How to choose tea
In a pack - the whole tea bush
Now in our country are imported from abroad about160 thousand tons of tea. And Russia produces about 13 thousand tons per year. We obviously do not drink all this amount of tea, which can be judged if only because packs and boxes are obviously stale on the shelves and are often sold expired. When buying tea, it’s necessary to look both ways, because, according to the State Trade Inspectorate of the Russian Federation, 44% of imported tea is being rejected. And by the way, it is believed that only the first and the highest grades are brought to us from abroad - the second one is unprofitable to sell here, the profit is small. On packs of the highest grade you can find the inscription “Best quality”, on packs of the first - “Quality # 1”. But this is not a fact, because teas are often forged. Instead of higher and first, you can buy a third grade, where you can clearly see pieces of wood, fibers, dust, granules and tea leaves of various sizes. There is even a joke among tasters: abroad, they say, they don’t know that good tea cannot be made from the branches and roots of a tea bush. In any case, when buying, you need to insure and remember a few selection rules.
Spotted lion and elephant with a long trunk
Practice has shown that less often fake tea intin cans, as well as in porcelain and other expensive gift packages. This falsifiers too tough. Strongly flavored expensive teas, which are sold separately, should also not be suspected of "leftism". But forging cardboard boxes and paper bags is very simple.
In order not to buy a surrogate, carefully studythe label. From my own experience I can say: very often there are more than strange inscriptions. For example, it is believed that green tea is rarely forged, but I was offered a carton with hieroglyphs in a very good store, where in Russian there was only one phrase: “famous Chinese tea”. To the question, where is the company, address, brand, trademark, expiration date, I was answered simply: “We have direct deliveries”. By the way, in the same store was found a pack with a no less promising inscription: “a mixture of the best Indian teas”. Here, on many packages, there was no indication of what kind of tea in them - leaf or granulated. The second, by the way, is lower in quality, so the buyer should know what he is spending money on. And finally, this excursion to a specialty store ended with the fact that I found a small jar, where there was an indication of “high mountain” - such teas are considered selective, their price is rather high. But lucky, the drink turned out to be excellent. Many tea lovers have probably read or heard about “white cilia” - the top three leaflets - and “tipsy” - the buds, of which they are supposedly making the highest grade of tea. But the legend is one thing, and life is another. In fact, the highest and the first varieties of tea are made from ripe leaves. From more gentle tea it turns out better, from rough - worse. If the cleaning is not manual, but with the help of a combine, everything is taken care of. The bush is laid bare, the branches often break, sometimes the stem, and the roots are recycled. Unfamiliar tea should be poured on a white sheet of paper and consider what it consists of. Even leaflets speak of high quality, and different debris, dust, chips, fibers, uneven tea leaves, naturally, low. By the way, the name “leaf tea” does not mean that it is cut from large leaves and, therefore, is bad. On the contrary, when brewing, the tea leaves often unfold into a full sheet and give excellent taste and aroma. And the name “small-leaf” does not mean that this tea is made from small leaves. Just a sheet of finely chopped and therefore makes tea stronger, but less tender and tasty. 
And where do “white cilia” go? When cleaning cleaned, they, of course, can get into any variety, just like the kidneys, which in black tea do not change color, remaining greenish-golden. But the most expensive teas are made from buds and “cilia”, because besides the highest known one, there is still a high and highest grade, as well as a unique one. The latter, they say, has not yet come to Russia, but it is still possible to find the highest and highest, but it is hardly possible to buy. Of course, it is not only the “tops” who make them super-expensive. In the production of elite varieties, the place and conditions of growing tea are very important. But as from two neighboring slopes, where the vineyard plantations are located, it is impossible to get the same grapes, and with tea. Slightly more moisture or sun, a small difference in the composition of the soil - and the advantages of products change. Most of the consumers drink “mass” drinks, without any frills. Manufacturers also adapt to the market of poor, undemanding countries. New, simplified, cost-effective technologies for the production of tea also serve this purpose. The so-called technologies of S.T.S. This type of tea is very tart, strong. Due to the mechanization of production processes, they are deprived of a significant part of nutrients and a pleasant aroma. By the way, granulated tea can be “calculated” by the S.T.S. on a pack. So, the appearance of tea speaks volumes, although you can only appreciate it at home. In specialized stores, you still have to show an open jar, but not everyone knows about this. If this is not possible, examine the information on the packaging in detail. Many people do it, like 10 - 15 years ago - one, for example, liked Indian tea, on the pack of which there was an elephant with a long trunk, and others were more comfortable with an elephant with a short trunk. Such an approach to quality is, of course, quite peculiar, therefore it is better not to determine the length of the trunk, but to pay attention to the emblem. On authentic Indian tea there should be a small image of a girl with a basket. Some Ceylon lovers are looking for a speckled image of a lion. And they are absolutely right when they recount these small dots - there should be seventeen of them. By the way, the lion with the sword is the coat of arms of Sri Lanka. Ceylon tea has always been loved in our country, but now it is as fake as Indian tea. Therefore, we have to say again and again: Absolutely on any package there should be a text in Russian - who is the manufacturer, where is it (address, telephone and fax), tea variety, shelf life (no more than two years!). This must always be remembered - and no “direct supply” with hieroglyphs.
Black, green, red and yellow
New fashion is gaining momentum - green tea,which for many years did not use the Russians in particular demand and therefore it was not visible on the shelves of our stores. But for many centuries people only knew green tea, which did not pass the stage of fermentation or oxidation. 
The basis of black and green tea is the same: green leaf. The difference is only in the degree of factory processing. Black tea undergoes five technological operations: from withering and twisting to drying and blending, and green - only three, excluding the main one - fermentation. During it, tea acquires not only the special color and aroma characteristic of black tea, but also loses a number of useful properties. In particular, during the fermentation process, a significant part of vitamin C disappears from the leaves, and in black it remains an order of magnitude less than in green . And according to physiotherapists, green tea in combination with other drugs stimulates blood formation, improves redox processes, normalizes water metabolism, tones the heart muscles, improves the health of patients with atherosclerosis, helps with poisoning, serves as a good diaphoretic and diuretic for colds. that those who drink a lot of green tea are practically not susceptible to gallstone disease. From one tea bush, depending on the processing, get a variety of varieties. There are intermediate types between black and green tea - these are red and yellow teas. They are also called semi-fermented. Moreover, the degree of fermentation is expressed more in red teas - they are closer to the black varieties - than in the yellow ones. Last not far from the green varieties. For younger tea, younger shoots are used, mainly buds, so it has a very pleasant, barely tart taste and strong infusion. Black, green, red and yellow - these symbols must be indicated on the label.
Just four minutes
Everyone makes tea in his own way, but there are threegolden rules that do not just make the drink tasty, but retain all its beneficial properties. The first is to bring the water to a bubbling boil, the second is to warm the teapot with this boiling water, the third is to infuse tea in fresh boiling water for no more than 4 minutes. If overexposed, tannins start to stand out from the leaves, which spoil the whole bouquet, it becomes tart and bitter. To prevent this, tea after brewing need to filter. Previously, this was done using a strainer, now many believe that for these purposes it is more convenient to use tea in single bags. Not without reason they account for about 10% of tea consumed in Russia. There is a prejudice that packaged tea cannot be good. But, according to the testers' experts, tea bags are made from high quality raw materials, but, nevertheless, at the consumer level, it can differ significantly in taste from the usual one.
Do I need to stock up for a “rainy day”?
Tea is extremely hygroscopic and extremely vulnerable whenstorage. It freely releases, absorbs and retains moisture, as well as odors from the environment. How to store it to save taste? The degree of preservation of tea depends largely on the tightness of the package, so the container where it is stored must be tightly closed. Porcelain was and remains the ideal material for dishes, but dark glass, tin and foil are also suitable. Dry tea in glassware with a well-ground stopper can be stored in the dark for more than 10 years. But it is better, of course, not to do such experiments - a little something is wrong and tea is aging quickly. Store it outside the kitchen, highlighting a place isolated from other products. Do not open the tea when cleaning vegetables, cooking meat, fish. The smell of toilet soap, perfume aromas, tobacco smoke have a very bad effect on its aroma. That is why it is better to keep a daily supply of tea in a small jar, so as not to open a large one often. From the many secrets of proper storage of tea, there is one: the smaller the distance between the lid of the teapot and tea, the greater the possibility of preserving the flavor of tea leaves.
