African Breakfast.
African Breakfast.Introduced to Kenya from India in 1903 by a settler named G.W.L.Caine, nowadays tea is one of Kenya's major economic sectors; directly or indirectly employing roughly 10% of the country's population and, at over over 180,000 tonnes per year, constituting around 10% of total global tea production or 20% of worldwide export. Kenyan tea is grown at elevations between 5,000 and 7,000 feet and generally harvested year-round. The primary growth regions are the Nandi Hills and the highlands around Kericho north of the Massai Mara Game Reserve and west of the central Kenyan Great Rift Valley, which in turn is the home of Meru National Park (of George and Joy Adamson/"Born Free" fame – further east near Mount Kenya) and Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen's beloved Ngong Hills (in the south near Nairobi). Kenyan tea has small, grainy leaves and a rich color and distinct aroma.
Alltea's Milima Estate is a GFBOP (Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe) tea, a superior broken leaf grade containing many golden-orange "tips," i.e. the delicate, quick-steeping ends of the bud's leaves, which constitute a guarantee of quality. (The higher the tip content, the higher the tea's quality).
Whittard sells a blend of purely Kenyan origin in its stores and through its website, and Kenyan tea also dominates its very fine house blend, which was created by founder Walter Whittard around a century ago when African tea first made its entry into the market. Thus, Whittard's Original is also a nice alternative to the ever-popular English Breakfast.
A Secret from Kwazulu-Natal.South Africans are as avid tea drinkers as the inhabitants of any other country (formerly) belonging to the British Commmonwealth – today, consumption averages about 10 billion cups per year – and tea was first grown in Durban Botanical Gardens in 1850 from plants imported from London's Kew Gardens (commercial production began in 1877, with seeds from Assam). Yet, production around the major tea center of Tzaneen in the Northern Province (formerly known as North-East Transvaal) as well as in the country's other tea growing locations has had an unstable history; staggering badly in the mid-twentieth century and although revived thereafter, available only domestically during apartheid. Only after apartheid ended, South African tea farmers were able to export their products. Hence, black tea from South Africa is still a fairly well-kept secret; although roughly 40% of the country's tea is now sold on the world market and it is already among the world's top 20 tea-producing nations.
Harvested before the beginning of the winter cool, between October and April, a tea fairly well-known outside South Africa is that produced by the Ntingwe Estate located in a remote corner of the Kwazulu-Natal heartland. Established in 1987 and with over 200 permanent employees, 430 seasonal pickers as well as a program involving the cooperation of local farmers with the estate's on-site processing plant, Ntingwe is *the* single biggest employer and source of financial stability in a region otherwise plagued by record unemployment numbers (up to 60%), illiteracy and poverty. Lighter than other African (e.g. Kenyan) teas, Ntingwe tea has gained an excellent reputation in the short time since its introduction to the international market and makes for as great a breakfast tea as an afternoon refreshment or a pick-me-up throughout the day.
Red Bush TeaRooibos is Afrikaans for "red bush." Grown in South Africa's Cederburg Mountains and harvested during the summer, this tea acquires its unique red color as a result of fermentation (in mounds) and oxidization, when it is spread out to dry in the sunlight; naturally it is green.
Rooibos is known for its health benefits stemming from its rich content in vitamins, antioxidants, flavanoids and minerals (inter alia, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, potassium, fluoride, manganese and alpha-hydroxy) and has a long tradition of medicinal use among the local Native population; among other things, it is known to help cure asthma, hay fever and other allergies, acne, eczema, colics, indigestion, insomnia, and nervous tension. Containing very few tannins and no caffeine, rooibos has a distinctive aroma and amber color.
This tea blends well with various spices and condiments; my favorite mixture is a delicious loose leaf blend sold by my local tea store, which features orange peel, cinnamon, grated coconut, finely minced chili and red pepper. For a more commercial alternative, Tazo's African Bush tea is a great choice as well: a rich, exquisite blend of rooibos, hibiscus, orange peel, rosemary, several lemon ingredients (lemon myrtle, verbena and balm), as well as a number of sweet spices. And in fact, any blend containing any of the aforementioned ingredients and/or honey, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, star anise and vanilla will work extremely well. Enjoy!
Maté: Magic Potion.Maté is actually not tea but a tea-like beverage originating from Argentina and Uruguay, and primarily consumed in those countries as well as in Paraguay and southern Brazil; brewed from the dried leaves and stemlets of the perennial Yerba Maté tree. Its name derives from the quichua word "matí" designating the gourd in which it is traditionally served. On average, 300,000 tons of maté are produced each year.
In its consistency similar to green tea, maté has a distinctive, full, bittersweet flavor with a note of alfalfa, resembling that of tea but milder. Of the 196 volatile chemical compounds contained in Yerba Maté, 144 are also contained in tea. Knowing its manifold health benefits – among the plant's ingredients are the alkaloids xanthine, theophylline and theobromine as well as vitamins C, E, several B vitamins and numerous minerals – the South American Guarani Indians have traditionally used the plant for medicinal purposes, inter alia as a stimulant to the central nervous system, to promote mental, physical and cardiovascular activity, enhance resistance to fatigue, reduce fever, mitigate thirst and hunger, decrease blood pressure, and as a diuretic, laxative, purgative, sudorific, and antirheumatic.
Legend has it that knowledge of the infusion's powers was first imparted to a young Guarani woman and her father by a mysterious shaman, rewarding the woman's faithfulness in staying with her exhausted father while her tribe continued their search for arable land. In recent years, maté has become a cultural phenomenon throughout large parts of South America, and it is now gaining increased popularity in Northern America and Europe as well. In South America, sharing maté from the same container and the same straw (bombilla) is a symbol of closeness and friendship, both in a family and in other social contexts.
Themis-Athena's tea guides: Part 1 (The Basics), Part 2 (Individual Teas) and Part 3 (Scented & Herbal Teas)
Themis-Athena's introduction to tea history and grades, and presentation of select teas from India and Sri Lanka, China, Japan, and blended and scented teas.
Themis-Athena's select annotated tea list and bibliography of tea books and accessories
Themis-Athena's guide to European cooking
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