Second test in making black tea


Dr Stephen and I returned to the vicinity of the old Mayang Tea Plantation in his 4 X 4 wheel drive vehicle so that we are better able to negotiate further up the gravel track than we were able to walk on the first occasion 3 weeks previously. It was just as well because the track certainly needs a 4-wheeled drive plus it was raining quite heavily.


The blue dot is where I am located in Kuching.
The red pin is the location of the tea site.

 

After driving past the furthest point reached (Buni's farm) on our previous trip, we constantly scanned for tea bushes and eventually found a location with several. We stopped and found the farmer on-site.
 

This is friendly Mr Hercules Talen, the land owner of the site where we spotted some tea bushes.

Hercules let us pick as much as we needed and even helped us cut off some branches for us to pluck because the approaching heavy rain soon put an end to our harvest. After Dr Stephen introduced me, I was extremely surprised when he said that he knew of me (right out there in the wildeness). They spoke in Bidayuh and it was briefuly explained to me that Hercules recalls seeing my name at a printing press which he was working for at  Pending, Kuching - small world!

The tea bushes are remnants from the old Mayang Tea Plantation and have not been tended since the tea operation closed down over a decade ago. Tea bushes in production are regularly trimmed to height and to encourage flushes of new growth from which the typical two-leaves and a bud shoots are picked for tea making.
 


Dr Stephen and I beside one of the old Mayang tea bushes found on Hercules' land. From the height of the bush it can be seen that it has not been tended for tea production for some time. I am holding some branches cut for me by Hercules to pick shoots from as a storm was fast approaching. Plucking was curtailed by the storm before we could pick neither select shoots nor sufficient quantity of them.
 


After arrival back in Kuching: What we were able to harvest before the storm hit. Only a fraction of the crop were shoots with two leaves and a bud, and some leaves were too old.

 

The four principal steps in making black tea are: withering; rolling; oxidation; and drying.


The leaves after some 18 hours of withering at room temperature.
 


After withering, the leaves were hand rolled for some 30 minutes. The leaves can be seen to be crushed and moist with cell exudate. They were then left to oxidize at room temperature.
 



The batch after 18 h oxidation. The leaves are dark in color with orange bits and are still limp and moist although much drier than after rolling.
 


The batch after 2 h drying in the sun to stabilize the product. The tea is dry and crispy at this stage.

 


The batch after crushing into smaller pieces.

 

It is said that tea should be allowed to age after it is made. The color and flavor profile will change with time if properly stored against deterioration (moisture is the main threat). Thus, my test brew was only done one day after the tea was dried and crushed.



The test brew: Leaves steeped for 3 minutes in just boiled water.


 

Verdict:

  • The deep amber color is indicative of a the fact that rolling was more intense this second test production and perhaps also because the leaves were broken up after sun drying;

  • Taste-wise: Even though rolling was more intense and oxidation appeared to have proceeded further (darker colors resulted), there is still a distinct grassy scent and taste of green tea (different from a blended black breakfast tea); distinct fruit notes were present;

  • I did find that using less tea leaves and a lower brew temperature around 80 - 90C, and not drinking with the tea leaves (remove them after brewing time is up) reduced the grassy notes in the nose and palate.

For next time:

  • A third attempt will only be made if sufficient shoots with two-leaves and a bud can be picked.

  • It seems that even more hand rolling is indicated because this attempt still resulted in leaves which look fairly intact compared to others.

  • After oxidization, I would pick out the leaves which still look "greenish" (not obviously oxidized) in the hope that this will reduce the grassy note in the brew.

Tea can be highly varied depending on the entire process used. The variables include: variety of tea plant; age and type of shoots plucked; how the rolling is done and for how long; the degree and conditions of oxidation; and the drying. There is also the probability that terroir (influence of the soil and climate), makes for different teas e.g. highland versus low teas; Yunnan versus Assam versus Darjeeling teas. But, the ability to make your own teas and the variability imparted by the process make for fun in anticipating what kind of flavor results from one's own homemade tea.

 



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20 Aug 2022
 

 

 

 



Created by Clem Kuek