India's orthodox and CTC black teas-types, styles, how they're made

The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

India's Black Teas-Strong and Robust
Gets a Lesson in Mellow and Honeyed

When India won its independence from Britain in 1947 their annual tea production stood at
about 275,000 tons (28 million kg). Today, the amount of tea being grown has risen by approxi-
mately 40%, with tea production increasing by nearly 250%. That's phenomenal growth by any-
one's standards.

In 2007 India's government proposed a $48 billion
Special Purpose tea fund to replant tea fields with
bushes over forty years old and cut and prune old
tea bushes.

The hope is that with replanting and rejuvenation
both the quality and quantity of India's tea will
attract new buyers overseas.

Today India produces a mixture of both ctc and
orthodox black teas, and while some manufactur-
ers concentrate mainly on ctc production for tea
bags, others are working on producing new styles
of specialty orthodox teas to meet the ever grow-
ing demand by consumers for this type of tea.

The market for traditional specialty black teas,

green teas, white, and oolong teas has steadily grown with no signs of slowing down.

All three of India's major tea growing regions, Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri have worked steadi-
ly over the past few years to not only improve the quality of India's teas, but to come up with
new and innovative styles and types of orthodox specialty teas as well.

Over the last 30 to 40 years India tea growers and producers
have taken advantage of modernizations in production methods
and also tea delivery, with improvements in everything from vac-
uum fresh packaging, to timely air transport of teas.

One example of new innovations is found in production methods
for Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling tea was first produced in the 1830's
by the British. The British tea plantations that grew Darjeeling
tea marketed it as the "Champagne of Teas," even though it was far from it. In reality it was a
heavy, dark, and strong tea in dire need of a large dose of milk and sugar.

British rule ended in 1947, and their influence in India's tea production began little by little to
fade. By the late 1960's in search of a new audience for their tea, an Indian dealer and broker
put their heads together in an effort to make Darjeeling tea lighter and more mellow.

Their first step was to ask the pickers to pluck only the most flavorful part of the plant, snipping
the young leaf sets of two leaves and a bud (following China's oolong production methods).

Their second step was to expand the withering time, giving the leaf more time to build up the
enticing aromas, giving them a lighter, soft green color.

Next came withering. Because Darjeeling's climate is cold and damp, the leaves are withered in
heated troughs. By experimenting, the two found that if left in the troughs for a period of time
after the leaves became limp, strong aromas similar to those of oolongs began to develop as
well as other complex flavors. Known as a "hard wither" this method is still used today.

Hard withering works by deactivating a percentage of the enzymes that turns green leaves
brown. Hard withering affects different cultivars with different degrees of change. Many gar-
dens use a variety of different clones, which is why you'll find a mixture of both black and green
leaves in good quality Darjeelings.

Their next step was to carefully adjust the rolling process, ensuring the teas weren't over-
heated, loosing their flavors due to too much friction or pressure. Finally they monitored the oxi-
dation of the leaf, and cut the firing time significantly to enhance the improvements made to the
flavor, so as not to overpower it with a heavy roasted taste from firing for too long.

What they ended up with was a full range of aromatic, flavorful teas, from the bright, fresh, First
Flush Darjeelings to the more subdued Second Flush, to the mellow, yet assertive Autumnal
Flush.

Next comes Assam black teas with their swirling brown leaves, golden tips, and honeyed, malty,
yet assertive and brisk flavors. Assam is India's tea basket, and with its subtropical conditions
and excessive moisture, the tea plants heartily thrive.

Unlike Darjeelings hard withering, Assam leaves wither quickly, in just 18 hours or less. The
Assam tea makers also roll and oxidize the teas quickly. The end result is some of Assam's fin-
est orthodox black teas with sweet, malty, honeyed notes, yet brisk and assertive flavors.

India's third major tea growing region is Nilgiri which is a major producer of ctc teas, rather than
orthodox teas. Nilgiri means "blue mountain," and is part of the Western Ghats Mountain range
in southern India, one of the most beautiful, scenic regions in the country.

The British established the first tea plantations here in 1854, which grew to several
hundred by the time their reign ended in 1947. After their independence from Britain,
the Nilgiri region became a major ctc producer which they still maintain today.

That's not to say they lack quality. Nilgiri "frost tea," named for its production during
the cold winter months of December through February, grows more slowly in the cold.
This helps it develop more aromatic compounds which are more concentrated. This helps
to draw out the more fruity, floral, and spice notes, along with its characteristic brisk and
assertive flavors. Enjoy.

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