Greener Tea: May in the World of Tea

By the month of May tea terraced slopes worldwide are lush and vibrantly green. Many freshly harvested teas arrive to North America this month. In the Westholme Tea Garden we begin plucking our first flush, typically in serendipitous alignment with International Tea Day on the 21st.

When tea leaves are hidden inside a tea bag, we may not recognize tea as an agricultural product from an evergreen shrub (Camellia sinensis). Where a tea was grown, soil quality, elevation, as well as cultural and historical contexts is expressed in the leaf. Even timing of harvest is encompassed in a tea. The first leaves of Spring are alive with a unique freshness after winter slumber that shifts with summer heat. Spring teas – greens in particular – are highly sought after.

There is a common misconception that green teas are too bitter to appreciate. However, many high-quality greens have no perceptible astringency! When tea leaves are properly crafted and when we learn to steep with more appropriate methods for delicate green leaves there can be surprising differences. Fresh leaves may be shaped into long serpentine twists, rolled into pearls or snails, flattened by pan-roasting, or formed into needles. Green teas can be toasty, nutty, soft, vegetal, kelpy, buttery, or even creamy, with delicate floral and fruit notes and mineral sweetness.

One could say this is where tea blends science and art. We can look to the molecular level where chemical transformations take place in the garden, the teamaker’s process, international exchanges of tea, and steeping methods. We can look to traditional tea ceremonies which marry attention to detail with the Zen concept of living in the moment. To prevent bitterness and to highlight delicacies, presence is required during preparation. General guidance for green tea is use lower temperatures (typically 80-95° C) and shorter times (between 1-3 minutes). Then of course, there is the importance of selecting a steep which suits your tastes. While there is no right way to drink tea, International Tea Day invites us to think about rights for the hands plucking tea who are calling for global attention to unjust and inequitable impacts of the tea industry. Because teas are an expression of the environment where they are grown, working conditions affect the quality of tea. What better way to consider the ripple effect of a drop of tea than to sit for a cup of fresh Spring green tea.

Alicia Fall is an employee at Westholme Tea Company, farmer, and ceremonialist in the Cowichan Valley

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