415
And even after the first Opium War in 1841 the secret of tea remained an enigma. As it became possible to travel in China the Royal Horticultural Society of London sent botanist Robert Fortune to procure 'the finest varieties of the Tea-plant, as well as native manufacturers and implements, for the Government Tea plantations in the Himalayas.' (Goodwin p.12) Goodwin describes the torturous process that resulted in the first Assam tea reaching London in 1839. (Goodwin p.148) It was not a huge success, mainly because no one in India knew how to process tea.
Finally, in 1848 Fortune determined that green and black tea came from the same plant, the only difference being in their manufacture. The secret was in a process referred to as fermentation, which is entirely unrelated to fermentation of sugars and starches to make alcohol. It is actually manipulation of the leaves to promote the oxidation of the leaves. (Goodwin p.132/3)
portable greenhouses
Employing the latest technology Fortune successfully transported tens of thousands of Chinese tea plants to India. (Kit p.61) Goodwin describes this success as a 'mummy's curse' because Chinese teas crossed with Indian teas to ‘become a shrubby Frankenstein's monster, popping up all over the place and spoiling the planters' rest' (Goodwin p.121). Despite this unfortunate genetic engineering disaster by the 1880's Indian teas overtook Chinese teas in the ever-expanding British market. (Goodwin p.221) Initially Chinese teas were blended with Assam tea but ultimately Assam teas held their own. The massive outbound migrations of Fujianese on tea clippers were a direct result of the collapse of the tea industry in China, as the world markets became less dependent on Chinese tea. Hopefully the current intellectual property issues and trade imbalances between China and the USA will be resolved more amicably than those of the 19th century.
While Chinese were reluctant to divulge details of the tea manufacturing process there were other sources of information. Lu Yu's Tea Classic of the Tang Dynasty describes the growing and manufacturing process in enough detail for practical purposes. Even if the book was not available in China it was in Japan where it formed the foundation of the tea ceremony. Japan, too, had a thriving tea industry. It is surprising the resourceful tea hunters did not try there.
415
And even after the first Opium War in 1841 the secret of tea remained an enigma. As it became possible to travel in China the Royal Horticultural Society of London sent botanist Robert Fortune to procure 'the finest varieties of the Tea-plant, as well as native manufacturers and implements, for the Government Tea plantations in the Himalayas.' (Goodwin p.12) Goodwin describes the torturous process that resulted in the first Assam tea reaching London in 1839. (Goodwin p.148) It was not a huge success, mainly because no one in India knew how to process tea.
Finally, in 1848 Fortune determined that green and black tea came from the same plant, the only difference being in their manufacture. The secret was in a process referred to as fermentation, which is entirely unrelated to fermentation of sugars and starches to make alcohol. It is actually manipulation of the leaves to promote the oxidation of the leaves. (Goodwin p.132/3)
portable greenhouses
Employing the latest technology Fortune successfully transported tens of thousands of Chinese tea plants to India. (Kit p.61) Goodwin describes this success as a 'mummy's curse' because Chinese teas crossed with Indian teas to ‘become a shrubby Frankenstein's monster, popping up all over the place and spoiling the planters' rest' (Goodwin p.121). Despite this unfortunate genetic engineering disaster by the 1880's Indian teas overtook Chinese teas in the ever-expanding British market. (Goodwin p.221) Initially Chinese teas were blended with Assam tea but ultimately Assam teas held their own. The massive outbound migrations of Fujianese on tea clippers were a direct result of the collapse of the tea industry in China, as the world markets became less dependent on Chinese tea. Hopefully the current intellectual property issues and trade imbalances between China and the USA will be resolved more amicably than those of the 19th century.
While Chinese were reluctant to divulge details of the tea manufacturing process there were other sources of information. Lu Yu's Tea Classic of the Tang Dynasty describes the growing and manufacturing process in enough detail for practical purposes. Even if the book was not available in China it was in Japan where it formed the foundation of the tea ceremony. Japan, too, had a thriving tea industry. It is surprising the resourceful tea hunters did not try there.
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