Black Tea Guide: Where It Grows and How the Blends Are Built

Every black tea starts as the same plant, Camellia sinensis, and ends as a dark, twisted or granular leaf that brews a red-brown cup. What happens in between is why a cup of Darjeeling and a cup of Assam can taste like two different drinks. Three things do most of the work: where the bush grows (its height above sea level, its rain and its wind), when the leaf is picked, and how the factory handles it. Below, the great black tea origins are read in that light, the words flush, orthodox and CTC are explained, and breakfast blends and Earl Grey are taken apart to show what they are built from. The step-by-step chemistry of turning a green leaf black is in the guide to how tea is made.

What makes tea black

Black tea is tea whose leaf is left to oxidize before it is dried. Oxidation here means the browning that happens when the leaf's own juices meet air, the same kind of change that turns a cut apple brown. The UK Tea & Infusions Association, an independent non-profit body that calls itself the voice of the British tea and herbals industry, describes the factory sequence. Fresh leaf is first withered: spread on large trays or racks in air at 25 to 30°C (77 to 86°F) for 10 to 16 hours, depending on how wet the leaf is, until it goes limp. The leaf is then broken by machine, which releases its juices. The broken leaf rests in a cool, humid room for three to four hours, where it turns what the association calls "a golden russet colour." Finally it passes slowly through hot-air chambers that drive off the moisture and leave it dark brown or black.

Green tea skips the resting step. By the association's account, its withered leaf is steamed and rolled before drying, which stops the leaf from oxidizing, as the green tea guide explains.

Orthodox and CTC: two ways to break a leaf

The breaking step comes in two families, and the choice shapes the tea as much as the origin does. The association names them orthodox and unorthodox. The orthodox machine rolls the leaf, releasing its natural juices while leaving fairly large leaf particles. Unorthodox covers leaf broken by a CTC machine, short for "cut, tear and curl," or by a Rotovane machine, and both chop the leaf into smaller particles than the orthodox method does. After drying, both kinds are sorted through wire-mesh sieves of different sizes into grades. A grade describes the size of the leaf particles.

The association says the smaller particles suit a market that wants a tea that brews more quickly. Neither is a lesser tea. They are two ways of building a cup. The Tea Board of India, the government body that regulates Indian tea, notes that Assam makes both kinds. The loose-leaf versus tea bags guide takes up what leaf size means in the cup.

What a flush is

A tea bush puts out new shoots in waves through the growing season, and each wave is called a flush. The first flush is the first new growth of the year; the second flush comes after it. The association describes Assam and Darjeeling flush by flush, and its descriptions show the first and second pickings of the same origin brewing differently. Both origins are in India.

Assam: river plain, heavy rain, a strong cup

Assam is in India's far northeast. The association describes it as a major growing area covering the Brahmaputra valley, stretching from the Himalayas down to the Bay of Bengal. The Tea Board of India describes tea grown on rolling plains along the Brahmaputra River, and credits its taste to loamy soil (a crumbly mix of sand, silt and clay), a distinctive climate and heavy rain, with annual rainfall of 250 to 380 centimeters, roughly 100 to 150 inches.

The Tea Board describes Assam tea as known for a sharp, strong, forceful character that makes a good morning tea. The association describes it as robust and bright, with "a smooth, malt pungency," a tea suited to the first cup of the day and used in everyday blends for its full-bodied richness. Malty here means a taste close to malted grain or bread crust, a rounded, slightly sweet depth.

Assam's prized season is the second flush. By the association's account, plucking of the second flush begins in June, with most production from July to September, and the association calls it the best of the season, brewing a rich aroma, a clear dark liquor and a strong malty taste. Liquor is the tea trade's word for the brewed tea itself. The Tea Board also singles out second-flush orthodox Assam for its rich flavor and bright liquor, counting it among the world's most select teas. The Wedding Impérial tea guide follows one Assam into a chocolate-and-caramel blend.

Darjeeling: mountain gardens and a protected name

Darjeeling sits in the Himalayan foothills of West Bengal. The Tea Board places its tea at 600 to 2,000 meters above sea level (about 2,000 to 6,500 feet), in country it describes as wrapped in cloud, with average annual rainfall of about 309 centimeters. Production is small, about 10 million kilograms a year from roughly 17,500 hectares.

Darjeeling is also a legal name, not only a place. The Tea Board describes Darjeeling tea as tea cultivated in 87 tea gardens within a defined geographical area, says that the Darjeeling word and logo were the first geographical indication registered in India, and says the European Union adopted Darjeeling as a protected geographical indication on 20 October 2011. A geographical indication is a name that, by law, can only be used for a product from a specific place.

The flushes give Darjeeling its range. By the association's account, the first new shoots are picked in April, and these first-flush teas are much in demand, fetching high prices at auction. Second-flush Darjeelings are picked between May and June and have a fruitier, less astringent flavor than the earlier teas, with darker brown leaf carrying plenty of silvery tip; the association notes that some consider them better than the first flush. Astringent describes the dry, puckering grip a tea leaves on the tongue. The association calls Darjeeling as a whole light and delicate, with undertones of muscatel, a word borrowed from wine for a grape-like, faintly musky fruitiness. The Tea Board describes the picking season as starting in spring, running through summer and ending in autumn. The association's brewing chart lists Darjeeling as a tea taken without milk.

Ceylon: seven regions on one island

Ceylon is the old name for Sri Lanka, and the island's tea still goes by it. The Sri Lanka Tea Board dates the first commercial tea plantation to 1867, when James Taylor planted 19 acres on the Loolecondera Estate, and says that by the late 1880s almost all the island's coffee plantations had been converted to tea. Since 1999 the board has held a global trademark on its Lion logo as an emblem of 100 percent pure Ceylon tea.

The board describes seven tea regions on the island: Nuwara Eliya, Uda Pussellawa, Dimbula, Uva, Kandy, Sabaragamuwa and Ruhuna. Nuwara Eliya, in mountains rising over 6,000 feet, makes what the board calls the lightest and most refined tea on the island. Kandy, grown at 2,000 to 4,000 feet, is robust and full-bodied. Sabaragamuwa, at lower elevation, gives a dry leaf of a dark reddish-black hue that brews a scarlet, full-bodied, strong tea, and Ruhuna, the low-lying tea of the south, has a distinct blackness that gives a strong, rich taste. Across the board's descriptions, the region given the greatest height (over 6,000 feet) is the one called lightest, and the lower-elevation regions are the ones called strong.

Weather adds its own mark. Uva, on the eastern slopes of the island's central mountains by the association's account, is exposed to both the northeast and southwest monsoons, the seasonal wind systems that bring Sri Lanka's rains. By the board's account the winds reach Uva bereft of moisture, and the board ties that dryness to Uva's special concentrated aroma and distinct flavor. Dimbula, by the board's description, is cool and dry from December to March, with rain from May to September, and brews a reddish golden-orange cup with a refreshingly mellow taste; the association places it about 5,000 feet above sea level in the high-grown zone of central Sri Lanka. The association adds that Nuwara Eliya's fragrant flavor is heightened with lemon rather than milk, and describes Ceylon blends as brisk, full flavored and bright in color. Brisk is a tea taster's word for a lively, refreshing feel on the tongue, the opposite of flat.

Kenya and the African cup

The association dates Kenyan tea to 1903, when tea seeds from India were first planted on a two-acre farm, and describes Kenyan teas as very bright and colorful, with a reddish coppery tint and a pleasant brisk flavor. Its brewing chart lists Kenya as a tea to take with milk. The association names that coppery brightness as the reason many breakfast blends include African tea, which the blends section below picks up.

Keemun and the China black teas

The association traces black tea to China. In the early 17th century, it says, Chinese producers exporting to Europe and America found their green teas lost quality on the 15 to 18 month journey, and developed a method of rolling, oxidizing and drying leaf so it would hold its quality longer. Keemun, a popular black tea from Anhui Province in eastern China, is one example. The association calls it a "gonfu" tea, meaning it is made with disciplined skill to produce thin, tight strips of leaf without breaking them, and describes a rich brown liquor with a lightly scented, nutty flavor and delicate aroma.

Two other China black teas mark the edges of the family. Yunnan, from the southwest, has by the association's account a rich, earthy, malty flavor similar to Assam and is best drunk with milk. Lapsang Souchong, the best of which comes from the hills of northern Fujian, gets its smoky aroma and flavor from drying over pinewood fires, and the association's chart lists it as a tea taken without milk. Lapsang Chinbara (shop Lapsang Chinbara) is one example, and the Lapsang Chinbara tea guide explains the smoking.

The origins side by side

Origin Where and how high Season or climate note Cup, as described Milk (UK Tea & Infusions Association chart or description)
Assam Brahmaputra valley plains, northeast India 250 to 380 cm of rain a year; second flush June, peak July to September Robust, malty, full-bodied With or without
Darjeeling Himalayan foothills, 600 to 2,000 m First flush April; second flush May to June Light, delicate, muscatel Without
Nuwara Eliya Central Sri Lanka, over 6,000 ft Highest elevation the board gives Lightest, most refined Lemon rather than milk
Dimbula Central Sri Lanka, about 5,000 ft Cool and dry December to March Reddish golden-orange, mellow With or without
Uva Eastern slopes of Sri Lanka's central mountains, 2,000 to 4,000 ft Monsoon winds arrive dry Concentrated aroma, distinct flavor With or without
Ruhuna Southern Sri Lanka, low country Southwest monsoon rains Strong, rich, full-bodied Not listed
Kenya East Africa Tea planted from 1903 Bright, coppery, brisk With
Keemun Anhui Province, eastern China Gonfu leaf, unbroken strips Rich brown, nutty, lightly scented Not listed
Yunnan Southwest China Not listed Earthy, malty, like Assam With

One pattern stands out in the table. The light, perfumed teas (Darjeeling, Nuwara Eliya) come from high mountain gardens, and the association sets both apart from milk: Darjeeling is listed without it, and Nuwara Eliya is heightened with lemon instead. The teas listed with milk, Kenya and Yunnan, are the coppery and malty ones, and Assam, malty as it is, is listed either way. In the association's listings, the milk question follows the character in the cup: the light, perfumed teas are kept apart from milk, and the coppery, malty ones are the teas listed with it.

How the breakfast blends are built

By the association's figure, about 90 percent of the tea drunk in Britain is one of the popular brand-name blends. The association explains why blends exist: popular blends can contain up to 35 different teas, mixed so that a brand stays constant in quality, character and flavor even though individual teas are seasonal or in short supply. The people who build them are tea tasters, and by the association's count a taster may sample 200 to 1,000 teas in a day. The how to taste tea guide adapts their method for a kitchen.

English Breakfast is the model. The association describes it as traditionally a blend of Assam and Ceylon teas, made pungent and flavorful to give a good brisk start to the day, and notes that many English Breakfast blends also include African tea for a coppery brightness in the color. Read against the origin table, the recipe makes sense: Assam brings malt and body, Ceylon brings brightness and briskness, and Kenya brings color. Recipes vary from house to house, which is why two English Breakfasts can taste different. The English Breakfast tea guide reads one Paris house's version, and American Breakfast (shop American Breakfast) shows another direction, a rich, malty black tea blend with a hint of caramelized chocolate that Mariage Frères recommends with a drop of cold milk.

Earl Grey: black tea and bergamot

Earl Grey is a black tea scented with bergamot, a citrus fruit. The association describes Earl Grey as traditionally a blend of black China teas treated with natural oils of bergamot, which give the tea its perfumed aroma and flavor. Its origin story, as the association tells it, is a legend: the tea is said to have been blended for the second Earl Grey by a mandarin after a British diplomatic mission to China.

With bergamot as the constant, the two Mariage Frères Earl Greys below differ in what joins it. Earl Grey French Blue (shop Earl Grey French Blue) pairs black tea with bergamot and cornflower petals for a citrus-led, floral cup. Paris Earl Grey (shop Paris Earl Grey) is a black tea centered on bright, zesty bergamot. The Breakfast Earl Grey tea guide covers the hybrid of the two families, and the association's chart lists Earl Grey with or without milk. Spiced black teas work the same way with a different perfume: Chai Chandernagor (shop Chai Chandernagor) blends black tea with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and pepper.

Brewing black tea in Denver

The association gives 90 to 98°C, about 194 to 208°F, as the water temperature for black tea, with one rounded teaspoon of loose tea per cup, and brewing times of 3 to 4 minutes for Darjeeling, Assam, Dimbula, Kenya and Earl Grey, 3 minutes for Uva, and 4 to 5 for Lapsang Souchong. Water boils at 212°F at sea level, and the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the boiling point drops just under 1°F for every 500 feet of elevation. At Denver's mile-high elevation, about 5,280 feet, that works out to a boil near 202°F, or about 94°C, inside the association's black tea range, so the adjustment at altitude is to pour promptly rather than let the kettle cool. The black tea pot recipe walks through a first pot step by step.

Keeping it

Storage decides how long a tin of black tea stays at its best. The black tea storage and health guide covers how long it keeps, caffeine and the milk question, and the loose-leaf tea storage guide covers the tins themselves. For a single house's black teas read tin by tin, see the Mariage Frères black tea guide, and for how the leaf reached Europe, the history of tea guide.

Reading a black tea by its origin

When a black tea's name is a place, and sometimes a flush, those words carry much of the information. A high mountain garden points toward a light, fragrant cup. A river plain or a low-country region points toward strength and body. A breakfast blend is a taster's deliberate mix of those characters, and an Earl Grey or a chai is one of them dressed in bergamot or spice. Black tea is a map more than a recipe: read the place on the tin, and the cup is half described before the kettle boils.

The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver. Visitors can ask staff questions in the shop. Products ship nationwide from theambrosianpantry.com.

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