2007年10月7日 星期日

environment & classify



Tea is one of the favorite beverages in the world. And today I’ll introduce it from what kind of environment is proper to its grownth, how to make it, its history in the world and in Taiwan, the benefits to our health, and to its developing in the future .

The tea trees are evergreen plant and grow in tropical to sub-tropical climates( moist and foggy environment, the areas must drain well ), the soil is sanded and fine acidic and the altitude is about 600~2000m. Many high quality tea plants grow at elevations up to 1500 m, as the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavor. Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes, and a plant will grow a new flush every seven to ten days during the growing season. Tea plants will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant and the large-leaved Assam plant.


http://www.tea-party.com.tw/page02.asp?KindID1=477
http://myweb.hinet.net/home6/taishuanhe/new_page_33.htm
The types of tea are distinguished by the processing they undergo(fermentation). Leaves soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried quickly after picking.

The fermentation can be separated into 3 parts: full-fermentation, semi-fermentation, and none- fermentation. The full-fermentation means the tea leaves are oxidizied completely and usually called black tea. The semi-fermentation are contains oolong, pu-erh, blue tea etc. . And none- fermentation is green tea.
http://www.pcchkt.com/ch04.htm


And we also classify teas by the seasons: the spring tea is plucked in spring, the summer tea is plucked in summer…Those teas’ quality vary from the water content or the length of cultivating period.Ordinary people prefer the spring tea and then this kind of tea is much more expensive. But it does not mean that the spring tea is the best . Take summer tea for example, it is commonly made for oolong and black tea.

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