“Drinking tea is the best way for human beings to turn to their inner self from the chaos that surrounds them, it’s that time when the prince and the peasant share the same thoughts, the same joy, after which they prepare to return to their destiny.“ ( Lu Yu – Chinese poet)
TEA – in the wild, it is a shrub from the Camelia Sinensis family that needs a warm and damp climate and it can grow at altitudes up to 2800 meters.
Like wine vintages, each crop reflects the characteristics of the plantation: the features of the soil, the climate, weather it’s a sunny or rainy region.
All teas are obtained from this shrub and the treatment of the leaves depends on the type of tea that is wanted.
The Mariage Freres Tea house classifies teas in 8 categories, as follows: white teas, green teas, yellow teas, blue teas, black teas, post-fermented teas, compacted teas, perfumed teas.
- white tea – it is unique, its name coming from the silvery color of its leaves and the down on its freshly budded leaves. Is production is extremely low, with China being the main supplier of fine white tea
- green tea – it’s a non-oxidized tea. It is the result of a special treatment designed to avoid the natural process of oxidizing. There are two methods of obtaining green tea:
- the Chinese method: the freshly picked leaves are dried in a basin under which a 100 Celsius degree fire is burning;
- the Japanese method: the leaves are rapidly steam-heated in a special recipient. This way leaves become suppler and more pliable, perfect for rolling. They are rolled by hand and than dried; these operations are repeated until a permanent dryness is achieved. Afterwards, the leaves are sorted in various categories. Different qualities of green tea are categorized by color, aroma and leaves of the same dimension.
- yellow tea – is obtained from green tea. When the oxidizing process is stopped, leaves are stored out. Because of the phenol that they contain, an auto-oxidization takes place, a process that confers a sweet and savory aroma to the leaves. They have a unique and inexplicable characteristic: first they are green, than become yellow and stay like this until the infusion.
- blue tea – it is an intermediary tea between lack and green teas; leaves are exposed to a short oxidizing process. They are called “oolong” , which means “black dragon”, or “Wu Yi”, the name of the Chinese mountain where the famous garden whose blue tea production is known world-wide.
- black tea – it is a oxidized tea. Experts classify them depending on the aspect of the leaves (whole leaves or broken ones)
- post-fermented tea – it differs from the black tea by its specific preparation, with consecutive phases of a long fermentation process that takes place in special cellars. During their conservation there, the aroma of the tea is developing and the theine content diminishes. The tea becomes absolutely light and the savor gains in subtlety until it becomes one of the rarest and most looked for aromas. This tea is unique in the world, the only one 50 to 60 year old, and is searched by the true connoisseurs.
- compacted tea – green, black or blue tea leaves, post-fermented or perfumed, they are compacted and than presented as packages.
- perfumed tea – the Chinese pour perfumes onto tea leaves, perfume that gives it more savor without making its aroma to disappear. There are 3 categories:
- Great classics: rose, jasmine, orchid or orange flower aromas
- Fantasy: exotic fruit, vanilla, black currant
- Perfumed mixes: tropical mix
The noblesse of Chinese traditions has associated the subtlety of taste with the pleasure of the eye. This way, tea leaves can be compacted in bouquets evoking the stars, flower bouquets or precious pearls. These compositions are appreciated for their beauty and transparency during infusion.
Triangle d’Or tea salon offers a imperial jewel: green tea and jasmine gold-covered pearls.