Home Grown Tea

[stella]

Just been reading James Wong's article in GYO about growing your own tea plant. He explained it all very nicely until we get to....pick the tea to make a salad????
How do you go about making tea, do you dry the leaves or can you use them fresh, how long will they keep for when they are dried, has anyone tried this

[Rigel]

How interesting! What type of tea is it? I have some hibiscus tea plants (not doing very much at the moment) and various mints. The hibiscus works best dried, but the mint best fresh.

[mothhawk]

Commercially, the fresh picked leaves are spread out and left in the warm to wilt and dry a little. Then the leaves are rolled to break them and release enzymes from inside the leaf. the leaves are left in a cool humid atmosphere for the enzymes to oxidise (this is what makes the tea 'black') for a few hours until they go a golden colour, and finally are dried completely, which changes the colour to black.

For white tea the leaves are withered and then dried without rolling or breaking the leaves, so the tea stays pale. For green tea the leaves are withered, then steamed, which (I think) draws out the enzymes, or maybe destroys them, so that when they are rolled no oxidisation occurs, then they are dried as the other teas.

[rustylady]

Growing Tea at Home

[Stacey Steve]

Tried it using my raviolli press, but what ever paper I've tried goes all mushy and tastes aweful

[stella]

Has anyone tried growing this bush from seed. They have seeds on ebay but can not find a plant anywhere. Would the seeds need any special treatment?