World of Tea 2005
Story & Photos by David Decandia

Monsoons, political unrest, medical journal reports—it sounds like another segment of the evening news. But for a dedicated tea buyer, these and other bits of seemingly random information are key elements in a complex puzzle. When all the pieces are assembled, the result is a coherent picture of the world—the world of tea, that is.
   With tea consumption on the rise in the United States, the year ahead looks to be a good one for the tea industry. For some teas in particular, 2005 may be a great one. But selecting the right brew for your next sit-down ain’t no cup of tea. So for those considering adding tea items to their menus and/or businesses, the following is useful information on where certain teas come from, what to look for when buying a particular tea, and how it got from the fields to your fresh—or possibly, not so fresh—cup.

Teas Found ‘Round the World
Slowly but surely, consumers and the beverage industry in America are turning to tea. This is partly due to recent health studies stating the benefits of tea, specifically green teas. There are a variety of green teas including the jasmine pearl, genmaicha, lung ching, gunpowder and fragrant night jasmine.
   The green teas from China and Japan possess a higher consistency in quality year after year so they come with a higher price point. I’ve had great success with the lung ching tea produced mainly in the Xhejiang Province of the People’s Republic of China. Among the teas produced in this province, near West Lake in the middle of Hang Zhou City, the lung ching is regarded as the highest grade of tea. Most green teas produced in China are rolled and twisted, but many types of lung ching are not.
   The plucking begins around the end of April (most likely for Japanese teas) by hand or by machine. The picked leaves are then brought to the factory and moved to the steaming machine. As soon as the leaves are steamed, they are moved to the cooling machine and then rolled and dried. Please note that leaves are twisted to adjust the water content. The tea leaves are strongly pressed on a round pan during the pan firing process so the shape of the lung ching will be flat. This particular process determines the shape of the leaves where they are then styled and dried again.
   Known for its unique shape, the highest quality lung ching is produced during the first harvest season in March and April. Medium and low grades are plucked after second flush which occurs from July through September. The result is a very delicate tea with a slight vegetable flavor and medium body. I have found that this tea blends well with handle flavoring.
   By far, the jasmine pearl is what most tea drinkers find interesting and enjoyable. Known for its distinct flavor and aroma, the tea is produced by adding petals from the jasmine flower to several thousand pounds of green tea. Due to this complicated and careful process, the tea absorbs much more flavor than other jasmine teas (to put it in perspective, I buy 22 pounds per batch). Since the early 1990s, Guang Xi Province has been the major production area of the jasmine flowers and tea leaves used in jasmine tea. Farmers have noticed over time that the tea leaf first flush buds are picked around June to July, the optimum plucking time.
   The market price of low grade crude tea from Japan and China has increased by 20.3 percent this year due to strong demand from Japan’s ready-to-drink (RTD) industry. There has also been a serious drought in eastern and southern China, so the production of summer teas (second or third flush) in this area decreased significantly, while the prices have greatly increased due to limited supplies.
   In India, teas have been inconsistent for the past year. In most cases, these teas may require the art of blending various estate teas together to increase the estate’s supply. But the average consumer in the United States is now beginning to discover the unique flavors and aromas that Indian teas provide, in particular tea from the Darjeeling region. I often find that most people need to understand what a good Darjeeling tea is in order to appreciate it. The perfect cup of Darjeeling will have a delicate astringency and floral notes. An excellent Darjeeling will come through nicely in a blend such as an English Breakfast.
   This year, the second flush in the Darjeeling and Assam areas has been very short due to the early arrival of the monsoon in northern India. If the monsoon season arrives too early, it can disrupt the normal plucking season and cause shortages of many teas. There are some good teas available, especially in Darjeeling, that are produced during the end of May and early June. Unfortunately, Assam did not produce high-end teas this year, but there were good ranges of medium to high-medium teas produced in the second half of May. As a result, it was not a good year for top qualities in these two regions. But prices remained somewhat consistent compared to last year, due to the availability of large quantity, if medium quality. Having visited both Darjeeling and Assam I can truly appreciate the passion and attention to detail invested in these teas. The versatility of these teas goes a long way and has helped in creating some of the best blends.

Quality Treatment Means Quality Teas
Of all the various tea origins around the world I’ve visited, Sri Lanka is where my strongest passion for tea lies. The tea-producing process is not an easy one and the people that make these fine teas are of great importance to me. If they are cared for and treated properly, the end result is quality tea.
   My first journey to Sri Lanka was in September 2002. I visited the Bogawantalawa Estates. Since then, I’ve worked closely with the estate to develop some fantastic Ceylon and English Breakfast teas—and nurture a great relationship with the workers. The Bogawantalawa Estates are situated in the Dimbulla region of Sri Lanka. They were founded in 1869 and were the home of the brave Scotsman Fred Hadden and his family. The estates get their name from the Bogawantalawa Valley, known as the “valley of the gods,” a breathtaking and spectacular location in the central part of the Sri Lankan highlands. Nestled between a rainforest and a national park called Horton Plains, the microclimate offers the best conditions for growing premium teas. The crisp cold temperatures (dipping to 30° Fahrenheit), consistent island wind patterns, tropical rains, elevations up to 6000 feet and incredibly healthy soil are the unique components in making Bogawantalawa’s world-renowned teas.
   The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf® has been working with Walter’s Bay, Bogawantalawa Estates to develop a well-being program for the workers. Already, the estate boasts housing for the majority of its 16,500 workers, 11 factories, 10 schools, 27 day care centers, six hospitals and two maternity clinics. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® donation, coupled with a donation from the estate, will help build the first community center, which will serve the estate’s senior citizens and children. The center will provide education facilities, a library and facilities for concerts and other recreational activities. I encourage tea buyers to get involved with the estates they work with to create a long term relationship which in turn produces great tea.
   Additional formidable tea producing estates in Sri Lanka include Norwood and Lionorn Garden, where workers hand-pluck leaves during certain morning hours. This process is exclusive to The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® and we have spent over three years developing this special tea on an area exclusive to the company. But it shows what can be done to add value to the basic product, and improve the economic outlook for entire estates.
   Field specific tea is another example. It is a relatively new concept that is designed to capture—and bank upon—the estate quality of a tea. Simply put, the taste of a given tea can be defined by a specific field of the estate. This is not news to tea tasters, who are accustomed to differences. Traditionally, teas from different fields are blended to achieve an estate profile. But in today’s gourmet market, each field can become virtually a distinct appellation. Walter’s Bay, Bogawantalawa offers an amazing tea from a single field (Imperial Grade Section 17) plucked at a particular time of day. Fast shipping processes now make this tea available to customers worldwide within days of plucking.
   If that’s not good enough, buyers wanting a first-hand Bogawantalawa experience are in luck. The Walter’s Bay Bogawantalawa overseas operation office invites buyers to each of its estates, so they can select the gardens and types of tea they are buying on the actual site.

Tea Buyer Tips
The sale of specialty tea represents a growing segment of the tea market. As a result, companies are aggressively promoting various claims about tea to consumers. Many of these can be inaccurate. Health claims are especially prone to exaggeration. Many companies may tout the health benefits of green tea, for example, and buyers will buy the product for just that particular reason, without knowing the actual quality grade of the product. Specialty tea buyers, retail or wholesale, should be educated about both the product and the suppliers who can offer a consistent superior tea.
   Tea buyers can assure their customers of quality products by identifying the required tea and knowing the claims of the origin, region and grade. Buyers can also identify a quality product by knowing that their supplier treats their workers in an ethical and proper manner. In this fiercely competitive industry, many suppliers drive prices down by simply bidding lower prices over a period of time via tea auctions or tea brokers.
   But buyers can avoid using brokers and auctions as a means of purchasing. I’ve noticed when large buyers use their volume as a bargaining tool to drive down the auction prices (also known as power buying) in most cases it is the individual tea estate that pays the penalty. This has a direct impact on the well-being of the estate workers, as the estates themselves do not have the financial capability to upgrade the necessary infrastructure to support the workers. On the customer’s end, power buying also introduces substantial quality problems related to flavor profiles and grade consistencies, thus lowering tea prices. As a result, the lowering of tea prices can directly impact the well-being of estate workers, thus lowering the quality of tea and of life.
   In my years of experience working with both coffee and tea at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®, tea may be the only beverage that uses all of the senses: sight of the leaf, smell and taste of the liquor, touch of the dry leaf, and the sound of the tea kettle whistle. All these factors can be affected by the origin from which the tea came and the people who plucked it. I believe the most important aspects to maintaining the continued growth of the tea trade are the high quality of people, passion and product. I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by all three and look forward to producing one amazing cup of tea after another for my honored clients.

   David DeCandia is tea buyer for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®. He can be reached at DDeCandia@CoffeeBean.com. Mr. DeCandia has asked that the fee for this article be donated to the Lupus Foundation on behalf of Gloriana DeCandia and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®.