How to Create Your Own Blended Teas

Tea has been a popular beverage for thousands of years. Most of the tea drunk in the West is black tea, but other types are becoming more popular. Most of the tea we drink, black or green, is blended to make sure that the taste will be consistent from year to year. With all the teas available these days, there's no reason you have to depend on other people to blend your tea. Educate your palate and you'll be able to play around with your own blends.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A teapot
• An assortment of unblended teas from different continents, countries and districts.
• A teapot
• An assortment of unblended teas from different continents, countries, and districts.
• A small scale (optional, but very useful)

How to Learn About Tea Varieties

1. White tea leaves White teas come primarily from Ceylon, China and India. White teas are the least processed teas; young leaves are dried to remove all moisture but the natural flavor of the delicate picking is preserved. Light in body, a white tea yields a refined infusion that is naturally sweet.
2. Green tea leaves Green teas primarily come from Kenya, China, Formosa, India, Indonesia, Japan, Ceylon and Vietnam. Green teas, the earliest form of tea, are processed without oxidation. The resulting leaves infuse to create a light and refreshing drink. The flavors of green teas are primarily vegetal and grassy, with a slight bitterness that is more pronounced than in more processed teas.
3. Oolong tea leaves Oolong teas come primarily from China, Formosa, India and Thailand. Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea. It lacks the flowery, sweet aroma of black tea but neither does it have the strong grassy, vegetal notes associated with green tea. A noted characteristic
   is a lingering sweet aftertaste. Oolong is one of the teas commonly found in Chinese restaurants.
4. Black tea leaves Black teas come from all over the world: Kenya, Malawi, Ceylon, China, Formosa, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Vietnam, even the Caucasus regions of Turkey and Russia. Black teas vary greatly depending upon the country of origin, the geographic area, the estate where they are grown and the grade of the leaves. Black teas are generally deeper and more flowery.
5. A Pu-erh tea cake Pu-Erh teas have a strong, earthy flavor and aroma due to a double fermentation during which the tea leaves actually begin to decompose. Pu-erh teas are available in leaf form, but customarily come as pressed cakes or bricks.

How to Create Your Own Tea Blends

6. Look at your notes and see what you liked and didn't like. Start with your foundation flavor and move on from there. You might like the overall character of a sweet but fairly neutral Ceylon to start with.
7. Decide what flavors you want to boost and which you want to minimize. Perhaps that Ceylon would be complemented by the flowery, fruity notes of a second-flush Darjeeling. That same Ceylon might make a hearty breakfast tea if blended with a bold Assam.
8. Think about additional small flavor notes. A touch of jasmine might not be distinguishable, but would bring out the flowery notes of the other teas. A little bit of Lapsang Souchong might bring a deepness and mystery to your blend. Play around and have fun!
9. Make records as you go, so you can recreate a blend you particularly like. Who knows, you may create a "flapcatcher," a strange colloquial term for a tea that tastes better than it looks.

Tips & Warnings

• There are crossovers between groups: white Pu-Erhs, Darjeelings and Assams and white and green Darjeelings and Assams.
• There are also flavored varieties, like white, green and black jasmines. There are differences in the same teas from different places. Lapsangs and jasmines from China are different from Lapsangs and jasmines from Formosa.
• Most specialty tea merchants sell sample sizes, perfect for this process. See the Upton Teas link below for one such merchant.
• Keep a diary of your tea tasting. It doesn't have to be complicated, just what you liked and didn't like about each variety.
• If you are concerned about caffeine, limit your brewing time. A three-minute infusion will produce only half the caffeine of a five-minute infusion.
• A packet of personally blended tea, along with a handsome mug and tea strainer, makes a great gift for a tea loving friend. It's also a great way to introduce someone to the concept of tea blending.
• Remember that people spend their lives doing this as a career. Be careful, this can become an obsession. Just kidding! Tea blenders have been doing this for thousands of years; you are continuing a tradition.