"Nigel at Teacraft" > wrote in message
om...
> "Jon Nossen" > wrote in message
>...
> > It is not too late for someone to reply to this...?
> >
> > "Jon Nossen" > wrote in
news:...
> > > With all due respect, I find that a little bit hard to
> > believe.
> > > That's because during a recent trip to Sri Lanka, all the
teas
> > I
> > > could find from the highest growing area (Nuwara Eliya,
2.000
> > > meter above sea level) were "greenish blacks", similiar to
> > > Darjeelings (yet also quite different). I also had a
couple of
> > > teas of the same type from the Uva district, which I
supposed
> > > were from the highest parts of the district (which goes
from
> > mid
> > > to high level). And it's clear that both Sri Lanka's
internal
> > > tea market and export market prefers *black* teas, mainly
of
> > > broken grades. So for this reason I have thought that tea
from
> > > the highest growing areas simply do not get fermented to
the
> > > same degree as teas produced in other areas.
> > >
> > > Jon
>
> Yes Jon, these teas are indeed less fermented "greenish
blacks". There
> are several ways to make a "green" tea (which is essentially a
tea
> without oxidation) or a "greenish tea" which is a tea with
minimal
> oxidation. In a tea factory some of these are purposeful
methods,
> others the results of poor processing.
>
> The main ways a
>
> 1. Inactivate oxidising enzymes before rolling using steam
(Japanese
> method)= green tea
> 2. Inactivate oxidising enzymes using dry heat (Chinese
panning or
> roasting method) = green tea
> 3. Avoid initiating oxidation by very gentle handling and
drying =
> white tea (a variant of green).
> 4. Oxidise for a very short time (minimal rolling, or CTC
cutting) -
> dry as soon as short rolling or CTC cutting is complete =
insufficient
> time for full oxidation to black = anything from a green to a
greenish
> black tea.
> 5. Oxidise at low temperature - this slows down enzyme action
=
> partial oxidation only = greenish black.
> 6. Hard wither (to a very low leaf moisture content) - this
inhibits
> enzyme action = partial oxidation only = greenish black
> 7. Insufficient oxygen present during oxidation (fermenting
layers too
> thick) = partial oxidation only = anything from green to
greenish
> black
>
> The partially oxidised oolongs fall into group 4. above though
they
> have other processing inputs (sun withering and leaf agitation
and
> high firing) that give their unique character.
>
> The "greenish blacks" you find at high elevations in Sri Lanka
and
> Darjeeling are the result of partial oxidation due to very
hard
> withers and cool ambient temperature. It is perfectly possible
to make
> a fully oxidised (black) Uva or Darjeeling, and in fact during
the
> rains in Darjeeling when a hard wither cannot be achieved,
this is
> exactly what happens (but these are not exported). Similarly
we had
> to heat up fermenter air to 90 deg F in early spring in Turkey
as the
> cool weather gave us a greenish tea - not at all what the
Turks like
> to drink.
>
> The type of tea and degree of oxidation required is driven by
the
> market (or the producer's perception of the market). As
increasingly
> Darjeelings and flavoury high grown Ceylons are bought by
non-milked
> tea markets, so the dark srong liquors required in the English
market
> have given way to lighter ones, and the dry leaf shows green
colour
> rather than jet black . Producers could revert if the market
required
> - the process is flexible and a skilled manager can alter his
teas at
> will.
>
> My point (in my previous posting) was to remind tea lovers
that a
> tea's characteristics may change with time even if the names
stay the
> same.
>
> Nigel at Teacraft

Thanks for a very interesting explanation. Let me just see if I
understand what you are saying.

1) The greenish black teas from Darjeeling, Nuwara Eliya, Uva
(and possibly other high elevations) are less fermented than
other black tea because of hard withers and low temperature
during fermentation, which inhibits or slows down enzyme action.

2) The producers in these districts make greenish black teas on
purpose because of market demands.

Even if this is true for Darjeeling teas, I doubt that it is for
Ceylon teas. In general, Ceylon teas are fully black, which
seems to be what the markets want, and to a large extent of
small particle size (BOP, Fannings and Dust). The highest
elevation districts (Nuwara Eliya and parts of Uva) produce
almost only small particle size, which I assume is because of
market demands. And the market statistics I have seen show that
these days the high elevation districts fetch *lower* prices
than the lowgrown districts. So it's a puzzle to me why they
should make greenish teas on purpose.