STiR coffee and tea magazine

54 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2017 (August / September) hard to make farmers listen to their advice but there are positive signs of improvement. In the factories hygiene is taken more seriously. All the farmers are insured, and child labor is forbidden. One looming obstacle is labor. The hours are long and the work is difficult which discourages younger people from taking over as their parents age. One solution is mechanical harvesting. Machines can pluck 30-times more leaf day-in, day-out, but only 10% use harvesting machines, said Rouzbehan. Gardens are small and the cost of the machines is too high for many smallholders because they just done grow enough tea to get a return on their investment. An equipment sharing program is one possibility. Organic advantage Zubin Amiri is a passionate, fifth-generation grower. His factory is located in the small town of Amlash. The family business dates to 1898 when it was founded by M.T. Chaichi (Chaichi means tea-holder). The company began as a tea importer but planted gardens in the mountains on the Cas- pian coastline. Amiri is a pioneer in organic production and a strong pro- ponent of specialty processing. This includes blends with locally sourcedd wild pistacios, walnuts, Seville oranges, and berries. Amiri says "our organic products offer the most rare and unique of their kind that passes and shares the experience of pleasure of flavor, aro- ma, nutrients and, spiritual highness to its aware consumers. It brings a new delicacy and assurance of quality to customers as well as new innova- tions in types and flavors." His teas are certified organic in Europe; under USDA NOP and by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) as well as IOA, the Iran Organic Association. He sells online, ships globally and offers wholesale quantities. This has enabled him to find markets in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Canada, European countries, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and the United States. Salim at Salim Aria Noush says there is a global export market wait- ing to discover the qualities of Iran's tea. He envisions container loads of Iranian tea processed and headed to the port at Bandar Abbas for destina- tions in the West and around the world. "Iran is back in the game," he declares. Tolou Aminpour owns Amin Ario Rad Paydar Trading Co. in Tehran, Iran. Iranian black teas possess a delicacy and nuanced fla- vor that evolves even after the tea is brewed. Here are three examples: FBOP 1813 – This tea showed a red gold infusion, like a mid-grown Ceylon. Rich aroma, with notes of red fruits and date. Warm, sweet, and gently malty. A very nice tea for blending, similar in charater to a high quality Nilgiri black. However, not as memorable as OP to be served "straight-up" or unblended. FBOP 1821 – This tea displayed the deepest cup color among the samples. It is similar to lower grown Ceylon. Deep reddish. Sweet aroma, like warmed baklava pas- try, and with notes of honey, walnuts, and slightly rosy. FBOP 1816 (green) – This sample brewed a bright yellow-bronze cup. Grassy, steamed vegetable aroma. Slightly smoky, but balanced character with notes of roasted corn and green vegetables. Slightly astrin- gent finish, very similar in quality to Chinese gunpow- der or chun mee green tea. Excellent with fresh mint. Westerners (ie: primarily those in America and UK, and some Europeans) need to better understand how to prepare Iranian tea properly. If they were to prepare it as they would a similar grade (by leaf size) black tea from India or Sri Lanka - using a spoonful of leaves in their pot, boiling water and brewing for 3-5 min - the cup would be quite weak to their standards. This is because, Iranian tea leaves seem to be quite soft and delicate. They do not exhibit the strong, assertive flavors the Americans and UK drinkers are accustomed to in their black tea. These teas compare to a soft Nepal black tea, or India Nilgiri blacks, or high grown Sri Lanka (Nuwara Eliya). They are not as strongly aromatic as Sri Lanka or Nepal can be - flowers and fruit notes - but the bright, clear liquor and the soft, rounded mouthfeel, lingering finish are most similar. Antique Iranian tea set Tasting Notes By Suzette Hammond Suzette Hammond is a professional tea taster and founder of Chicago-based Being Tea www.beingtea.com A typical tea garden in steeply sloped Lahijan Photo by Zuzana Gajdosikova

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