Remember when I recently shared about the delicious tea made by my friend Deberah? Well, she has shared her technique, and here it is!
Deberah says: I found this information from a borrowed book, Homegrown Tea by Cassie Liversidge. I borrowed this book from my good friend Susan Mills, who shares information about her enjoyment growing herbs and making teas.
From a Camellia sinensis plant, recipe to make Black tea:
Pluck the bud and the light green new leaves at the tips of branches. The best time to do this is early in the morning before the sun can heat and dry the leaves in the spring when the plant puts out new shoots.
Spread the leaves on a tray and allow them to dry for at least 20 hours. Leaves will wither until they are limp.
Roll the leaves between palms of your hands. I used a pair of surgical gloves. The book says to use a sushi mat, but since I don’t have one, it was an easy decision to use the gloves. I must admit I kind of liked the rolling, and it darkens the leaves and smells nice.
Spread the leaves on a baking tray and bake at 75 degrees for up to three hours. The leaves will turn brown and will be oxidized.
Store cooled tea in a glass container.
I am impressed by those individuals who can grow enough plants to do this!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Deberah's instructions.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I shared some tea I made this spring with my tea group this past Sunday. I never seem to get it to be very black tea, more of a white/green tea. Maybe I am missing that last step in the oven.
ReplyDelete