The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea
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| Yunnan Province-Home to King of Tea Trees The World's Oldest Tree |
| China's Yunnan province is primarily a mountainous region with twelve tea mountains calling it home, among them to the north of the Lancang (Mekong) River: You Le, Ge Deng, Yi Bang, Mang Zhi, and Man Zhuan, and to the south, Nan Nuo, Jing Mai, Meng Hai, Ba Da, and Meng Son. |
| Amid the mountains, growing within the lush for- ests are ancient tea trees reportedly 500 and 1,000 years old. There's even said to be one tree on Nan Nuo Mountain called "King of Tea Trees," over a hundred feet tall and reputedly 1,700 years old, making it the oldest plant on earth. Yunnan black teas are lush and assertive with a delicious combination of full body and maple sweetness, and even a hint of pepper that's even- ed out by plenty of sweet tips. Both the Keemun's chocolate flavors and Yunnan's sweet maple flavors are formed by the Maillard re- action, that occurs during firing. It's caused when amino acids and glucosides in the leaves combine to form compounds called pyrroles and pyrazines, both chemicals with sweet roasted flavors. |
Yunnan and Keemun leaves both have different levels of amino acids. Those in Yunnan leaves form pyrazines that have a flavor reminiscent of cooked maple syrup, while those in Keemun leaves have pyrroles, with the flavor of unsweetened cocoa but without the bitterness. Yunnan province is home to 260 of 320 subvarieties of tea known in China. Some of China's most flavorful teas come from the re- mote area including Yunnan Buds of Gold and Yunnan Golden Needles, the highest grades of Yunnan black tea with plenty of long tips that give them a creamy, sweet, and malty flavor. Like their Keemun cousins, Yunnan black teas contain plenty of sweet glucose laden buds. Starting off a light green, the buds turn gold during oxidation, the same process that turns the tea black. That's why many China black teas have the words gold or golden in their names, such as Yunnan Buds of Gold and Yunnan Golden Needles. Both teas are made from an indigenous variety of large, broad leaf tea bushes and trees known as dayeh. This large leaf variety of tea was discovered by British botanist and adventurer, Charles Bruce in the 1930's. Dayeh is classified as a sub-variety of Camellia sinensis var. assamica, with large leaves that are a golden reddish color both before and after brewing. Yunnan's black teas have only been in production since 1939, but today Yunnan province is China's largest black tea producer. As the crow flies China's Yunnan province is not far from the Assam region of India which touches on the Tibetan Himalayas as does Yunnan. Both regions also grow the same sub-species of tea, Camellia sinensis var. assamica, to make black tea. This is a perfect example of two regions growing the exact same plant, but with two very differ- ent tasting teas. That's due to many factors, not the least of which are the varied manufacturing techniques, but climate, soil condition, wind, rain, altitude-that and more combine as the terroir, determining what the final product will taste like. Moving from the northwestern corner of Yunnan province, to the hot and steamy southwestern corner where China's medicinal pu-erh teas are grown. The town of Puerh is a small market area located in central Yunnan. Oddly enough pu-erh teas aren't produced there, but in nearby Xishuangbanna. The town of Puerh was important, though, as it marked the beginning of the Tea Horse Route as a distribution and collection point of goods for those caravans travelling north and west. Xishuangbanna has a mild climate allowing for early spring tea harvests beginning in late February. In this more tropical area the dayeh tea bushes are actually tea trees that have been pro- ducing tea for hundreds of years, many of which have grown to heights of 20 to 30 feet tall. The exact manufacturing process of China's pu-erh teas has been kept se- cret for hundreds of years. With little knowledge of pu-erhs outside of Yunnan the tea was mainly collected by wealthy Hong Kong and Taiwanese businessmen. Today pu-erh tea is popular and in demand worldwide, from Japan and Southeast Asia, to Europe, especially France to Germany, and Eastern Europe, and America. Pu-erh is touted for its medicinal qualities, especially in regard to weight loss, known as the "slimming tea." |
| For more information or to learn more about tea, visit our other pages: When did tea first arrive in Japan? Learn about Japan's early tea history, and when and how tea and tea drinking first arrived. Also learn where the first tea gardens were planted, and which ancient gardens still exist. Which country's teas are known as "the cup that cheers," and why? Learn about the small island country with the world famous fragrant and brisk black teas called "the cup that cheers," and why they are considered to be so special. (For a special treat try Chocolate Orange Tea from Silver Leaf Tea-with chocolate chips, orange peels, and natural orange flavors-delicious! The secret of China's medicinal pu-erh teas. For centuries China has been making pu-erh teas using a secret manufacturing process. Learn what scientists have gleaned about this secret process, and how it works to produce these unique teas. Where in China do their chocolaty flavored black teas come from? Learn about China's Anhui province, its climate, terrain, special features, and which teas, including those with a naturally light and sweet chocolate flavor are produced. What type of tea is Golden Monkey and where is it made? Learn all about Golden Monkey tea, the type it is, what it tastes like, where it's made, and even how it got its name, along with availability in and outside the U.S., and online. What is CTC tea and why is it the main type of tea grown in the Nilgiri region of India? Find out what CTC tea is and why you've likely been drinking it for years. Also learn why Nilgiri tea growers are working hard to change that. Why are Darjeeling teas more expensive? India's Darjeeling tea growing region is one of the highest altitude growing regions in the world. Learn about this and other problems facing the growers and producers of this unique and complex region. (Love peaches? Try Peach Tea from Silver Leaf Tea-made from exotic India black tea, natural peach pieces, and peach flavor-good hot or cold-add some fresh peach for a delicious, healthy iced tea. |
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| Pu-erh is available as loose leaf or compressed bricks or cakes known as beeng cha or zhuang cha, or in other shapes such as pyramids, mushrooms, or inverted bowl shapes called tuo cha, and more. To learn more about pu-erh teas visit our sheng pu-erh and shou pu-erh pages, as well as China's puerh teas page. Enjoy. |
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