BEHIND THE CRAFT
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Tea Craft: How is Tea Hand Picked?

Accuracy of the tea picking is just as important as the timing. The world’s finest teas are handpicked by experts who often tend to their own area of the garden, taking pride in the ongoing quality of their tea bushes as well as the quality and amount picked.

The picker’s day starts early, whilst the morning dew remains on the leaves.

The pickers move quickly across the ‘plucking table’ [the top surface of the sea of tea], and for fine plucking, pick ‘2 leaves and a bud’ - the 2 topmost leaves together with one new bud, are gathered between the thumb and middle finger and deftly plucked with a downward ‘snap’ of the hand and thrown into a basket usually carried on the back.

Find out more about the different types of tea.

FGTE13270

Cinnamon Spice Black Tea Pouch 100g

Net Weight: 100g

Enriched with cinnamon oil and pieces, our Cinnamon Spice black has the rich and warming flavours you would expect from cinnamon with a hint of natural sweeteness. Something different for Chai tea lovers.

The East India Company - Lifestyle

Tea

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£20.00
Cinnamon Spice Black Tea is ideal to warm and comfort at any time of the day. A medium-bodied black tea with classic cinnamon characteristics, making it a robust alternative to a chai tea.

We've taken a quality FBOP black tea - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe - from Nuwara Eliya in the highlands of central Sri Lanka, the home of the finest teas in the country.

If not sure, FOP denotes two leaves and a bud ['flowery'], which are the best new leaves from the tea plant. 'B' stands for broken indicating that the leaf is no longer whole following processing, but has been broken or cut, meaning it will brew a little faster.
We've added natural cinnamon bark from the inner part of the tree and enriched the blend with cinnamon oil, but a rich and warming brew.

Just like the tea, the Cinnamon bark is Sri Lankan, its original home. Thousands of years ago, cinnamon had found its way from Sri Lanka to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, where it was a gift fit for monarchy and deity. It was even used in the embalming process of Egyptian mummies.

In the 17th and 18th century, control of the Ceylon or Sri Lankan cinnamon industry passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch to the British, in the form of The East India Company, by which time they had already set up a competing Cinnamon farm in Kerala in India, which would become Asia's largest.
A good dark brown colour in cup.

Comforting spicy aromas, with notes of nutmeg, ginger and a general 'earthiness'.

A rich and warming flavour with a natural sweetness - we recommend milk and a touch of brown sugar to taste. A super Masala Chai alternative.
Quantity

2.5 GRAMS OF TEA LEAVES PER CUP

Temperature

200ML OF WATER AT 100ºC

Brewing Time

4 MINS BREWING TIME

Ingredients

Ceylon Black Tea with Cinnamon Pieces, Cinnamon Oil

Storage

Store in a cool, dry place avoiding direct sunlight and strong odours.

Stories

What makes Black Tea black?

It all starts with a small ‘just-plucked’ green tea leaf, usually about 5 cm long, delivered fresh by the picker to the local factory for processing. Whilst varying by region, there are always 5 core steps to making a Black Tea.

Step 1 - ‘Withering’: the leaves are spread out in warm air for up to a day to reduce the water content by about 20%. The leaves wilt and lose some of the vibrant green colour.

Step 2 - ‘Rolling’: the wilted leaves are soft and malleable and are placed in an ‘orthodox’ rolling machine. It presses the leaf and breaks down the cell walls, releasing the enzymes required to start the oxidation process. Sometimes the leaf is broken more by a rotavane ‘mincing’ machine that produces smaller grades of tea. If a very small teabag grade is required, a Cut-Tea-Curl machine is used.
Step 3 - ‘Oxidation’ [not fermentation, which requires a microbe involvement]: takes half an hour or so depending on the conditions. Chemical reactions are now creating the natural chemicals that deliver flavour and [reputed!] health benefits. The leaf darkens, just like a cut apple after a few minutes.

Step 4 - ‘Firing’: the oxidised tea is fed into a dryer at about 120 Celsius. This does 3 things - it destroys the enzymes, so oxidation stops; secondly it removes nearly all the water [about 3% remains]; and thirdly, it darkens the colour from light brown to dark to almost black, depending on the length of firing.

Step 5 - Sorting: tea exits the firing process in different sizes, which will complicate brewing - hence the last stage of the process is grading – fired tea is poured into the top of a sifting machine with different mesh sizes from top to bottom. It vibrates and the different sized tea leaves are separated as the tea travels from top to bottom, the biggest leaves being left the top.

Our spirit delivers no ordinary products

  • FAQ

    Does this tea contain caffeine and is there more or less than in coffee?
    Yes, all tea like coffee, contains caffeine. The amount in both teas and coffees does vary, depending on the type, but typically Sri Lankan black tea is lighter than other teas in caffeine content, usually between 50 and 90mg for a normally brewed 230ml serving. This compares to about 95mg for a normal cup of coffee. The best advice is to treat tea and coffee similarly if you need to manage your caffeine intake.

    I’ve heard that tea contains theanine. What is it and what does it do?
    Tea does indeed contain theanine, which is an amino acid [the building blocks of proteins]. Tea is one of only a few sources of theanine. It represents about 1% of dry weight and is at its highest concentrate in shade-grown teas like matcha and gyokuro. Whilst not yet proven in scientific studies that would permit specific health claims to be made, it is believed by many to be able to reduce mental and physical stress, promote relaxation and a sense of well-being. But not only that, it is more recently being thought to aid cognitive function. It’s one explanation for tea’s famous ability to create calm in a crisis [the Great British solution to all problems – ‘putting the kettle on’] and to stimulate when a little boost is required.

  • Delivery & Returns

    UK Standard Delivery: £3.95
    UK Next Day Delivery (mainland UK only): £9.95 (Order before 12pm)
    International Delivery is available, please see our delivery page for details. For more information and Terms & Conditions, please see our Delivery page.

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