My PersonaliTea – Ottawa Valley
“It's not the destination, It's the journey.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sri Lanka is the 4th largest tea producing industry in the world. It accounts for 6.5% of the global tea production. They are a leading exporter with 17% of global exports. 190 000 hectares of land, cultivated with tea can be found in Sri Lanka. There are 7 major tea producing regions in Sri Lanka:
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Japan is made up of 3000 islands. Japan is along the Pacific coast of Asia, called the archipelago, from north to south. Some of the islands include Hokkaido Honshu, the main island, Shikoku and Kyushu, Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa. The steep elevations in Japan create a risk of landslides from earthquakes and soft ground. Consequently, 70% – 80% of the country is not suited for agriculture, industry or residence. The temperature and climate varies north to south. There is now in the north and it is quite tropical in the south. The land that is designated for tea production is used wisely and efficiently due to space constraints, climate conditions and harvesting methods.
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The tea plantations in China are different from the British model. Today’s tea gardens are expansions of early tea gardens planted in the Tang and Ming Dynasties. They area loosely connected network of isolated gardens consisting of state owned and independent, privately owned collectives. The independent privately owned cooperative share local resources for labour, harvesting, processing, and distribution.
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Chaga has been referred to as the “gift of nature”, the “diamond of the forest”, “the king of herbs” all due to its high nutritional content and healing properties. The native tribe Ainu of Asia have been using Chaga for generations. Some records suggest this tribe has been using Chaga for at least 600 years for its antioxidant properties. Nowadays Chaga is used as a tea of tincture, a medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol.
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It seems that only 15% of the tea consumed in the US is hot. It appears that iced tea mixes and pre-made beverages make up the remaining 85% of tea consumed. Interesting!
Turkey was the largest tea consuming country in the world in 2016 and they are 4 times smaller than the USA. Each person in Turkey consumes approximately 7 pounds of tea a day. Approximately, 2-3g of loose leaf tea us used to make one 8oz cup of tea. So, 1 pound of tea makes approximately 200 cups of tea.
Part of the Tea 101 course with the Academy of Tea, Canada, was the tea tasting portion. It’s hard to describe the flavour and aroma of a tea with a vocabulary. All teas taste the same, almost, unless they are very distinct. But even then, the words aren’t always there to describe the taste. This tea tasting wheel was mentioned during the course and it’s great. It gives a words to all those flavours your’re tasting and if not, then at least it gets you thinking along the lines of the flavours you’re tasting. Sweet just is sweet until you are reminded of the flavour of candy, burnt sugar, molasses, caramel, malty candies and more. Now you start thinking about caramelized sugars, and onions and more. You’d never think of smokey as a taste until it’s brought to your attention then you think of bbq’s, the ashy taste you get from a burnt bbq’d marshmallow. This wheel is great a tool when starting out on tea tasting.
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