Coffee

Tea

"There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea."
If you are cold, tea will warm you.
If you are too heated, it will cool you.
If you are depressed, it will cheer you.
If you are excited, it will calm you.
Gladstone, 1865.

Toby Estate has an extensive selection of tea. Our range of full leaf high quality teas are directly sourced from estates and tea gardens within India, China, Sri Lanka and Japan. From these teas Toby has created a range of signature blends, along with the herbal range.

Brewing the Perfect Cup

Pre warm the brewing vessel and cups
Boil clean fresh water
Measure the tea for one rounded teaspoon per cup (2.5grms)
Water temperature and infusion time should be as follows:-
White tea 70°C - 85°C for 2 - 5 minutes
China Green - 70°C - 95°C for 2 - 3 minutes
China Oolong - 95°C for 2 - 3 minutes
China Black - 95°C for 4 - 5 minutes
Japan Green - 50°C - 95° C for 1 - 2 minutes
Darjeeling - 95°C for 3 minutes
Other Black - 95°C for 4 minutes (full leaf)

Tea Brewing

When possible, use filtered or bottled spring water
Heat the teapot and teacup
For a two-cup teapot, use five grams of tea (approximately two teaspoons). This is highly personal but the rule of thumb is 2.5 grams per cup
Water just off the boil or from an espresso machine is too hot for tea - the leaf is scalded and becomes unpleasantly astringent
For black tea use water cooled 1 minute off the boil and infuse for 4-6 minutes
For green and oolong tea use water cooled 1-2 minutes off the boil and for white tea use water cooled 2-3 minutes off the boil. Infuse for 1-3 minutes
For herbals and all black-based flavoured teas, use water cooled one minute off the boil and infuse for 3-5 minutes
All tea can be naturally decaffeinated by infusing for one minute, discarding the first infusion and using the leaves a second time for your brew
Ensure bag is resealed and stored away from light, heat and humidity.

Tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant, an evergreen shrub has dark green, smooth elliptical leaves with a serrated edge. The flower is single white with five to seven petals. In its cultivated form it is kept trimmed to approx 1.2mtrs but will grow to 18 mtrs in its natural state. Tea is grown from sea level up to 2200mtrs.The plant likes an annual rainfall of 2500mls, rich acid loamy soil and a warm humid atmosphere. In tropical and subtropical areas the bush should start yielding in its fourth year and harvesting continues all year round. In higher altitudes it may take up to 10 years to mature and these areas generally have a limited harvest season.
The best tea comes from the tiny leaf shoots and the unopened buds. The differences in tea come from where it is grown, when and how it is plucked and its post harvest treatment.

By exposing tea to differing degrees of evaporation, twisting, oxidation, and heat we get the main types of tea classification - White, Green, Oolong and Black.

History

2737 B.C - Chinese emperor Sh'eng Nung takes his first sip of tea . The emperor was under a wild tea tree boiling some dinking water fire when a breeze carried a few leaves into the water which he tasted and found delicious and later found to have medicinal qualities so urged the Chinese people to cultivate the plant for the whole nation.
350 - The first description of tea drinking is written in a Chinese dictionary
805 - A Buddhist monk, Saicha, brings the first tea plants from China to Japan
1422 - 1502 A Zen priest named Murata Shuka creates the Japanese tea ceremony, called chanoyu, which means "Hot water for tea"
1706 - The first tea auction takes place in London's Craven House, later known as the East India House
1773 -The Tea Act of 1773 giving the east India company control of trading in the Americas imposes the same taxes and levies on the colonists as paid by the british. Objection leads to the rebellion known as the Boston Tea Party.
1776 - After England send opium to China, addiction funds escalating demand for tea in England. Cash trade for the drug increased until the opium wars of 1839
1833 - The Dutch East India company loses its monopoly
1904 - Iced tea is created for the St. Louis World Fair by Richard Blechynden.
1908 -Thomas Sullivan invents the teabags in New York, sending samples to clients in silk bags which they mistakenly steep without opening.

Processing

The method of processing of the leaves produces the characteristics of each tea.

WITHERING - Freshly plucked leaves and buds are spread out and heated air is distributed over them for up to 24 hours with leaves losing up to 40% of there moisture.
ROLLING - This breaks up the leaf cells releasing the oils and enzymes.
SIEVING -Vibrating sieves separate the finer leaves from the coarser leaves, which may be rolled and sieved again.
FERMENTING -Full oxidation in a humid atmosphere usually takes no longer than 4 hours, with the leaves changing to a rusty brown.
FIRING -This process halts fermentation. Very hot air is pumped over the leaves to dry them to a transportable stage or they are tossed in woks until dry.
White tea is dried. Green tea is withered, rolled, sieved and dried. Oolong is withered, rolled, sieved and fermented for a very short time then dried. Black tea goes through the whole process.

Grading

There is no one universal system of grading for all white, green, oolong and black teas. Most Chinese teas are given a name based on the area of production, method of manufacture and any legend that surrounds the particular tea. They also may be graded according to quality, season, which part of the new shoot is used and whether the bud is open or wrapped by new leaves etc. The following terms are generally used for black tea.

FLOWERY ORANGE PEKOE (FOP) - Made from the bud and the first new leaf of each shoot; fine tender young leaves with a good proportion of tip. Pekoe comes from the Chinese word for the hairs on the underside of the new leaf. Pekoe grade is virtually whole leaf.
GOLDEN FLOWERY ORANGE PEKOE (GFOP) -Flowery orange pekoe with golden tips
TIPPY GOLDEN FLOWERY ORANGE PEKOE (TGFOP) - Flowery orange pekoe with a large proportion of tips.
FINEST TIPPY GOLDEN FLOWERY ORANGE PEKOE (FTGFOP) -Very high quality FOP with large proportion of tips
ORANGE PEKOE (OP) - Long pointed leaves plucked as the new bud is just opening
PEKOE (P) - Shorter leaves, lower quality than OP
FLOWERY PEKOE (FP) - Leaves that are rolled into little balls
PEKOE SOUCHONG (PS) - Short rough pieces of leaf
SOUCHOUNG (S) -Large leaves that have been rolled to give a course ragged appearance BROKEN ORANGE PEKOE (BOP) - Broken small leaf
FANNINGS (F) -very small pieces of broken leaf
DUST (D) - The smallest particles of tea
Fannings and dust are used for tea bags as they liquor very quickly and give good colour

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