Page 19 - Hafen Hamburg Magazin

PORT OF TASTE ■
Yet ‘tea’ does not necessarily mean real tea. “70 percent of consumption in Germany is of herbal and fruit teas. On- ly 30 percent of ‘tea’ drinkers prefer black or green tea,” explains Stefan Feldbusch, Head Tea Buyer and Tester for Ostfriesische Teegesellschaft. Yet it is only green and black tea that originates from the plant and may correctly be described as ‘tea’ in the traditional sense.
DARJEELING IS THE STAR
“The star among these teas remains the Darjeeling. It is still regarded as the ‘champagne’,” says a convinced Nim- psch. Darjeeling grows at a
height of over 2000 metres
‘FIRST FLUSH’ IS ESPECIALLY DELICATE
Depending on area, there are several harvests per year. In the highlands, leaves are picked three times a year at clearly defined seasons: “The ‘First Flush’ starts at the end of March or beginning of April, the ‘Second Flush’ in May or June, while the third har- vest is known as ‘Autumnal’. “The first harvest of the year is a special one as a rule. The early, delicate post-winter leaves have a fine, fresh note and are of particular quality,” says Nimpsch. Second Flush and Autumnal then have a much fuller aroma. They no
longer approach the delica- cy of the freshly picked tea leaves of the first harvest.
Since tea is very sensitive, after picking the leaves are processed on the spot so that they can be transport- ed without any loss of qual- ity. Before going to be dried, the black tea is with- ered, rolled and oxidized in various ways. The differ- ence between a black and a green tea here is that the green tea is heat-treated beforehand. It remains green and does not fer- ment. “Before we order the tea, we receive samples that we subject to sensory
as well as analytical checks. We only then decide which quantities to order,” says
Feldbusch. “In addition, we are more and more often paying attention to other factors, e.g. sustainable and socially responsible farming,” he adds.
Perhaps customers in Momentum will soon again have the opportunity to feel, smell and taste the differences between individual teas. Training courses with Mas- ters of Tea in the tasting rooms will offer them the chance to try out up to 35 varieties. ■
around the town of that name on the Southern slopes of the Himalayas. Also well known are Assam from Eastern In- dia, or strong Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka. There are numer- ous other tea-growing areas. In addition to the countries al- ready mentioned, China, Ken- ya, Vietnam and Turkey are leading producers. The UN Food and Agriculture Organi- zation – FAO – reported that in 2018, producing countries had harvested 6.4 million tons of tea.
In 2019, the German Tea As-
sociation put the country’s
imports at 50,381 tons. The
bulk of these were routed
via the Port of Hamburg. “At
least 70 percent of the tea
there,” calculates Feldbusch. “We initially store the tea with a logistics provider. From there, it goes to our blending plant in Buchholz,” adds the Master of Tea, aged 57. However, specialised forwarding and logistics companies also provide blending and flavouring servic- es to order from customers. After further processing and finishing, some products go for export, some to the retail trade.
In 2018 residents of Germany drank an average of
26
litres of black or green tea.
Quelle: www.teeverband.de
traded in Europe arrives
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