Cozy and warm, the coffeehouse looked like the perfect refuge on a cold, winter afternoon. I was looking forward to burying my nose in a soothing cup of tea—a Darjeeling, perhaps, or a perfumed Earl Grey—so imagine my disappointment when mug and pot came accompanied by a lone tea bag of punch-you-awake Irish Breakfast. My dreams of comfort in a cup evaporated, and that coffeehouse quickly went off of my list of places to patronize.
I have always been particular about drinking the right tea at the right time of day, but before you dismiss me as a difficult client, know that I am not alone. “I get calls every week from coffee people who want to move into tea, and they get customers who are always looking for something that corresponds to coffee-drinking habits through the day,” says Bruce Richardson of Elmwood Fine Teas (and frequent contributor to Fresh Cup).
There is, of course, a perfectly obvious reason why some teas are better suited to morning and others to afternoon: caffeine. Although all teas come from the Camellia sinensis plant, a number of factors, such as growing conditions, plant cultivars, age of leaves, methods of cultivation and the way the leaves meet water, all contribute to the caffeine content of the end brew. A Unilever research team from Bedford, England, found that a tea made with plenty of leaves steeped in hot water for five minutes has more caffeine than fewer leaves steeped in relatively cooler water for a shorter period. This means that, on average, less caffeine seeps into green tea brews, which usually call for fewer leaves and cooler water than black tea.
Data released by the Linus Pauling Institute in Corvallis, Ore., shows that an eight-ounce cup of green tea usually contains nine to 50 milligrams of caffeine, while black tea has 42 to 72 milligrams, and coffee has 72 to 130 milligrams.
Oolong, green or white teas also tend to have a subtler flavor and lighter body than black tea. Broadly speaking, this means a cup of black Kenya tea makes a better wake-up call than the pale white Pai Mu Dan. That said, strength of flavor and caffeine content don’t always match. The Unilever study, for example, showed that some brands of delicate, aromatic Darjeeling had marginally more caffeine than full-bodied Assam.
So how do you make sure your tea selection meets your customers’ needs in the evening as well as the morning? While there are no hard and fast rules, experts agree that a balanced list should feature teas of different strengths and flavors.
7:30 A.M.
A good tea to build your range from is a mighty Assam, which is the breakfast tea par excellence. “Often, I suggest to coffee people to have a strong tea like this to offer their coffee drinkers,” says Richardson.
And indeed Assam teas have a rich, malty taste that works wonders as an eye-opener. Their full-bodied brew is as strong, sleek and smooth as the tigers that inhabit that lush region of northeast India. Assams usually are sold in broken leaves, fannings or dust, which reinforces their vigor, and easily accommodate a drop of milk.
The strongest China blacks also give a good morning kick. Richardson particularly likes Yunnan for its earthy flavor. Called the Mocha of Tea, it has a robust, malty taste that lingers long in the mouth and is closer to Assam than to a typical China black. Leaves have plenty of golden tips and give a round, well-balanced brew that can afford a touch of milk. “Yunnans have a slight earthiness which people find comforting,” says Richardson. “I use [them] in our own Kentucky breakfast blend because I grew up in Kentucky, and their earthiness reminds me of walking through a plowed field in the morning.”
Assam and Yunnans work equally well in breakfast blends. These quintessential morning teas usually bring together broken Ceylon and Assam leaves, occasionally complemented by a touch of Darjeeling, Yunnan or Keemun. The sturdy Irish blend often has black teas from Africa added in for their bright color and brisk flavor.
If you have many Eastern customers, however, it is worth including some breakfast greens in your range because in China and Japan, “green is the [morning] choice,” according to Linda Villano of SerendipiTea. Some Japanese Senchas and the caffeine-rich Gyokuro, for example, have a tonic effect that shakes the morning fog away, although their taste is very mild and may not appeal to the coffee or Assam crowds.
12:00 P.M.
Where greens truly come into their own is for lunchtime and afternoon drinking. “[My] afternoons are reserved for green tea, usually Senchas from different regions with slightly differing profiles, but essentially familiar,” says Villano.
Picked in early spring, Sencha has a good body and a mild, sweet taste with a hint of grass, which makes it an excellent choice to drink over or after a Japanese lunch. Another good option for lunch and early afternoon is jasmine tea, which has a clean flavor and mildly digestive properties that complement most meals.
A proper afternoon tea with all the bells, whistles and cucumber sandwiches, however, calls for something meatier, such as a classic English Afternoon brew, which is a blend of Ceylon and Assam, with some Darjeeling added for fragrance. Traditionally made with the tenderest leaves, it has an invigorating quality without reaching the peak of strength and intensity of the morning blends.
Ceylon tea also works very well on its own at this time of day. A true daytime tea, it can taste stronger or milder depending on picking seasons and the altitude where it was grown. Teas from the hills of Dimbula, one of Sri Lanka’s most established tea-growing regions, have plenty of aroma and a good body. Although they become lighter through the season, they are perfect alongside a good assortment of sandwiches. The Nuwara Eliya teas, by contrast, give a light, delicate brew that makes an excellent drink for a somewhat lighter afternoon tea.
Carla Passino is a freelance writer based in London. Comments on this article may be sent to comments@freshcup.com.
