UBUCIKO
UBUHLE NEMPILO
UBUCIKO BEZANDLA
AMASIKO NOMLANDO
EZOKUZIJABULISA
IMVELO
UKUDLA NEZIPHUZO
REVERSE ENGINEERING
IZAYENSI
EZEMIDLALO
UBUCHWEPHESHE
IZINTO EZIGQOKWAYO
Black Tea the Upper Assam Way: Withered, Clapped, Pan-Heated, Rolled and Fired
Black tea is tea leaf left to darken before it is dried; green tea is heated straight away to stop that. C. A. Bruce, superintendent of tea culture in Assam, wrote down how Chinese tea makers did it there, and Andrew Ure printed his account in 1839: wither in the sun, clap the leaves soft, heat them in iron pans, roll out the juice and dry them crisp over charcoal.
The picture: tea production in China, Guangzhou, about 1800: picking on the hills, working the leaf in the sheds, packing chests for the ships.
Ophakathi
Two days
Imiyalelo
1
1
Pick and wither
Pick and wither
Pick the youngest leaves, the tip of each shoot with about four leaves. Scatter them thinly in open bamboo baskets in the sun for about two hours, turning them, until they look slightly withered. Cool them indoors for half an hour.
Izinto zokwakha zalesi sinyathelo:
Amaqabunga etiye amasha2 kgAmathuluzi adingekayo:
Ubhasikidi wequbu2
2
Clap them soft
Clap them soft
Clap the leaves gently between your hands and toss them for five to ten minutes, then rest them half an hour. Do this three times, until they feel like soft leather. Bruce was told this gives the black colour.
Amathuluzi adingekayo:
Ubhasikidi wequbu3
3
Heat in the pan
Heat in the pan
Heat an iron pan over a straw fire. Put in about a kilo of leaves and turn them briskly by hand until they get too hot to hold.
Izinto zokwakha zalesi sinyathelo:
Utshani obomile1 as requiredAmathuluzi adingekayo:
I-wok
Umgodi womlilo4
4
Roll out the juice
Roll out the juice
Gather the hot leaves into a ball and roll it forward under both hands for about five minutes, pressing to squeeze out the juice. Open the ball and shake the leaves apart. Heat them in the pan once more and roll again.
Amathuluzi adingekayo:
Ubhasikidi wequbuI-wok5
5
Half-dry over charcoal
Half-dry over charcoal
Spread the leaves 8–10 cm deep on a bamboo sieve over a clear, smokeless charcoal fire, with a gap in the middle for the hot air. Take them off while still soft and leave them in a basket overnight to deepen in colour.
Izinto zokwakha zalesi sinyathelo:
Amalahle1 as requiredAmathuluzi adingekayo:
Isihlungo somhlangaUmgodi womliloUbhasikidi wequbu6
6
Sort and fire crisp
Sort and fire crisp
Next day sort the leaves into large, middling and small. Dry each sort again, a thin layer at a time, until crisp. Finish them piled deeper over a fire deadened with ash, covered with a second basket, until a leaf breaks at the slightest pinch.
Izinto zokwakha zalesi sinyathelo:
Amalahle1 as requiredAmathuluzi adingekayo:
Isihlungo somhlangaUmgodi womliloUbhasikidi wequbu7
7
Pack it
Pack it
Press the cooled tea into a tight, closed tin and keep it dry.
Amathuluzi adingekayo:
Ithini lokugcina itiyeIzinto
3- Isibambeli
- 1 as requiredIsibambeli
- 1 as requiredIsibambeli
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