Modified Teas: Crafted Teas

The tea bead, Xuri Dongsheng, before and during infusion

transforming appearance of the tealeaves by handcrafts

Before the teabag was invented, there has been another way to pack loose leaves together so they can be units for a cup or a pot — tied tea. A dosage is tied together either when the tea is still soft before drying, or made wet again after it is already dried. Most of the tea selections used for this craft are baked green teas. This maybe an old form, but it is not less convenient than the tea bag, and is also much more acceptable quality.

The oldest form may well be the “chrysanthemum” shape, which is still being made in many production regions in China. A trendy one is the large pearl shape that “blooms” into a flower after it is soaked in hot water. This comes in a variety of designs and gimmicks. The former form is less labour intensive (relatively speaking) to produce so has less influence on tea taste than the latter one, which takes additional wetting and a bit more hand work in shaping. There are also all sorts of formations and shapes basing on the simple idea of tying leaves together, but I am not going to spend coverage on a variety which overall taste quality does not impress me.

One form which making has the least effects in taste maybe the small pearl shape. It is made usually from one shoot with one or two leaves attached to the same stalk. The province of Fujian produces most of the pearl shapes available in the market, a large proportion is scented with jasmine or jasmine combination flowers, and named jasmine pearls, or dragon pearls, or such names.