Embedded Water in Tea

An interesting article is posted on the bbc website, which I urge you to visit to get an insight into the water demand for tea.

While this may be true, there is another aspect to it. That of "How much water is saved from getting evaporated by a Tea Plant? It is this second aspect which I wish to touch upon. As for the article on bbc website, the link is  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8628832.stm

It says, 30 Ltrs of water is used to make one cup of Tea.
However, speaking about our brew here, may I raise a question for our learned folks :-

How much water loss is prevented by cultivating the soil for making 1 Kg of Tea?

Let us consider the following positives:-
Nearly 12000 to 18000 plants of Tea per hectare.
Nearly 400 to 800 Shade trees per hectare, mostly of the leguminous variety.
A green carpet cover over the land for thousands of hectare, preventing direct loss of moisture from the soil.
Preventing ill effects of the ever increasing intensity of UV rays of the sun on the soil, by blocking / filtering it.
Consider the Contour drainage adopted by the Tea plantations, where water is just not allowed to run off, without optimum percolation. This prevents soil erosion, wastage of water, as well as surface water logging.
And many more. I hope I have been able to kindle the thought process!

To share a personal experience, we made a record crop of 2.3 million Kgs with a rainfall of 58" as against 2.1 million in the previous year with 119" and again 2.3 million in the next year with 75".
I learned a few things from this:-
It is distribution that really matters, and not the quantum.
Irrigation is often overdone (by the fortunate few who can afford it).
Some panic easily, and irrigate without measuring soil / moisture tension.
Prevention of water loss is more beneficial than irrigating.

Lets have another cup of Tea!
Jayesh.

Tea and Diabetes

And now, after many articles and sceintific reports on the benefits of Tea in general and Green Tea in particular in reducing weight and control of Diabetes, finally a website dedicated to weight loss has endoresd it too! I quote below excrepts from http://www.weightlosssurgerychannel.com/breaking-wls-news/diabetes-risk-may-be-reduced-by-coffee-and-tea.html/
"Diabetes risk can be reduced by up to 7 percent with a daily cup of coffee according to new research. The benefits of coffee and tea appeared evident in spite of other lifestyle factors, which may mean that antioxidants in both drinks have protective qualities."
While not to downplay Coffee, Tea has been the drink of choice for centuries for Buddhist Monks and Writers (remember, the "wiseibly drunk" by charles dickens) and Thinkers and the likes. Its not to substitute food, but to provide the strength to sustain. Both to the body and mind. It can aptly be called the drink for eternity. Where there is no last one, and more importantly, no hangovers!
"But why only 7 percent? The reason may be that since these chemicals don’t last in the body very long, it takes several cups a day for them to make a serious difference"
As for weight loss, Tea reduces the want for everything when wanted in excess!
Tea Cheers!Jayesh Pandya

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.