Tea-n-age

For the uninitiated this provides a quick review : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJFaYKEDle4 Photo courtesy :  abouthimalayas.com

A detailed research done to understand drying and withering of tea from the energy perspective under the Asian Regional Research Program http://www.emt-india.net/process/tea/pdf/Quality%20of%20Made%20Tea%20through%20efficient%20drying.pdf chopinandmysaucepan.com-thanks for the photograph

Excellent analysis on the chemistry of withering http://www.cabi.org/gara/FullTextPDF/Pre2000/19970302463.pdf

The moment a tea leaf is plucked from the tea plant, it begins to wither or wilt. The amount of this unavoidable,  uncontrolled  wither the leaves experience depends on how much time elapses from the time the leaves are plucked in the field until the leaves reach their destination and they are further processed and the quality of care that is given to them during this time. Withering is also a  controlled  process used in tea production. Tea producers use a balance of moisture and air-flow during a controlled wither to moderate the reduction of moisture in tea leaves until it reaches a desired level and to achieve other physical and chemical goals. http://worldoftea.org/tea-leaves-wither/

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/restaurants/20111122104246.htm With chilling winters knocking at the door fellow Kolkatans are waiting to enjoy the cool breezes but this time with a difference. Tea has always been everybody's choice to refresh, rejuvenate and rejoice themselves.   Chai Break Lounge'  is the new hotspot for kolkatans this season.   Chai break lounge is an effort of two childhood friend Mr.Anirudh Poddar and Mr. Aditya Ladsaria. ' Chai break lounge'   the first ever tea restaurant at   60/1, Chowringhee Road   in Kolkata offers you different flavors of tea like Royal tea ,Mistress of spices, Darjeeling chai, Peachy tea etc and the platter treats you with pastas, pizzas, risotto, soups, salads, starters and also coffee, shakes, mock tails, hookahs etc. The new outlet will be every vegetarian's ideal eatery, both in terms of the quality of the food and the ambience it offers. A lot of effort and planning have gone into the inte...

http://www.tocklai.org/activities/tea-health/ Tea & Health A large body of scientific evidence indicates the benefits of tea drinking for its wide range of medicinal properties. Tea prevents coronary heart disease, hypertension, blood sugar and tooth decay. Tea has also been reported to have antiviral and germicidal activity. The most important medicinal value of tea is that it is anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic. The anticarcin ogenic activity contributed by the antioxidant polyphenols in tea has been shown to be in very low concentration even in consumer dosages. Thus tea offers tremendous scope of emerging as practical chemipreventive included in a healthy diet for protection of the general consumers by lowering the risk of different types of cancer. Tea Research Association (TRA), Tocklai in collaboration with  Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata  has carried out studies on health aspects of black tea. In these studies, the influence of ...

http://www.tocklai.org/activities/tea-chemistry/ Under Tea Chemistry our area of interest include: Identification and quantification of biochemical parameters in tea shoot and black teas responsible for quality. Optimisation of different stages of processing by studying biochemical parameters. Biochemical study as an aid to selection. Chemical Composition of Fresh Tea Shoot Compounds % Dry weight Contribution Total Polyphenols 25 – 30 Astringency Flavanols (-) Epigallocatechin gallate 8 – 12 (-) Epicatechin gallate 3 – 6 (-) Epigallo catechin 3 – 6 (-) Epicatechin 1 – 3 (+) Catechin 1 – 2 (+) Gallocatechin 3 – 4 Flavonols and flavonol glycosides 3 – 4 Leuco anthocyanins 2 – 3 Polyphenolic acids and depsides 3 – 4 Caffeine 3 – 4 Briskness Theobromine 0.2 Theophylline 0.5 Amino acids 4 – 5 Brothyness Organic acids 0.5 – 0.6 Monosaccharides 4 – 5 Polysaccharides 14 – 22 Cellulose and Hemicellulose 4 – 7 Pectins 5 – ...

http://www.tocklai.org/activities/tea-machinery/

http://www.tocklai.org/activities/tea-classification/ A lot of confusion prevailed regarding the correct name of the tea plant until the International Botanical Congress in 1935 decided  Camellia sinensis  (L) to be the correct name of tea plant. While the nomenclature of the tea plant was finally settled, the position of the two texa represented by the China and the Assam plants remained open. Dr. W. Wight in 1962 proposed the specific rank  Camellia sinensis  (L) for the China tea plant,  Camellia assamica  (Masters) for the Assam tea plant and the sub-specific rank  Camellia assamica sub sp. lasiocalyx (Planch. MS) for the Southern form (Indochina) of tea plant. Morphological Characters of the three races of tea Morphological characters of the three races of tea plants were studied in detail at Tocklai. Dr. W. Wight in 1962 gave a concise description of the China and the Assam races while proposing their specific ranks. A year later, Mr. ...