Tea is the most widespread drink in the world after water. Often, when the word "tea" comes into context, you are reminded of black tea. Black tea absorbs a higher percentage of the stock.
Black tea is one of the most common and popular tea varieties in every culture. It is used as a tea base to prepare some of the most famous blends such as Earl Gray Black, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Maltese Breakfast, Iced Tea, Chai, and more. Today, the three countries that have accounted for a large percentage of black tea production are India, Africa and Sri Lanka. India is the one that contributes to the production of half of the world's black tea.
What is black tea?
Black tea, commonly known as "Red Tea" in China and "Lal Chai" in India, is the most oxidized tea than other major teas (Oolong tea, green tea, and white tea).
There are four main types of black tea by region (Assam, Darjeeling, Kenyan, and Ceylon) that they grow. Assam and Darjeeling are some of the largest and best tea regions in the world.
What makes black tea beautiful?
One of the biggest aspects of black tea is that the taste can be preserved almost perfectly for many years if stored properly. In fact, in the 19th century, Tibet and Mongolia were some of the countries where pressed and dried black tea bricks were effectively used as a type of coin because the loss of tea quality was almost nil.
Black tea is often used as morning or afternoon tea because it contains caffeine and theophylline, which are responsible for stimulating your brain and heart rate. These substances have been shown to make the mind and body more alert.
In addition, consuming black tea has many other benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health, digestion, blood circulation, and many others, which make it one of the most beneficial health teas.
Processing
Black tea is available in two variants - 1) orthodox (whole leaves) and 2) unorthodox (CTC or Crush Tear Curl). In the production of both varieties, tea leaves can be completely oxidized before heat treatment and drying.
Below are the sequential processes that black tea goes through during its production phase.
Orthodox: Withering → Rolling → Oxidizing (Fermenting) → Hot Air Drying/Pan Fry Drying
CTC: Withering → Crushing/Tearing/Curling → Oxidizing (Fermenting) → Hot Air Drying/Pan Fry Drying
APPEARANCE
Due to the higher level of oxidation, a chemical reaction occurs between oxygen and
The appearance of black tea
Plant cells change the color of the leaves from green through dark brown to black. While the Orthodox variant consists of strands of hand or machine rolled plates, CTC teas are small, hard plate pellets.
Flavor
Along with the change in the appearance of tea leaves, oxidation also improves the taste profile of tea. The taste of black tea may differ from the combination of malty, sharp, earthy, spicy, nutritious, citrus, caramel, fruity, sweet, honey and smoky tones. Various factors, such as the type of black tea (Orthodox or CTC), the level of oxidation, processing and the area in which they are grown, play an important role in identifying the tastes of black tea. The tea often passes through smoking rooms to acquire a distinctive aroma. The orthodox color of the drink, the taste profile and the level of astringency are lighter, softer and smoother than CTC T-shirts. CTC tea is often used with milk and sugar and is also used as a tea base in the production of masala chai.
The origin of black tea
China is considered the mother of tea. Before 1600, the people of China enjoyed almost all the tea made in the country. However, many factors, such as colonization, trade and migration, which brought people across borders, have made tea culture famous, especially in Europe.
China produces green tea. However, maintaining the quality of tea is the most important challenge when transporting tea to the continents. It was later found that the more the tees were oxidized, the longer the tees remained fresh. Eventually, black T-shirts appeared. Thanks to the Dutch who first introduced tea in Europe, tea became popular in Europe in the 17th century. In 1800, tea was one of the most popular beverages in Europe, where black tea was more popular than its green cousin.
Tea was already popular with the British when they conquered India. Like most Europeans, they prefer full, strong black tea. The discovery of a new species of tea tree in Assam, India, is writing a new chapter on the production of black tea in the world. The best thing about this variety is that strong black tea is made exactly the way the British like it. This new variety is called 'Assamica' (Camellia Sinensis Assamica) and has been introduced in many other areas of India (especially Darjeeling) on plantations.
Steeping black tea
For orthodox leaves, it is advisable to hide black leaves instead of tea bags. The limited area of the tea bags makes it difficult to fully extend the tall leaves, which may not provide the flavor that comes from stretching the leaves. In addition, tea bags have a higher chance of breaking tall leaves. However, pyramid tea bags provide more room to disperse the leaves than traditional tea bags. With CTC leaves, you can be as heavy as tea bags.
Steeping Info:
1. Bring 180 ml of drinking water to boil to a temperature of around 85 – 90 *C.
2. Measure 2.5 grams of tea in a strainer and gently pour recently boiled water over it. You
can also use dip strainers for easy steeping.
3. Make sure to close the lid as it traps the aroma and doesn’t let the water cool faster than required.
4. Wait for 3 – 4 – 5 minutes, depending on how strong you want your black tea to be before straining the leaves.
5. Pour the liquor in a cup / take out the strainer and let the liquor cool for some time.
6. Orthodox black tea is best enjoyed plain though some enjoy with milk, sugar/honey, and/or lemon. CTC tea is usually enjoyed with milk, sugar/honey, lemon, herbs, and/or spices.
Do Not : Steep over 5 minutes unless you like extremely bitter tea.
Black teas are usually strong and bold, and because of that, you can steep it 2 – 3 times more. Whether you like the orthodox or the CTC version, black tea is undoubtedly the drink that can freshen up your body and mind.