February 15, 2023
by Diana Rosen
Part of the adventure of exploring fine artisanal teas is the visual beauty of the shapes, sizes, and colors of the leaves as they unfurl in the cup. How do the leaves get shaped, and why are there so many styles? And what other factors go into creating the leaf that now brews in your cup?
The leaves on the bush grow because of the moisture of mist and rain, then, after they’re plucked, they begin to lose their moisture and wither. For whites, greens, and yellows, this withering may be enough, however, some varieties benefit from additional air or sun drying or light to full roasting.
To achieve uniformity or particular shapes, leaves may be twisted tightly into “spider legs” or long thin leaves; rolled to form pearls, or curves (Longevity Eyebrows or Chun Mei, for example,) pellets (think Gunpowder Green,) balls, or even into coils or cones. Our Masters Teas also include unusual or hard-to-find items such as leaves shaped into squares, three-inch or longer flattened leaves, and pearls or pellets scented with the ethereal aroma of jasmine.
GREEN
Yin Hao Long Zhu (Silver Dragon Jasmine Pearl) is plucked from a bush usually reserved for white tea yet processed as a green. A plethora of leaf buds are hand-rolled into small pearls, then infused with freshly-picked jasmine flowers then allowed to dry. This process is repeated up to five times which results in a light-bodied liquor with a gentle jasmine essence and intricate layers of soft sweetness.
No shape is more spectacular Tai Ping Hou Kui (peaceful monkey leader) which includes long (up to three inches or longer, flat, emerald-green leaves, the result of labor-intensive hand-pressing. These are particularly enchanting brewed in a glass tumbler to experience the full length of the leaf without breakage. The liquor is light-bodied and delicate with nuances of nut, a touch of sweet grass, lily-of-the-valley floral, and a whispery apricot note. The delicate floral and apricot notes linger nicely on the palate.
All teas are often left unshaped, to be enjoyed in their pure whole-leaf form. This is particularly important for most whites so that their downy buds can remain intact and for yellows for their exquisitely delicate flavor.
OOLONG
Some form of roasting or heating is necessary for processing tea leaves into oolongs to elicit stronger flavors and remove more moisture, from two to eighty percent. A stone wok, heated over a flame, is the classic way many tea processors wither and shape the leaves. These artisans move the leaves with their hands quickly and assuredly for uniformity in shape and moisture reduction.
Other tea processors use roasting machines, metal horizontal cylinders, which are programmed to turn, dry, and roast the leaves but even these are watched closely by tea masters to ensure the perfect combination of the science and art of tea leaf processing is the result.
The variety of drying or oxidation for oolongs can be anywhere from 2 to 80% and each percentage of moisture removal impacts the taste. The lower the number the greener and fresher the leaves taste; the higher the number, the richer and more intense the flavor.
Zhang Ping Shui Xian is a rare Fujian Oolong hand compressed into individually wrapped, aromatic briquettes of large green leaves that produce a flavorful cup of light honey notes, floral, layered, and lingering. The shuixian leaves are hand plucked off of 15-year-old trees with one bud and 3-4 open leaves. The leaves are roasted in a low-fire process before being formed into their distinctive cube shape.
BLACK
Black teas are fully oxidized with all the moisture removed which contributes to their brown/black color and intense flavor. When processed by machine, many farmers use a cut-tear-curl technique or the orthodox full-leaf method.
One of the finest black teas Masters Teas has ever offered is the new Yu Chi, named for the city in Taiwan where an Assam cultivar is grown. Using traditional methods provides a long, leggy, dark leaf that unfurls to a lovely mahogany color with deep complex notes of spice, malt, and a caramelized sugar finish. Super smooth, this gives the best of its leaves when brewed gong fu style but does not disappoint when brewed in a classic teapot.
The sixth category of tea, pu erh, is an entirely different processing protocol. Although loose-leaf pu erh is certainly available, it’s more common to see pu erh leaves shaped into rectangular bricks, round cakes, or other compressed shapes. This category begins with green tea leaves that are intentionally aged, and the resulting appearance is a dark or reddish brown. Tea is not fermented, even for pu erhs, but oxidized, and for pu erh, a healthful bacteria is introduced to speed the breakdown of the leaves. Some vendors spend months, others years up to decades aging their pu erhs.
THE MUDAN
Another fascinating shape is actually a full category of shapes, the mudan (blooming teas) which can be formed to resemble anything from tiny nests to strawberries. The blooming is both how it is brewed and its entertainment value! Place a mudan in a heat-resistant wineglass or a glass tumbler, pour in hot water, and the mudan will open up to appear like a multi-petaled flower or expand in the shapes of a hummingbird’s nest, among others.
This is but a glimpse of processing tea leaves into various shapes. The premise of moisture in/moisture out/moisture in reflects the growing where the mist and rain nurture the leaf to grow; processing results in moisture out even if only to wither the leaf enough to shape it, and ends with moisture in one last time when we brew the dried leaves in hot water when you can enjoy a ringside seat to the greatest show on earth, the “agony of the leaves”.
We invite you to experience the art, the science, the magic of Masters Teas and savor their beauty in shapes and styles, their intoxicating fragrance, and their ambrosial taste.
