paternal uncle at Galle, by latest methods in reversible wither and mist chambers according to T.R.I. I also come to know in that time some secret tricks to extract that subtle flavours from tea leaves lurking in the bowels of the rollers like honey in the honey comb, and can take liquors with 20 good colour and sparkle like diamond in Queen's tarart when Colombo brokers see that they will elevate the prices to height in Pedro; sometimes on bombastic competition on meserable fellow suprintendents like Boot on Adders head in the Garden of Allah.

In machineries and oil engines I have some knowledge which I experienced in Cocoanut Mill. Also in electricity I know to take the current in night times from phiphony of commutator by means of H.T wire. Factory I will keep so clean like dining-rooms in Queens' Hotel and your honour can come and see day and night with eyes closed.

Field works I know top to bottom, and can milk the rubber trees in many ways to show profit on care and maintenance. I learn all about compost from venerable Mr. M.F. the Holy Father of Compost. I can take full work from the Tamils (high and low caste) and crafty Sinhalese at reduced cost. They does not know to humbug me my milk in mouth and venom in belly like honourable state Councillors playing Harry and Dick with Taxpayers money.

For clerical work I am expert. Estate accounts can be my double and single and cover up mistakes so that even no greedy eye of Colombo Agents can find out and make trouble.
If your honour will give charge of rice store in this business, i also know some tricks which i learn from my late cousin in Govt. Service (P.W.D) who retired on completion of duties with good circumstances and also pension. By some methods Ican supply your honour and family with requirements and cover up. For this I do not require any salary and can manage somehow by hook and crook.

When your honour go to access the Estate I like to come also and get some presents here and there for your honour's early retirement in Mother Country.

Like humble flea on belly of Noble visiting Agent I hope to receive your honour's favourable reply and oblige.

In duty bound I will ever pray in loud voice night and day on my family's bended knees and prostituting myself at your honour's great feet.

I beg to remain,
your obedient servant,
Sd/-
P.S. If you wish I can come suddenly.

Exploitation of Tea Plantations

My dear friends who show concern for Tea!
I have spent 40 years of my life as a child, adolescent and then working in Managerial capacities on the Tea Plantations. Tea is not just a beverage. it is a way of life.
Many Garden Owners have indeed used the estates as milking cows, have not Re-invested sufficiently to keep the plantations and its workers in good health and except for some genuine Planters / companies, most have literally raped the properties. Please excuse my language.
There are also estates with 10 different Labor unions. Estates where there is one Worker in a family living in a Company provided accommodation and having 10 Non Working "dependants" .The worker is usually a woman, and the rest simply eat up into the fragile infrastructure of the estates like parasites. Can you imagine 10 persons using a toilet which has been designed for a family of four? When the septic tank overflows, the Manager is supposed to get it cleaned, and if he delays, he may be hacked to death.
Same goes for stopping the stealing electricity - you stop them and you may be burnt to death. This has happened in Sapoi Tea Estate of Assam where two planters were burnt alive and reduced to footballs.
Then there are Managers who get Rehabilitation Grass cut for their cows by the estate workers and sell the milk for personal gain, and at the same time impound workers' cows if they graze in the plantation. The workers and nearby villagers then take onto grazing their cattle in hundreds in the middle of the night.
Cattle trespass leads to infestation of Red Spider and other mites which leads to the use of expensive Acaricides to be sprayed, making the harvest toxic and further taxing the meager resources.
Traders are no less .. Spurious items of food, clothing and other necessities are sold to the poor workers at exorbitant prices.
Friends, ask a true planter ... he would say chasing cows is his main job. And yes, you will always find at least one Laborer, One Planter, One Trader .... One Tea-Man once in a while, and thank God for them that the Industry still LIVES! I say my hats off to this rare class of people who continue to perform their duties in spite of so many hurdles. It is only due to them that the industry still lives on.Tea Cheers!

Organic Tea

ORGANIC TEA
Historically, Tea is known to have grown in the most inaccessible places, in its Natural pattern, and hence was first discovered as “The Elixir of Life” by the Buddhist Monks in China.
Tea was supposed to be of so Divine a nature, that the Monks did not even think of its cultivation at that time, but instead deployed Monkeys to pluck and bring Tea Leaves from such Inaccessible places for which they would be given Opium!

“This was Natural Tea”
Its usage was restricted to the Spiritual Few

Then came the Aristocracy of China, and the King was the only one who could drink or offer Tea.

Tea became reserved for the Monks and Kings.

With the spread of the Dutch and British Empire, who saw enormous profits in this “Miraculous” herb of the “East”, which gave “Good Health and Long Life” to its drinkers, were the first to introduce the Beverage commercially to Europe.

Tea became a vastly traded item. Finally the “Elixir of Life” was available to all of Mankind, and became the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Its many medicinal values are universally accepted and established.

Journey to the Past
Some estates in the recent times began to experiment by shunning the use of all Chemical Fertilizers and Chemicals on their Tea Plants. They began to provide Forest Covers and Grass Tracts between Sections of Tea.

These estates lost tremendous amount of Money by way of Reduced Yields due to Withdrawal of Fertilizers and Increased occurrence of Pests and Blights.
The Planters Persisted in their quest of achieving what was now appearing as a streak of light at the end of the tunnel.

And the end result is the Spectacular “Organic Tea”, with its outstanding Taste, Briskness and close affinity to an overall characteristic, not unduly aided by human interference.

And this status is conferred after suffering the rigorous abstention from anything In-Organic for three excruciating long years.

Organic Tea, Back to Basics

ORGANIC TEA

Historically, Tea is known to have grown in the most inaccessible places, in its Natural pattern, and hence was first discovered as “The Elixir of Life” by the Buddhist Monks in China.

Tea was supposed to be of so Divine a nature, that the Monks did not even think of its cultivation at that time, but instead deployed Monkeys to pluck and bring Tea Leaves from such Inaccessible places for which they would be given Opium!

“This was Natural Tea”

Its usage was restricted to the Spiritual Few

Then came the Aristocracy of China, and the King was the only one who could drink or offer Tea.

Tea became reserved for the Monks and Kings.

With the spread of the Dutch and British Empire, who saw enormous profits in this “Miraculous” herb of the “East”, which gave “Good Health and Long Life” to its drinkers, were the first to introduce the Beverage commercially to Europe.

Tea became a vastly traded item. Finally the “Elixir of Life” was available to all of Mankind, and became the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Its many medicinal values are universally accepted and established.

Journey to the Past

Some estates in the recent times began to experiment by shunning the use of all Chemical Fertilizers, pesticides, stimulants etc on their Tea Plants. They began to provide Forest Cover and Grass Tracts between Sections of Tea.

These estates lost tremendous amount of Money by way of Reduced Yields due to Withdrawal of Fertilizers and Increased occurrence of Pests and Blights.

The Planters Persisted in their quest of achieving what was now appearing as a streak of light at the end of the tunnel.

And the end result is the Spectacular “Organic Tea”, with its outstanding Taste and Briskness, sans the ill effects of (toxic) chemicals, grown in an environment friendly manner.

And this status is conferred after suffering the rigorous abstention from anything In-Organic for three excruciating long years.