Turkish Tea

About Turkish Tea

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:08:00 GMT

Turkey has over sixty years of tea producion experience. Year after year, using this expereince, the flavor of our tea has continued to be improved to satisfy tea drinkers.

We use a blend of proven cultivation methods along with the modern technologies and equipment in our processing so your Turkish tea experience will be a delight.

There are about 200 000 small tea growers in East Black Sea Region of Turkey. They pick green tea three flush in a year from May to October in hilly lands of east Black Sea.
Annual fresh tea production is about 800 000 tons.

Between 155 000-160 000 tons black tea are produced in Turkey annually. General Directorate of Tea Enterprises (Çaykur) has 46 tea processing factories and produces 65% of total production. Private sector have a lot of small tea processing factories and produces 35% of Turkish tea.

Black Turkish Tea Production Process

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:07:00 GMT

1- Withering:
Fresh tea leaves contain 70-80% water. During the flat bed withering process 32°C warm air is blown reducing the water content to 60-65%, making the leaves more elastic and suitable for rolling.

2. Rolling:
This is the operation in which the cell extract of the withered tea leaf is spread over the rolled leaf surface, of fresh tea leaves is cut, ground and rolled in various tea manufacturing machinery, and the oxidation process begins.Leaf cells are broken in rolling and cells water liquid arise to leaves surface. The poliphenols and enzymes of cells water reacts against oxygen and causes to fermentation (oxidation)As a result of this process, theaflavins and thearubigins arise and gives quality to the tea as colour, brightness, aroma etc.

4. Drying:
It is the process by which the humidity level of tea leaves rolled and fermented in the drying furnaces is reduced to 3-4% by stopping the oxidation, so that the tea is rendered storable and packagable

5. Sorting and Packing:
This process is sorting the black tea with sieves and separating the different grades. Then they are sent to packaging factory.

Brewing Tea In Turkish Style

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:06:00 GMT

Although there are some different tea brewing styles in Turkey, this one is almost common among Turkish people:First put the water into a kettle, put enough tea into a teapot and put the teapot on the kettle.
When the water boils in the kettle, pour some on tea into the teapot. Wait 15 minutes. The tea in the teapot mustn't be boiled but the water in the kettle must be hot. Then pour brewed tea into teacup (or tea glass), half of the cups must be brewed tea and other half the hot water.
Brewing time is longer in Turkey, but they add water to brew and they generally use sugar.

Brewing Turkish Tea In General

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:06:00 GMT

There are a lot of kind brewing style in the world and no one can say one is true but others are false.The important point is the tea to leave its extract into water in any brewing style.
To brew a good tea, you need a good master. A good master can produce a good brew from a low quality tea.
It is accepted to brew tea in 3-5 minutes in general, but this is not a strict rule and the time vary in different type of teas.
It is accepted a porcelain teapot to be best for brewing tea, but other kind of teapots can be used

Tasting Notes on Turkish Tea

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:05:00 GMT

Too long, much too long a time has passed since I received by surprise that magical cloth-packed package, tied with a string in an old-fashioned way, which carried two rare boxes of fine Turkish tea. I must thank Mr. A. R. Sakli for this gift, and I frankly recommend to all tea lovers to try some Turkish tea.

The first tea is a simple one, in a 250 g. box. The leaves are finely broken, with a uniform black colour that has an unusual blue hue. They smell bitter and a bit smoky. After a 5 minute steeping, the tea smells of pleasant bitterness, while the taste reveals again the light smoky tone, along with a fresh background, which reminds me of green teas. The tea has no astringency or sourness, it is smooth and medium-bodied, and lacks some character. Most of all it reminded me of the simple High Forest Ceylon that I had (from Mariage Freres). It has similar finely broken leaves, but with a brown hue. It has a similar bitterness, but instead of smokiness it has some sweet smell like cooked greens. It is lighter in colour than the Turkish tea, and also has no sourness. However, it lacks the fresh background, and is too light-bodied, too watery. Although both teas lack character (and I mean special attributes like those found in, say, Yunnan tea), the Turkish tastes much better.

To complete the picture I must note that Turkish tea was meant to be steeped for a long time, during which it extracts all its bitterness, and must be sweetened to be drinkable. I tried a mere 5-minute steeping, unsweetened.

The second Turkish tea is more interesting. It is Burcu (Kokulu Cay), translated to Aromatic Tea. Its leaves are a bit larger, although they also have been tortured under the CTC machines, in order to allow maximum extraction of the taste. This one has bergamot flavouring added, a pleasant one that reminds me of bitter citrus marmalade. A joy for any Earl Grey drinker, especially those who like subtly added flavours. The base tea is strong, bitter, and with a light, pleasant astringency. The bergamot flavour and aroma are weaker, and combine well with the tea. For some reason I feel some sage in the aroma as well, a herbal tone which is unusual in Earl Greys.

I have especially enjoyed this tea while drinking it with my brother-in-law, a Turkish Jew, in traditional Turkish tea cups (small, tall glass cups, about 4 oz. Each) with sugar cubes (not for me, thank you).

Both teas are Caykur teas, the great Turkish tea monopoly. The Turkish grow quite a deal of tea, but consume most of it, and is hard to find outside of the country. They are worth trying.

Turkish Tea recipe on Caykur's tea packages

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:05:00 GMT

1- We recommend porcelain teapot and it shouldn't have lime in the best brewing
2- Measure one tea-spoonful tea for each cup and one for teapot (put more tea for better brew).
3- Pour boiled water into the teapot from the kettle.
4- Reduce the fire under the kettle. The brew in the teapot mustn't be boiled but the water must be hot in the kettle.
5- Brewing time must be 10-15 minutes.

History Of Turkish Tea

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:04:00 GMT

The Chinese sources claim that the first person who drank was the emperor Shen-Nung who lived around 2700 BC. This emperor, reported to be quite careful about his health, used to drink his water after having it boiled. One day, while his water was being boiled again, some leaves from the tjigs burning in the fire underneath the pot was said to have fallen into the pot and the emperor who drank this tisane noticed that the aroma and taste was indeed wonderful. He inquired about where those leaves had come from and thus discovered the tea plant.

The Indians, on their part, claim that the discoverer of the tea was a bouddhist priest named Darma who had lived some 1900 years ago. He is reported to have decided to spend seven years of his life without sleeping for concemplating the grandeur of Buddha, but could withstand the sleeplessness for only five years and tried to overcome his drowsiness by chewing some leaves that he had picked up from some bushes and managed to complete thus his seven years. According to the Indians, the leaves which he had masticated were from a tea plant.

Another legend says that the warts on the face of a Chinese scientist could never heal and, finally the skin and flesh had started to fall off. As his face had become so ugly that he was being abhorred by the people around him, he decided to seclude himself from them and moved to an area with a mild climate and full of greenery. He was bating himself with the water from the neighboring springs and feeding himself with the grass and leaves from the adjacent forest. A while after, he observed that the wounds on his face had begun to heal. When he examined the matter, he had discovered that the area which he had selected as his abode was full of tea plants, of which the leaves were constantly falling into the spring constitution his bathtub.

The book titled "The Prose of tea" of Okakura Kakuza, translated by Ali Suha Delilbasi and published in the culture series, says that the tea was being used as a medicinal plant before being known as a beverage. The book goes on to say that the Japanese ennobled it in the fifteenth century and made a religion out of it: the chaism which was one based on the concept of admiring whatever is beautiful amidst the hidiousnesses and, as such, it penetrated into the wealthiest and the poorest homes alike, In fact, the Japanese people still say "chailess" for people who is impervious to both the serious and comical aspects of the drama of ; individual.

" There was a fine beauty prone to its idealization and idolisatino in the taste of the tea.

The despising pride of the wine, the conscious individualism and the smiling innocence of cacao are not encountered in the tea.

Tea is a beverage which entertains in the evening, consoles at midnight and salutes the sunrise in te morning.

Tea is a work of art and needs the hand of a master craftsman. Just like good and bad pictures, there are good and bad brews of tea.

A song poet marked with chagrine that the three worst things in the denaturation by a distorted education of an otherwise fine youth, in the observation of devaluation of fine paintings by the admiration of ordinary people and the bitterness of noting the wastage of a wonderful tea as a result of bad brewing. "

Turkish Tea and Antiseptic Properties

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:03:00 GMT

The use of tea as a panacea for high-fever diseases date back to the ancient China. The green tea is a stronger antibacterial than the black one. Used as a drug to stop the dysenteria in Russia, it was found to be more effective than manyther expensive drugs.

In 1987. considerable quantities of amino-butyric acid were produced through the processing of a new species of tea called "gabaro" in oxygenless environment. This substance reduced the blood pressure by 14 to 17 percent in the rats after a 20 day treatment.

Turkish Tea and Caffeine

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:03:00 GMT

It is documented that the tea has a stimulant and urinant effect, due to the fiavonal. alias caffeine, in it. According to the statement of a researcher, the caffeine is not carcinogeous even at the limit of its maximum tolerance. Though the pure caffeine causes nervosity and stomach throubles, it is not responsible for such situations in the brew itself. The caffeine is a cardiac stimulant, increases the basic metabolismal rate and results in some persons in insomnia.

TurkishTea a Panacea for All

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:02:00 GMT

As a result of its effects of reducing the blood sugar, the tea decreases thlipids and cholesterole levels and arterioscleroses.

The harmful effects of tobacco, the toxicity of nicotine and tar are known to be carcinogenous. Against which the tea acts as a blocker. It removes the unpleasant odor of cigarette from the mouth. In fact. tea phenols are used in chewing gums and in some of the mouth sprays.

The less than expected rates of death among the survivors of Hiroshima have been attributed to be fact that the inhabitants were consuming large quantities of green tea.

The research work carried out in Japan an China revealed that the crystalline substances in the tea brew acts against oxidation and. therefore as a retarder of senility.

Scientists in many countries have studies after the 70s the tea's effects preventing the cancer and mutations in the genes and obtained encouraging results with the green and black the plus oolong tea (partially fermented leaves before roasting).

The experiments conducted on rats showed that the green tea brew contained the sarcomal growth. The oral ingestion of a drug manufactured from the tea crystal, reduced by 23 percent the growth of Erlich tumors. The study made in 1988 and 1989 showed that the green tea significantly retarded the spread of this specific cancer type.

The same study indicated favorable results on 95 percent of the rats to which were given a green tea brew at 5 to 19 percent.

The tea also contains the intestinal cancers. In groups controlled by tea, the tumor was smaller and the total cure was marked in 95 percent of cases.

The investigations carried out likewise in china showed that both the black and green teas are capable to delay the spread of the stomachal cancer. A parallel study in Japan indicated that the region Shizvok where large quantites of green tea is consumed has cancer death rate five times less than the national average.

The hepatic cancers can be contained in 45 to 47 percent of cases when the green tea extract is ingested orally at the rate of 50 mg/ kg. The green tea extract is found to be more effective than that of the black one.

In summary, it may be stated that the tea has beneficial effects in both the initial and advanced stages of cancer. Since the people live in more poluted environment today, a means to offset the ill-effects of this phenomenon is required to ensure the longevity, and the tea can well constitute this panacea.

An old Chinese adage says that "three cups of tea a day keeps the druggist away".

The calorific value of the tea is low. One cup of tea contains a mere 4 calories. It also has a cooling effect in the human being. According to some claims, one liter of tea ingested a day during the summer months removes 534 calories from the body, or one cup deducts fifth times the amount of heat from the body than its own heat.

From time immemorial, the Chinese used the tea as an analgesic and antipyretic. The dilatation of capillary veins permits the body heat to be expelled and the fever is reduces as proven by laboratory tests. This is true for the capillaries of both the brain and the skin, thus the antypretism and analgesism.

The tea plays a refulatory role in the digestive system. It facilitates the digestion (with the partial exception of meats) and permits the stomach to be emptied faster.

A properly brewed tea has been shown not to lead to gas generation and acid execration in the stomach. It is a good beverage also for the adjustment of the water balance in the body after extended diarrheas.

The tea removes the lethargy and apathy and is good for the mental fatigue. In a control test made on humans it was shown that the ingestion of tea after a certain period of time led to the reduction of rheumatic disturbances and chronics hepatitis, decreases the artariosclerosis and exerted an antibiotic effect in dysenteris and stomachal and intestinal problems.

The tea taken during the meals is believed, however, to reduce the absorption of the iron. For this reason, it should be taken sometime after the meals.

Professor Dr. Nurhan Akyuz declares that the vitamin P in the tea gives elasticity and health to the skin, and its folic acid which help the production of new blood cells.

Adding that the tea facilitates the functioning of the heart and stimulates the nervous system, Professor Akyuz states that there are more cardiac cases among the tea abstainers than among the drinkers.

Turkish Tea as a Meagering Agent

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:01:00 GMT

The tea which you will take without sugar after your breakfast or meals will facilitate the digestion and thereby prevent obesity and will even reduce your weight.

Let's now return to the brewing of the tea. It is an art to prepare a good brew, and requires craftsmanship from the brewer in addition to the quality of the materials used. The preparation of a tisane is subject to different ways and methods among different cultures; though the entire system is underlain by the three golden rules of having a high-quality tea, a good (preferably porcelain) teapot and the avoidance of using detergents in washing the pots and kettles, and the use of hot water only. Another rule which is dictated by a good brew is the use of fresh water devoid of lime and chlorine. The Chinese used to maintain that the best water for this purpose was the spring waters from the mountains. The crystal should be preferred in the tea glasses. A white and thin edged cup should be preferred if cups are used. it will let you to better appreciate the taste, aroma and tinge of the tea.

Turkish Tea Bath

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:00:00 GMT

You will obtain wonderful results if you add tea to your bath. First of all, your skin will become nicely tanned. It will be followed by the tea's rejuenating effects.

Prepare one liter of boiling water and add tour spoonfuls of tea in it and let it brew for about ten minutes. Pour this tea into your bathtub.

The tea has also a fat-cleaning effect. Those having fat skins may remain in the bathtub filled with as hot a water as can be tolerated and slay in it after throwing into the water the contents of a lOO gr packet of tea. You wit! come extremely relaxed out since the fat is cleaned from your skin and your pores are reopened. Such a bath is particularly good after a tiresome sportive activity and physical fatigue. You will feel as fresh as you were when you were born.

The tea is the best preventer of alopesia in obese persons. The results of rinsing the hair with tea are indeed wonderful.

Likewise, if you comb your hair after having it lightly wetted with tea, you will give the hair a beautiful brightness and vitality.

Adding a few drops of lemon wise a bottle of tea, you will obtain a nice lotion for fatty skins which, particularly in the summer months, will be further enhanced in a healthy bronze after the sunbathe. Don't forget the tea bath for your eyes, too, in order to keep your eye health.

Brewing of Black Turkish Tea

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:58:00 GMT

Softer waters are more suitable for this purpose. The kettle is boiled first and removed from the fire afterward. Then boiling into the teapot and a teaspoonful of tea is added for each cup of tea, plus another for the pot itself.

The Chinese teas get brewed within 2 -1/2 minutes while the others require 5 minutes. The boiling water should never be poured on the tea. It must be remembered that the water boiling at 100"C of sea level will drop to 84'-C when poured into the pot and to 74°C at the end of the 5 minute brewing time. The boiling takes place at S7°C at an altitude of 1000 meters and 93°C in 2000. The boiling water destroys the vitamins in the tea and those which are left to brew for more than 5 minutes will start to acquire a bitter taste.

You may add white Candice sugar or mil to the tea to suit your preferences. The can-dice sugar will not after the tea's taste.

The green tea may be brewed according to the Touareg and Russian methods.

Turkish Iced Tea

admin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:57:00 GMT

The iced tea, not very well-known in our country, is quite widespread in Greece, Italy and Egypt. The shortest and easy way to make iced tea is to let the brewed tea to cool off. But the tea loses much of its aroma during the evaporation. The refore, many people let the tea leaves to brew within the cold water, although it will not be so tasty as that one obtained with the hot water. Some fruits and cubes of ice may also be added to the service cups. To keep the tea brewed in cold water for three days in the refrigerator will go a long way to enhance its taste.

The tea drinking is a ritual by itself in Japan where the group of guests consisting of tour to live persons are admitted to a special tea-room. After washing their hands and rinsing their mouths, they go into this room on their knees. Sweets are served before the tea which is specially brewed just at the threshold of the door. This custom, dating back to the Zen tradition, still continues today in a somewhat modified form.