Ask the Tea Tasters
How do you make a proper cup of tea?
We all make tea the way we like it but there are a few fundamentals that help to get the best out of your cuppa - always use fresh water and bring it to the boil (re-boiled water has less oxygen in it and does not brew so well). If you do use a pot, take the bags out when the tea is brewed so the second cup is just as good as the first. Oh, and always use a Tetley tea.
Where does the tea we drink come from?
Most of us know that tea comes from China, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and India but less well known are countries like Kenya, Malawi, Argentina, Indonesia and Turkey. The tea we drink comes mainly from Kenya, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and China.
Who drinks the most tea?
Australians drinks quite a lot of tea - 49% of people have had a cuppa in the last seven days. In the last year, there were 5,671,894,500 cups of tea consumed - that means that we drank 272 cups of tea per person, and in Australia we consume 15.5 million cups of tea per day!!
Do tea tasters have to watch what they eat?
More out of etiquette than anything else - breathing garlic and curry over your fellow tasters can be off putting. But remember, some of the best tasters in the world are from India and they have spicy food on a regular basis!
What is the tea tasters favourite tea?
Tetley! So many fantastic teas go into Tetley's blends there is a tea for all of us. Quite popular in the office at the moment is a seasonal Dimbulla tea from Sri Lanka or a peachy Oolong.
How did you become a tea taster?
We are all passionate about travel and food and were curious about the tea tasting role when we saw job ads. Since then we have never looked back!
Isn't tea bag tea just sweepings from the factory floor?
No, the tea used in tea bags is usually of a 'fannings' grade. The tea is simply cut to a smaller size. Its greater surface area infuses a stronger brew and even fetches a premium over leafier teas in auction.
Is green tea better for you than regular black tea?
Green and black tea are from the same plant and so have simliar levels of antioxidants just slightly different ones. Green tea has a greater amount of flavonoids called Catechins, and black teas have greater concentrations of Theaflavins and Thearubigins.
Aren't the 'tannins' in tea bad for you?
What are commonly referred to as 'tannins' are the flavanoids that play an important part in tea's colour and taste. Scientific research is starting to indicate that these are the compounds that have positive health benefits.
I bet you tasters must get sick of tea?
Sadly (or happily!) no. It's a great drink - uplifting but also relaxing; warming in winter, cooling in summer; refreshing, delicious and varied. What more could we want?!
How much caffeine is ok to take in per day and how many cuppas is that?
Tea contains only small amounts of caffeine and you'd need to consume over 6 cups a day to reach a 'moderate' caffeine intake.
Is your tea Fairtrade?
We are members of the Ethical Tea Partnership which works to monitor the conditions of tea production around the world to ensure that they comply with relevant employment laws and union agreements in their country. We only buy tea that has been through the independent audit process of the Ethical Tea Partnership.
Tea is all the same isn't it?
Tea comes from one plant, camellia sinensis, but is grown in many different countries, at different altitudes, in different soil types and different weather conditions. These natural factors will all affect the taste of the tea, so we select and blend them together to get the best attributes of each of the gardens that we buy from, to deliver the right blend for our tea drinkers.
Do you buy tea from just one producer?
One producer would not be able to provide us with enough tea every day to keep Tetley tea drinkers supplied with their favourite brew. We choose to blend many different producers' teas together, from many different countries, so that we provide a consistent Tetley taste, bringing out the best characteristics of all the different teas that we buy.
Are herbal teas from the same plant?
No, herbal teas, such as camomile or peppermint do not contain any camellia sinensis (the tea plant), so they should really be called infusions.
Do you get to travel all over the world?
Our aim is to get as close to the producer as possible, so we pay regular visits to producing countries as well as our packing units.
What is the difference between green tea and black tea? Are they from different plants?
Green tea and black tea both come from the same plant - camellia sinensis. After tea is plucked the leaf is left to whither in order to become soft and malleable prior to cutting. The cutting process releases enzymes and exposes the tea to oxidation. With black tea, this oxidation is allowed to continue until the leaf is brown before it is 'fired' in an oven to stop the fermentation process. Green tea will have little or none of this fermentation which is why it remains green.
How do you taste tea?
36 bowls of tea are brought on whenever we taste. We take a soup spoon, dunk it in the bowl, slurp it up and spit it out (into a spittoon, not the floor). For each tea we will give a grading according to our tasting language. For instance '5SFY44'. Each number and letter describes a distinct aspect of that tea such as the colour, sparkle, body and even zing. These ratings help us to see what tea we can buy that week, and lets us know if the tea we have already bought is OK. Check out the tea tasting video for more info.
How long does it take to become a tea taster?
There is such a variety of tea in the world, you never really stop learning. But at Tetley it takes about 5 years of training before you earn the title of 'Tea Taster'.
Do you need any special qualifications to be a tea taster?
All Tetley tea tasters start as graduate recruits and have learnt their trade through tasting many thousands of cups of tea. It's also necessary not to be colour-blind, as the colour of the liquor and the leaf can tell you a lot about quality.
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