Tea is a natural beverage brewed from the leaves of an evergreen plant called Camellia sinensis. While it has become common place for people to refer to any hot beverage that is brewed from naturally occuring plants or plant extracts as “tea” technically, those herbal hot beverages should be called “teassanes”, as the word “tea” is reserved for beverages brewed from leaves of Camellia sinensis.

Versatile Plant

The camelia sinensis is a very versatile plant that can grow under almost any conditions. Thus, tea is grown around the world from the Indian Sub-continent in India, Nepal, and SriLanka, to China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, to the African subcontinent in Kenya, to Latin America in Argentina. As can be imagined, the quality of tea varies dramatically from region to region, with most of the variations originating in the variation in the climactic conditions of the regions where the tea is grown and not from the differences in the tea bush itself.

Highlands Offer Superior Teas

The largest difference in flavor of teas comes from the altitude at which the tea is grown and the type of soil the bush is grown in. High growth teas tend to be far superior to the lower growth regions with respect to the subtelities of flavor, color and fragrance. This is because high altitude tea gardens often provide cool temperatures and higher rainfall, resulting in the slower growth of the bush. Often, the number of bushes that can be planted along the slopes is also limited (compared to on flat ground) resulting in less competition for resources. As a result, the high altitude gardens often produce a more flavorful tea although the yields of these gardens are often lower than the lower altitude gardens. Shade grown tea are also more flavorful than the teas grown in full sun, for much the same reason why high altitude teas are more flavorful than low altitude teas.

The Pluck, The Flush

The flavor of the teas is also dependent upon the kind of leaves that have been plucked. The younger the leaf, the more flavorful the tea. A fine pluck often means that only the buds of the new growth have been plucked, where a coarse pluck means that more coarse, older leaves were plucked. A normal pluck is when the traditional, two leaves and a bud are plucked. Newer varieties of teas such as White teas often include fine pluck of just the newest buds, and often tend to produce lighter color teas which are quite flavorful.

First Flush Teas

A term that is commonly heard in the Indian tea industry is the “flush” of tea. Often in northern tea growing regions of India where the tea growing period is much shorter, the tea bush produces the flush of buds. In some regions such as Darjeeling, often the first flush of growth after winter is more subtle and delicate in its flavor. Since the first flush is the first tea of the year and produced in very small quantities, the tea tends to be quite expensive and rare. The first flush does not stay good for very long, and should be consumed within 8-12 months, beyond which the flavors of the tea are lost in storage.

Second Flush and Autumnal Teas

While first flush teas are undoubtedly great teas, the later flushes are not necessarily inferior teas. Infact, the later flushes often tend to carry more body and color and are often as exceptional if not better, as the first flush teas. And, in the plains where it gets exceedingly hot in May, June, the bushes produce the best and most fragrant growth after the July/August rains have cooled the tempertures down a bit. As a result, Autumnal teas tend to be outstanding in the lower altitude regions such as Assam. It is up to the individual buyer to decide which type of tea they prefer. Some prefer exceptionally light, delicate teas, while others prefer their teas to have more body and color. What ever your choice, we can fulfill your needs by identifying the teas you might like the best. If available, we might even offer you a sample before you make a purchase. So, if in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask for a tasters sample!

Types of Tea

Once the tea leaf is plucked, it is processed in the factory to bring out the flavors in it. There are essentially two types of teas: Orthodox, and CTC. The Orthodox tea is the whole leaf tea that is generally popular in the west, but in India, CTC tea is wildly popular for the type of tea they make there, called Chai, involving boiling the tea over and over to extract the most out of it. The teas sold by Jaya are predominantly Orthodox teas, but we are planning to carry some outstanding varieties of CTC teas in near future. Within Orthodox tea, depending on the degreee of fermentation, the processed tea is called White (steamed), Green (least fermented), Oolong (semi-fermented) and Black (fully fermented).

White tea

Recently popular, white tea is produced when two leaves and a bud are picked just before sunrise to preserve the moisture in the leaf. White tea are from two varieties of the Chinese tea bush-the Shui Hsien and the Dai Bai. This tea is characterized by a delicate flavor with very little color, however it is highly priced because a days picking produces only about 1 - 2 kgs. Although it is called white tea, the tea does have some light green color charactersitic of the newest buds originating on the bush. The buds are steamed to destroy the enzymes that would otherwise destroy the tea and dried either in the dryer or in the sun.

Green tea

Green tea is produced by steaming the leaves to destroy the enzymes that might otherwise ferment the leaves. The leaves are then rolled either by hand or by mechanical rollers, to bring out the juices in the leaves that are responsible for its flavor. The rolled leaves are then fired to dry them. The entire process of rolling and firing is repeated several times until the leaves are completely dry. The process of producing green tea is very exacting because variation in the drying time can result in fermentation of the leaves which spoils its flavor. Green tea is mainly produced in Japan and China, allthough increasingly, the Indian estates are producing high quality green tea to supply to the increasing connoisuer demand in Japan and other markets.

Oolong Teas

Oolong teas are semi fermented teas that are partially fermented before drying to preserve the natural flavors. Legend has it that a tea farmer, while producing the tea, was scared away by a black snake. When he returned he found that the tea had been fermented to a red color and produced a most delightful flavor.
Oolong teas were first produced about 400 years ago in the Fujian Province at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, Oolongs have been produced in many other parts of China and other parts of the world. Today, the most popular Oolongs are produced in the island of Taiwan or Formosa, however, more recently, delightful Oolongs produced in the Indian estates of Darjeeling region are gaining rapid market acceptance due to their delicate character.

The process of producing Oolongs begins with picking of the two leaves and a bud, generally early in the morning. The leaves are then partially dried indoors to promote fermentation. When the leaves start turning red - at a stage, when 30% of the leaves are red, and the rest 70% are green, the leaves are rubbed repeatedly by hand or mechanically to generate flavor and aroma, and finally dried over charcoal. The final stage in production of Oolong teas is blending the teas to produce the characteristic flavor of the garden or the brand.

Black Tea

Arguably, the most widely consumed beverage, black tea is a close cousin to the Oolong in that if the tea is fermented long enough, the leaves turn black, hence the term “black tea”. Although Black teas could be produced in China, Chinese producers have focussed entirely on production of Oolongs to satisfy the great demand from the local market. On the other hand, the Indian, Russian, and Middle Eastern markets demand black teas, and in response to this demand, the Indian, Sri Lankan and African producers have focussed mostly on producing black tea.

There are two types of black teas: Orthodox teas and CTC teas. Most teas we find in the west tend to be Orthodox teas. Orthodox teas have the appearance of a leaf either whole or broken and are distinctly different from CTC teas which tend to be in the form of round globules. Like the other teas, the process of producing orthodox black tea begins with picking of the top three leaf and a bud. The leaf is then brought to the factory where it is dried on ventilated trays until the teas loose some moisture and become limp. These limp leaves are then gently rolled under mechanical rollers to break them and bring out their juices and oils (good black tea feels quite oily to touch).

The exact time of rolling is determined by the size of the leaf, with smaller leaf being rolled for shorter period than larger leaf. Rolling induces fermentation of the leaf, and when the leaf is judged to be appropriately fermented, the process is slowed by allowing the leaves to cool off on ventilated trays for 3 to 4 hours. Finally, the fermentation process is stopped by drying the teas under hot blowers, at which point the tea leaves turn from reddish hue to black. The teas are then passed through various sieves to grade them. Tea production process is a fascinating one, and the aroma in the tea factory is undoubtedly heavenly! If you ever have an opportunity to witness tea production, I would highly recommend it to you. Nothing can capture the aroma of fresh leaves being fermented in large trays!

Production of CTC teas: CTC is an acronym for crush, tear and curl. CTC teas are highly popular on the Indian subcontinent for they produce the strongest brew that is consumed with tea in the traditional Indian method of brewing tea. In the CTC production process, the tea is passed through mechanical rollers that crush and tear the leaves and finally roll them into little balls. The cell sap collected in the process is added back to the teas to give them additional flavor. While CTC teas have not yet gained acceptance in the West, this is more due to lack of knowledge than any thing else. The fact is, if you are really interested in Chai, the traditional Indian tea, Orthodox tea just doesn’t do it; you need CTC tea to brew Chai.

Manufacturing Process

The black tea manufacturing process is quite an involved one, buy first, the tea has to be plucked. While in the industrialized country like Japan this activity is performed using a mechanical harvester, in India this is mostly done by hand. It is usually the ladies who are considered the better pickers. They tend to be vey deft at picking only the two leaves and a bud, and leave the more coarser leaf alone.

Once the leaf basket if full, the picker brings it to the central station where the basket is weighed and passed on to the factory floor. On the factory floor, the tea undergoes a withering process designed to remove as much moisture as possible from the tea, to prepare it for oxidation and drying. Usually, the tea leaves are spread out on a large tray of wire mesh, and hot air blowers are used to heat the leaf and drive the mositure out. At higher elevations, it is not unusual for the withering process to require 12-24 hours.

At this point, the leaf has become limp and turned into a darker shade of green. The next step in the process is Rolling wherein the leaf is put into roller machines which twist and turn the leaf and break it, giving it the wirey shape characteristic of Darjeeling orthodox leaf. This process of rolling releases the enzymes from the leaf as the leaf breaks, exposing the juices to natural process of oxidation.

In the next stage, the Oxidation stage, the leaf is allowed to oxidise by exposing it to air in large trays. As the leaf oxidizes, it generates heat, and slowly changes in color from green to red to brown to eventually black. Proper oxidation of the leaf is critical in the final flavor and color produced in the leaf. If the leaf is oxidised at too high a temperature, it would spoil the tea, and if it is oxidized at too low a temperature, the tea produced would be flavorless.

Finally, the tea is ready for drying. Once again, the leaf is exposed to hot air from air blowers, which drive the remaining moisture out of the leaf.

Once the leaf is dry, the tea is marked and tasted by an expert taster who describes the tea and issues the certificate of release. Often times, a blender blends various batches of tea to produce a characteristic flavor, however, most blending work is not done at the tea garden level. Rather, this happens at the blender and packers warehouse.

This is where the manufacturing process generally ends, and the tea arrives into the market place.

Single Estate Teas

The most common question I get asked all the time is, what is single estate tea? Well, one way to think of it is, what is the difference between a Rolls Royce and a Ford Escort? One is a handcrafted original that has no duplicate, while the other is devoid of any distinction what so ever!

Common Man’s Beverage

You have undoubtedly heard that tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, most consumed after water. Most people, who drink tea, prefer to go with a certain brand because of familiarity of taste, aroma, liquor etc. In order to maintain that kind of consistency, tea companies tend to blend teas from various sources until they arrive at their brand’s trademark features. This consistency appeals to the masses, and allows manufacturers to produce the teas in thousands of kilograms for mass consumption. That is why the grocery store tea of a particular brand tastes the same from one bag to another, whether you buy it in California or in New Jersey.

So what is wrong with this? Plenty. For one, in the process of developing a taste that will suite the masses, manufacturers essentially kill all the distinctive qualities of the tea and come up with a blend that will be widely acceptable. Another, because such tea is has to be cheaply priced and produced in vast quantities, inferior tea, mostly left-over from the tea manufacturing process, forms the bulk of the tea, to which a token quantity of good quality tea is added to provide the fragrance, the color etc. In other words, the commoditized tea bag available is on the grocery store shelf is a mishmash of poor quality tea that is then marketed at the lowest price possible for a mass appeal.

Single Estate Teas on the other hand, are unadulterated, original high grade teas that originate from a particular estate, and carry the distinctive marks of the Estate, its elevation, its rainfall, its fertilization practices, its picking practices, the age of the tea bush, the grading by tea masters etc etc. In short, a Single Estate Tea is a Rolls Royce in the world of Ford Escorts - a hand crafted original, that can be cherished and enjoyed for its own marks of distinction.

Most connoisseurs of tea despise this mass commoditization of such a wonderful beverage. While most people continue to enjoy the mass commodity tea bags available in the grocery store for pennies, an individual who has tasted the distinctive aroma, the characteristic taste of a single estate tea will not go back to the grocery store tea bag! I have talked to many tea drinkers who swear that they would rather not drink tea than to drink the grocery store tea bag!!

Price is relative

Despite the fact that single estate teas are produced in very small quantities, the great thing about these teas is that unlike a great bottle of wine which will often cost an arm and a leg, most single estate teas are very much within the reach of most people. For the price of a good bottle of wine that would be consumed in one sitting at the dinner table, a tea connoisseur can enjoy outstanding tea every day, three or four times a day, for a month or more! Granted there are certain types of teas that are extremely expensive (last year, the highest bid for a Darjeeling tea came at $4000 per kg!!), such teas are indeed a rarity. Even today, most single estate teas are within the buying power of an average consumer. So don’t be deterred by price. For most of us, a month long enjoyment of outstanding tea won’t cost more than one person’s cost of a night out in a decent restaurant.

Which Tea Will I like?

The second most common question I get is “I don’t know which tea I will like, so what should I buy”. There is no simple answer to this question, but the best answer I can give is, each tea has its own individual characteristic which you will come to appreciate the more you learn about it.

If you are buying from a reputable vendor, you will be drinking outstanding tea which will satisfy you in one-way or the other. When you buy a tea, try to learn as much about the tea as you can. Find out about the estate, its elevation, which tea producing region it comes from, how much quantity was produced, what is the history of the estate, who the current owners are, who the previous owners were etc etc. Drinking single estate teas is like setting off on a journey to enchanting lands about which you would otherwise never think. Once you have tried several estate teas and learned more about them, you will start identifying the distinctive qualities you particularly enjoy. Learning to appreciate Single Estate Teas is more about being aware of the beverage itself. The more you find out about the tea, the more you will come to enjoy it.

Drinking single estate tea is like starting a romance that will continue to intensify cup after cup. How about starting one today? If you would like to learn more about why you should choose Single Estate Teas from Jaya Teas, please click here.

Indian Teas

Tea is a highly adaptable plant, a result of which is that tea is grown around the world. However, among the tea producing nations of the world India stands head and shoulders above any other. The total volume of tea produced in worldwide in recent years has surpassed 3 billion kgs, with India producing over 826 million kgs. Indian tea thus has over a quarter of the world market with a market share of about 28%. Isn’t is strange then, that we don’t get to hear much about the fine Indian teas?

Most people have heard of a few “big name” gardens from Darjeeling and another few from Assam, but there are many many small Indian gardens that are family owned and produce outstanding teas, but are competely unheard of outside of India. The main reason for this is the fact that India’s domestic market, with its huge appetitie for tea (Indians drink tea like there were no tomorrow!) consumes much of the high quality Indian tea. To satisfy the domestic demand, the Indian producers produce large quantities of CTC teas, the kind that are popular in Indian market. Only about 11-13% of the teas produced are of the Orthodox variety, the kind of tea Westerners like to drink. It is therefore easy to understand why much of finest Indian tea never makes it out of India. Still, in 1998, India exported about 210 million kgs of tea, making it the second largest tea exporter in the world. Recently, due to heavy demand from the export customers, Indian tea Industry has started producing more Organic Teas. If you want to know more about the different kinds of teas, click here.

There are four main tea producing regions in India: the Darjeeling & Terai region, The Assam region, The Himachal Pradesh region all of which are in North India, and The Nilgiri tea producing region which is in the southern part of India. A whopping 1.1 million acres of land is under tea cultivation, employing about 1 million people. The Northern Indian tea estates produce about 75-80% of the tea produced in India, while the southern states account for 20-25% of the tea. Although the southern estates produce smaller quantities of the total production, they account for more than half of the total Indian tea exports in volume!

Estates of Darjeeling

Darjeeling Tea is grown and produced only in the hilly areas of Darjeeling district in North East India. By the laws of the Tea Board of India, only 77 Tea Estates have been granted the right to use the distinctive logo of Darjeeling Tea, and only these teas can be called Darjeeling Teas. The Annual production of Darjeeling Tea is approximately 10 Million Kg, which is miniscule compared to the total tea production in Indian estates. The Darjeeling tea, recognized world over as the most flavorful tea, is famous for muscatel flavor, which results from the unique microclimate of the region - mist covered mountains, and low temperatures through out the year. Research indicates that this distinctive flavor of Darjeeling is due to the VFC (volatile flavory consituents) being present in about 3 times the quanities present in other teas.

Here is a list of the gardens of Darjeeling:

Health Benefits of Tea

Contrary to the concerns of health associated with Coffee, it has been scientifically established that tea offers several health benefits to the consumer. Most of the health benefits of the tea are associated with the antioxidant properties of polyphenols called “flavanoids”. While much of the research on flavanoids has been done with Green Tea, Black tea too contains about the same amount of flavanoids as Green Tea. The major difference between Green Tea and Black tea is the fact that Green Tea has more simple flavanoids called cathechins as compared to Black Tea, which contains more complex flavanoids called theaflavins and thearubigins.

Antioxidative properties of tea

The harmful effects of free radicals are quite well known. Free radicals, or unstable molecules of nitric oxide and oxygen are produced during the normal operation of cellular processes. These free radicals, unless removed, can cause immense damage to the DNA and other units of the cell. Under normal circumstances, the body is equipped to eliminate the free radicals by itself mainly through the presence of an enzyme called Super Oxide Dismutase. However, when exposed to harmful conditions such as exessive UV exposure, exposure to smoke, or pollution, the number of free radicals produced increases dramatically, which can be harmful to the body.

Three Cups A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

Antioxidants, such as the flavanoids found in the tea, are known to scavenge the free radicals, metabolize lipid peroxides, and precipitate metal ions, there by preventing further damage to the critical cellular processes. Fruits and vegetables are a natural source of many antioxidants but tea is not too far behind. In a UK study it was found that 3 cups of tea contains the same amount of antioxidants as six apples! While studies are still underway, there is plenty of invitro and animal studies evidence of the properties of flavanoids.

In the labs, flavanoids have been shown to inhibit oxidation of LDL, prevention of platelet aggregation, improvement in blood vessel function, and have demonstrated antiinflammatory action. Evidence is accumulating on the properties of flavanoids in tea that may well protect against cancers, cardiovascular disease, skin disease & UV induced DNA damage

In Summary

In summary, Tea is a very potent source of antioxidative flavanoids such as Cathecins, Theaflavin, and Thearubin. Flavanoids have been demonstrated to have various health associated properties, in lab experiments and in some human experiments. Both Green and Black teas contain about the same amounts of these poly phenols, so you can get the same health benefits from either type of tea. If you would like a more detailed analysis of the data published so far in the literature, write to us and we would be happy to mail you a white paper on the health aspects of tea.

Quality: The Jaya Difference

With increasing popularity of single estate teas, people tend to blindly depend upon the name of the estate as a mark of quality. However, even if the tea is from the same estate, it might actually be a blend of superior high grown and inferior low growth teas. So how is the customer to make out good tea from bad? Thats where we come in.

At Jaya Teas, ours is a family business steeped in tea. Both my family members, and family members on my husbands side are involved in Tea business. Before purchasing the teas, our teas are selected by Mr. R. K. Pareek, Mr. Sunil Pareek, Mr. Sandeep Tiwari and Mr. Prateek Duggar, who between the four of them have a collective experience of over 50 years in the Indian Tea Industry. This is why we offer you a money back guarantee on purchase of any teas from us. If you don’t like the tea you bought, simply return the caddy within 10 days and we will refund your money, no questions asked.

Where Has The Tea Been?

A major reason to consider a good vendor before buying tea is that depending on where they get their teas from, even the freshest teas offered by them might already be stale. To the folks in the industry it is no secret that much of the tea entering United States comes through many other countries including Germany, or UK. While this is great business for the German and English brokers, its not necessarily good for you the consumer, because this tea would have spent an awfully long time in shipping and warehouses before reaching your home. Our teas are sourced directly from India without any third pary involvement, which allows us to cut back on the amount of time the tea spends in warehouse and in shipping.

Transportation Matters

This is particularly important in case of delicate first and second flush teas. The first flush tea is a very delicate tea that is quite sensitive to temperature variations. A key aspect that impacts the quality of first flush is the transit and storage temperatures. It is important for the US consumer to note that your tea has to be transported across thousands of miles before it makes it to your kitchen. First flush transported in sea shipping vessels tends to be exposed to high degree of temperature fluctuations which destroys its delicate flavor. The best first flush teas, such as the ones sourced by us, are stored for very little time in the warehouses in India, and transported here by air, to preserve their freshness. So the teas you buy from us are the freshest of fresh teas, and we guarantee their freshness. If you are not satisfied with the freshness of the tea, simply return the tea within ten days of purchase, and we will refund your money, no questions asked.