From plot to pot: Tino tips on how to enjoy the perfect home-grown cuppa Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
While most people may be familiar with the colourful camellia japonica, there’s another variety familiar to tea lovers.
Commonly known as the ‘tea plant’, Camellia sinensis ‘Yabukita’, makes up about 80 percent of green tea production in Japan.
It’s prized for its adaptability to cooler climates, vigorous spring growth and the flavour of the tea produced from its young foliage tips.
The tea plant flowers during winter and to get optimal results make sure you prune just after it flowers and then feed the plants with a specific camellia food which will push through new soft tips, perfect for harvesting in Spring.
Normally Tino would just remove the tips but because his plants were in need of a prune he decided to multitask and prune and harvest at the same time.
Here’s how he makes green tea.
What you need:
- Two handfuls of soft green tea leave tips
- Microwave safe bag (Tino uses a muslin variety)
- Tray (Tino uses a seedling tray)
- Jar
What to do:
- Grab a couple of handfuls of soft green tea leave tips or pluck the leaves from your cuttings.
- Remove any water from the leaves and place in a microwaveable safe bag.
- Place in the microwave on high for one minute.
- Kneed and roll out the leaves for about five minutes to remove any excess moisture, either in the bag or on a chopping board - just be careful as the leaves are hot!
- Separate and spread the leaves on a tray then place them somewhere warm to dry for a week.
- Once the leaves are dry, they can be stored in an airtight container.
Time for a cuppa!
Featured Plant:
TEA PLANT - Camellia sinensis ‘Yabukita’
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4 июл 2022
