Homegrown Green Tea- From Camellia to Cup.

[@allmyinterests5139]

Just to clarify the processing: - White tea/green tea is directly pan fried (China)/steamed (Japan) after harvesting. So the enzymes which make the tea oxidise are destroyed. The difference between white and green tea is, that white tea usually are only leaf buds (silver needle tea) or leaf buds with one, maximum two small leafs (white peony). The leaf buds have whiteish hairs, hence the denotation white. Green tea is processing wise the same as stated above (there are different techniques of "rolling" the tea though, some dont even get rolled at all (for example lung ching)), but its usually the first 2-5 (open) leafs of the plant. - Black tea (in China: red tea) is fully oxidized (aka withered) tea, it usually gets broken up a bit/rolled after harvesting so the oxidation process is quicker and more even. This is a bit harder to do since you dont want the tea to go moldy. - Oolong tea is an inbetween tea, it is partly oxidized, from a few hours up to several days and only then gets heated up (usually fried), its the kind of tea you did in the video. Since you have some margin for the time and the processing (you could roll the leafs for example) you can have very different results which makes Oolong tea one of the most diverse. - Pu Erh tea (black tea in China) is fully oxidized plus fermented tea. This is done by pressing the tea leafs into "cakes" and letting them first wither, then ferment in very special and stable temperature/humidity conditions, aka letting it ripe, this can take from months to years even. An interesting fact is, that for most teas the tea plants are pruned back regularly so you get compact bushes whereas for Pu Erh tea they usually use fully grown tea "trees" which can become rather old. They also use older and bigger leafs for that one, not only the tips. So really, you cant go wrong unless you burn it while drying or letting it go moldy. There are countless ways to make your very own delicious tea. Also a tip for brewing: a rule of thumb is to brew apx 12g/litre for 2 minutes but more important is the temperature: you dont want to brew green or white tea with boiling water. Usually you take 60-80 C for green tea (a safe place to start always seems at like 70C), for white tea you can go more like 70-80 C. Oolong typically would be 80-95 C whereas Black tea and Pu Erh for the most part is recommended to be brewed with 100 C. You really can tell if you brewed it too hot if it tastes bitter; no tea ever should taste bitter, not even green tea, it just is brewed way too hot oftenly! Normally tea tastes floral sweet and earthy, sometimes malty and vegetal. Anyways, you got this! ;) Hope I could clarify a bit. Cheers!

[@allmyinterests5139]

@@Lymffus Yep you definitely can! The difference is mostly in taste. When it comes to health benefits white and green teas (also fresh tea leafs) are the most healthy, followed by oolong. Black tea is not as healthy as the before mentioned (although its definitely not unhealthy) it just loses many of the really healthy ingredients when withering fully. But obv it got another kind of taste than the other teas and is the longest lasting when it comes to storing (except for Pu Erh) so its a very common type of tea. Also, fresh tea cannot really be packed and stored for a long time, usually tea gets harvested in spring/early summer so you wouldnt be able to drink it in the rest of the year if youd only use fresh tea thats why its not a thing commercially. But even tea farmers rarely dring fresh tea, the steaming (Japan) or Roasting (China) adds its own flavours to the tea which alters the taste quite a bit. And remember: young tea leafs have a different tast than older ones, young ones are more fresh and sweet/vegetal and have more caffeine whereas older leafs are less aromatic (a bit more "flat" in taste) but have way less caffeine. But again -- you cant really do much wrong it mostly comes down to culture and taste really. There is even a kind of tea which only consists of the stems and leaf ribs (Kukicha).

[@allmyinterests5139]

@@Lymffus you're welcome!

[@mreichard875]

I'm glad you're just as confused about the lack of information on what to do with this process as I am, ha. Thanks for this video. Just grabbed the "beau tea ful" teaplant on clearance at my grocery store for $3 so I'm trying to figure out what do do with it.

[@Kek5kopF]

This. You'd think growing and processing your own tea is the most obvious thing to do but apparently it's not.

[@Namregmoody]

Pretty cool! Thanks for this, very cool seeing someone do it.

[@nancykim7352]

Dry out a few hrs and pan roasting. The first leaves in the early spring is the best

[@toddhuppie4899]

You need to breakup the dry leaves before you pour water over them.This way you release all the oils and flavor and you will get better tea.Dry them more first.That's why when you buy loose leaf tea it's never whole leafs.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Ok, I will have to try that the next time I make tea! Thanks! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@orangemoonglows2692]

depends on the tea and quality you buy. some handpicked teas are whole leaves, but they are rolled up. the leaves are also picked smaller. so, it's not true that loose leaf tea is never whole leaf.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?

[@johnsmith-ch7fg]

If your after green tea don't wait a week; you are heading into white territory. Greens need a short wither. Your steaming is probably way long (I also put the lid over - but I steam maybe a minute.) Also add a rolling phase before drying

[@Another_Alexander]

If Paul Rudd taught us how to make tea. 👌🏼 Appreciate the video, loved the narration and commentary.

[@mgo810]

Many tea makers will roll the leaves into balls. It breaks down the cell walls of the leaves so that when you steep it, the leaves release their constituents more readily.

[@jimmydean7219]

Looks to me as though you made what’s called “white” tea. Good stuff.

[@polywog9591]

I'd be curious to know what the tea would be like if brewed from mature, to very mature leaves.

[@kathleenebsen2659]

I process my green tea from the mature leaves. I pick and allow them to wilt for an hour. I use a dry wok to roast the leaves. After cooling, I pulse the tea in a food processor. It’s ready to use. The tea has a wonderful fresh, grassy flavor. It’s the best green tea I’ve ever had. Totally worth it !

[@srg6532]

Watched a commercial business video and they steamed as soon as picked ( could have been a green tea method) and then dried and crushed. I am in 6b zone also and purchased some tea seeds. Do you hold the plants for a couple of years before setting them out? Do you have much problems with deer? I had bought some plants and had about 50% death rate but the others look great after several years. I have them in cages but the deer aren't sticking their heads in and eating them down.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I hold the plants for several years before planting out and am sure to plant only in spring. Mulch extremely well the first few years. Deer are a problem. I’ve found I can only have Camellias if right next to my house or caged or fenced. The longer they are established the hardier they become. Thanks for watching and for commenting.

[@bonjey1]

Wouldn't you boil the leaves in water? That's what I've seen in some videos, the leaves were really wet so I was assuming they were boiled in water

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I don’t know for sure. I think you can make tea in many different ways and still get good end results. Thanks for and commenting!

[@summerjosephine3634]

Which seeds or starter did you buy specifically might I ask? I'm having a hard time choosing from camfarms

[@SHARONSHORTOrchidsandGarden]

..Flower in Autumn??? Unless you live in the tropics (Florida) My tree is in flower bud now.

[@manatoa1]

Cool! I'm glad you decided to go ahead with that. I was surprised by how little the leaves wilted over such a long period of time. It's interesting to see that tea processing skill may be more about achieving a particular product rather than being necessary to avoid a bad product. You will probably find that any tea you make this upcoming spring will be stronger. Autumn tea is known for its mildness. Watching this made me understand why tea is almost always rolled into a more compact shape. The volume of those leaves would make brewing a strong cup tricky as not all would touch water. Thanks again!

[@esotericagriculture6643]

This was a really fun project and I learned a lot. Thanks for the encouragement to do it!!

[@manatoa1]

I looked around for some info for small growers and found this www.hawaiiteasociety.org/news/ their site isn't the best but that page has a few files on it that look useful. I don't know if you'll be able to read them on that page (I wasn't) but I was able to track some of them down elsewhere.

[@manatoa1]

Turns out my adblocker was screwing up their pdf viewer. Turned it off and I could read them fine. Good luck!

[@oxbowfarm5803]

This is really incredible. I think you might get a better response, including more good info from amateur tea enthusiasts (I'm sure there are such people) who could offer opinions and advice. I think you should add a description with more or less the video contents. You'll get more views from useful people in my experience. Congratulations on your struggle to make this fine cup of tea.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I add the descriptions later . It’s a habit I’ve developed after having my lengthy descriptions lost due to various uploading issues. Thanks for the sound advice though, and glad to liked the tea video! Also glad to hear your banana leaf tamales turned out well!!!

[@manatoa1]

You can ask around on the teachat forum. That's probably your best bet. Having said that, you probably won't find a lot. There's a major disconnect between drinkers and growers or processors. It's not at all like the connection between beer drinkers and brewers. There's no hobbyist scene in tea mediating the producers and consumers.

[@sanote7848]

Mantap sukses teruss yaa

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Terima kasih telah menonton, berkomentar, dan kata-kata baik. Ayah mertua saya lahir di Jawa. Senang mendengar dari orang Indo. Thanks

[@robinphillips655]

Unless you do the kill green phase early it's not a green tea - this tea was left and some leaves have oxidised so you could argue it more a white tea but it doesn't quite fit any catagory

[@ericlotze7724]

I am researching tea production for a goofy project of mine. That MAY be white tea (ie low processing + oxidation)

[@ericlotze7724]

Wikipedia page on all this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sinensis

[@ericlotze7724]

How it's made on (i think) black tea: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHLMYqR4i5qhbas

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Yes, you may be right. Thanks for commenting.

[@OglenStillafano]

Could I dry them in a food dehydrator?

[@HeatherLMorigeau]

Did you ever have any success creating a black tea?

[@esotericagriculture6643]

No, I’ve never tried it as of yet.

[@Fatpumpumlovah2]

you should steam the leaves first to keep its nutrients!!!!! (this locks in all the nutrients and color) more of Matcha than green tea/black tea. by letting it dry without it will oxidize and turn to black tea. Many would kill to have just one plant like that, you need to trim it down to hedge size and harvest the new tops. Steam the leaves right after while tossing over the steam dont just put them in a steamer, unless your going to stand flipping them over and over. once steamed air dry quickly again by tossing with a cool fan, this will dry the steam off then put on rack and put in oven at low temp until dried out, then make a powder.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Good advice, thanks! I do indeed need to trim the plants. They are huge now , over 7 feet, 2+ meters, and need some work. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@Fatpumpumlovah2]

@@esotericagriculture6643 not a problem, also remove any branches thats growing towards the main stem, only outward/upward growth.

[@brunomathews2212]

But this whole processing of the leaves are only for the new tips of the plant right ? Because from what I've heard is that we should only use the tops to make tea, but what about the older bottom leaves ? Can I use them to make tea or should I just trim my plant and throw them away?

[@IO-zz2xy]

You need to chop leaves up into small pieces. A quick flash in food processor would do it.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks that’s a good idea.

[@det.riveram4872]

Hi. How may i contact you to buy a lil tree orseeds or leaves

[@kwitchabichen]

I thought in china they roll the fresh leaves with their fingers, and put them in a wok with no oil and then dry it.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

That’s definitely one technique. Different techniques equal different teas. There’s a lot of room for experimentation and lots of possibilities! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@calicodan1556]

Kind of a half oxidised half green tea blend

[@fenrickrussell5826]

Where did you store leaves to keep so green?

[@esotericagriculture6643]

I didn’t really do anything special with them. They just stay green unless you ferment or bruise or cook them.

[@HeatherLMorigeau]

Would the potato steam make the tea taste like potatoes?

[@bzk2656]

Rather the potatos taste tea the steam might extract some componens which would be drop to the caudron by condensation ^^

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Potato steam did not make the tea taste like potatoes, although it is a fair question.

[@abhishekghosh3366]

This is the wrong way you harvest , my dear friend miles away. Your plucking is wrong. And that’s wrong cos you let your plant grow astray. You need to maintain a “ level bed “. You need only the fresh flush , they taste the best. Older leaves contain higher levels of fluoride. After roasting , you gotta roll it well and then dry. It looks like you’re cooking curry.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thank you for your reply and your helpful advice. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@miax4683]

WTF! To be honest.