STiR coffee and tea magazine

46 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2018 (April / May) By Kevin Gascoyne The apparently static world of tea is in a continual state of flux. Large-scale CTC (cut, tear, curl) set-ups, producing blends for grocery and foodservice are facing a glut in global production. These 'industrial' teas are beginning to feel the pinch of di- minishing market relevance as western markets upgrade their shopping lists with origin-specific flavor experiences. The challenge of maintaining 'share of throat' is more difficult given the vast range of other enticing beverages. The tea industry must up its game to follow these new market values of authenticity and artisanal variety. They also need to increase their sensitivity to the changing seasonal variants and the unknown future that climate change throws into the mix. By no means do all Chinese people drink fancy teas but, being the 'mother-ship', their time- honored relationship with the leaf fosters a unique, inherent reverence for high quality tea. At first glance China tea presents a fixed picture of legendary classics and timeless ceremonies. But the reality is a changing picture of political change, product development and market shifts. Despite the benefit of having a big slice of their market demographic prepared to pay for a high-end whole-leaf, the traditions behind these products are hard to uphold in the modern world. In the field mechanical plucking is progressively replacing the delicacies of hand-pluck. In manufacture professional tea makers, with the decades of experience it takes to pan teas by hand, are fewer by the year. Naturally a well-trained hand that reacts to subtleties of humidity and elasticity in panned leaf is not going to be replaced over night but a large selection of finely calibrated machines that mimic the movements of manual transformation have become a local specialty in recent years. Removing the art of human reactivity in the process is undeniably a loss but the benefits of very finely tuned control retain a certain amount of artisanal sensitivity. Even now many of Long Jing's top teas are made on a machine hidden in the back room. As tea producers around the planet adapt to the needs of the market these new machines have massive potential to several different producer scenarios: Large corporate CTC producers that are working with systems where they put green leaf in one end and pull out finished tea at the other. Small machines can furnish orthodox units for the creation of boutique quality teas that showcase the individuality of their cultivars and terroir in a whole new way. Though these teas take more effort, they sell at much higher prices and increase the general tea expertise of the overall operation. Next generation equipment empowers small farmers that sell green leaf to a central bought- leaf factory. With the relatively manageable cost of a small-scale factory a group could process their own leaf, perhaps in a co-operatively shared unit, and retain the profits. This equipment also enables hobby farmers in new growing areas like Hawaii where they don't have economies of scale and where the potential of great leaf is so often lost to poor manu- facture. Modern machinery could help to make leaf that lives up to the price they need to sell it at to make ends meet. In all these examples using these small, hands-on machines that reproduce a 'hand-made' style, encourages the essential sensitivity to the process and an artisanal connection to the leaf that will be key to tea quality in the near future. The Evolution of Tea Machinery facility, it also gives Camellia Sinensis the opportunity to play a small pro-active role in improving tea quality in other pro- ducing regions. So our company hopes to profit both short-term from the obvi- ous vertical supply chain but also from investing in the future of tea quality else- where. It is a very long-term project." Tea Studio teas Using small-scale machinery from China, and after experimenting with process- es, timings, and temperatures, Muskan Khanna and her all-female team now manufacture two white, one oolong, sev- en green, and two black teas. The slender green has long saber-like leaves that produce a light, smooth liquor with a hint of mango. The long tightly- twisted leaves of the swirl green yield a velvet-smooth liquor with a suggestion of green capsicum. The brew from the twisted, serpent- like leaves of the Nilgiri mao feng has gentle spinach notes. Dewdrop Green is nutty with hints of roasted green pep- pers. The long flat needles of Nilgiri long jing give a thick buttery liquor reminis- cent of young green spring vegetables. And the bamboo green is named for the neat lengths of stalk that have been rolled flat and brew a pale yellow liquor with a slightly grassy character. The silvery, grey-green, downy plati- num needles White buds infuse a pale yellow-gold liquor that is delicate and suggests warm hay and toasted nuts and seeds, while the bai mu dan white con- sists of whole leaves and buds that gives a slightly nutty, toasted grain flavor and aroma. The liquor from the gold-flecked, curly, brown oolong leaf is sweet and suggests roasted sweet potato or squash. Nilgiri tress black has tightly-twisted, long, jet-black leaves that brew a bright orange-red liquor with a wonderfully smooth, sweet character. And the shiny, curled leaves of pearl black unfurl in near-boiling water to give a stronger brew with hints of chocolate and malt. With this unique manufacturing unit's unusual and impressive range of carefully-crafted, quality teas now avail- able on the world market, discerning tea drinkers are beginning to recognize Tea Studio and the Nilgiri Hills as a source of some genuinely great teas. The wok-like double cauldron shapes and curls leaves

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