Nutmeg

Nutmeg is the seed of Myristica fragrance, an evergreen tree that grows up to 60 feet tall. Interestingly, the tree produces both Nutmeg and mace. This is the only tropical fruit that is the source of two different spices. The mature dried seeds of Myristica fragrance are exported both Shelled and unshelled.

The sweet but slightly bitter flavor of Nutmeg adds character to vegetables. Several other commercial products are also produced from the tree, including Essential Oils, Extracted Oleoresins, and Nutmeg Butter.

Grades:-

1. With Shell
2. Without Shell

Specifications:-
       

Requirements
	Types and Grades
	Type 1 (Unshelled)		Type 2 (Shelled)
	Grade1	Grade2	Standard Quality
			Large	Medium	Small
No:of Nuts per Kg	160MAX	161 TO 260	220 Max	221 to 275	276 min
Extraneous Matter % By Mass, Max.	1	1	1	1	1
Nuts with Rattling Sound % By Count, Min	80	70	Not Applicable
Empty Shells & Dust of Nutmeg % By Mass, Max	0.5	0.5	Not Allowed

As Per Sri Lankan Standard Test Methods for Spices & Condiments.

Categories: Health Tips, History, Nutmeg, Spices

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds of several species of an evergreen shrub of the genus Coffea. The two most common sources of coffee beans are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the "robusta" form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), but has a more bitter taste. Coffee plants are cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia, Maldives, and Africa. Once ripe, coffee "berries" are picked, processed, and dried to yield the seeds inside. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor, before being ground and brewed to create coffee.

Coffee is slightly acidic (pH 5.0–5.1) and can have a stimulating effect on humans because of its caffeine content. It is one of the most popular drinks in the world. It can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways. Many studies have examined the health effects of coffee, and whether the overall effect of coffee consumption is positive or negative has been widely disputed. The majority of recent research suggests that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial in healthy adults. However, coffee can worsen the symptoms of some conditions such as anxiety, largely due to the caffeine and diterpenes it contains.

Coffee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia; the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi shrines of Yemen. In East Africa and Yemen, coffee was used in native religious ceremonies that were in competition with the Christian Church. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia. The beverage was also banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.

An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for twelve countries in 2004, and it was the world's seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005. Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Consequently, organic coffee is an expanding market.

Categories: Coffee

Types Of Ceylon Tea

Sri Lanka has over 188,000 hectares under tea cultivation yielding about 298,000 tonnes of "made" tea, and accounting for more than 19% of world exports. In 1972, the island then known as Ceylon reverted to the traditional name of Sri Lanka, but retained the brand name of Ceylon for the marketing of its teas.

Tea from Sri Lanka falls into three categories: low-grown (on estates up to an elevation of 2,000ft); medium grown (on elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 ft); and high grown (elevations above 4,000 ft). Each level produces teas of unique character. By blending teas from different areas of the island and at varied elevations, Sri Lanka can offer a very wide range of flavour and colour. Some are full-bodied, others light and delicate, but all Ceylon blends will have brisk, full flavours and bright golden colour.

Because of its geographical location, tea can be plucked in Sri Lanka all year round – the west and east of the island are separated by central mountains so that as each region's season ends, the other begins. Below are descriptions of the three high grown regions.

Dimbula Region

Probably the most famous of Ceylon teas, Dimbula is cultivated on estates first planted with tea when their coffee crops failed in 1870. Grown 5,000ft above sea level, all Dimbula teas are light and bright in colour with a crisp strong flavour that leaves the mouth feeling fresh and clean. Today, it forms part of the high-grown zone of central Sri Lanka which includes Dickoya and Nuwara Eliya.

Example - Kenilworth Estate This tea has long wiry beautiful leaves that give an exquisite, almost oaky taste with good body and strength.

Uva Region

Uva is a fine flavoured tea grown at altitudes between 2,000ft and 4,000ft above sea level onthe eastern slopes of the central mountains in Sri Lanka. It has a bright, deep amber colour when brewed, with thebrisk andcrisp, strong Ceylon flavour. These teas are also used in Ceylon blendand make an ideal morning drink or an after-lunch tea.

Example - St James Estate This is a copper-coloured infusion with a very smooth, pronounced taste and a wonderful aroma. It is a perfect breakfast or day time tea.

Nuwara Eliya Region

Nuwara Eliya teas are light and delicate in character, bright in colour and with a fragrant flavour. Their flavour is heightened when taken with lemon rather than milk.

Example - Nuwara Eliya Estate This tea has a bright brisk flavour and a wonderful perfume, good to drink at any time of day with just a dash of milk.


Ceylon Blend

Ceylon teas span the entire spectrum of tea production, from low to high grown teas. Ceylon Blends was a tradition established at the end of the 19th Century and some companies still market blended Ceylon tea as Ceylon Orange Pekoe or Ceylon BOP. A good blend will produce bright, rich, coppery liquors with a brisk fresh flavour. To ensure that a pre-packed tea is indeed 100% Pure Ceylon Tea, look for the Ceylon Tea Board Lion logo.

Ceylon tea is divided into various grades. These grade names are an indication of size or appearance of manufactured leaf and not of its quality.

BOP - Well-made, neat leaf of medium size without excessive stalk or fiber. There should not be any fine particles (fannings and dust) which are not true-to-grade.

BOP Sp - Larger in size than a BOP lack and clean in appearance. Note: BOP & BOP special be treated as two grades, but for cataloging purposes treat as one grade.

BOPF - Neat leaf, fairly clean. ….. but smaller than the BOP grade. There should not be any fine dust present.

BOP 1 - Should be wiry and twisted, but shorter than an OP1.

FBOP - Smaller/shorter than BOP1 with presence of tips, but larger than FBOPF1.

FBOP 1 - Long, twisted, wiry leaf. Fairly tippy. Longer than BOP1.

PEKOE - Shotty, curly or semi-cirly leaf of large size of any elevation.

PEKOW1 - Same as Pekoe, but smaller in size than Pekoe of any elevation. This replaces the Flowery Pekoe grade.Note: Pekoe and Fekoe 1 will be treated as two grades, but for cataloguing purposes treat as one grade.

FBOPF (FF) - Similar in size to BOP……… and must contain tips.

FBOPF 1 (FF1) - Larger than BOP. Smaller than a FBOP with a show of tips.

FBOPF - Similar in size to BOP with a fair presence of tips.

FBOPF Ex. Sp. - Small leaf and must have an attractive show of golden or silver tips with little black leaf.

FBOPF Ex. Sp1 - Leafy and must have an attractive show of golden or silver tips with little black leaf.

OP 1 - Long, wiry well or partly twisted.

OP - Less wiry than OP1, but much more twisted than OPA.

OPA - Long bold leaf tea with air twist.

BP - (Off Grades) – Should e choppy, hard leaf.

BOP 1A - (Off Grades) – Any flak leaf without stalk and fiber (Clean tea).

BM (BROKENS) - (Off Grades) Mixed flaky leaf tea. Can have more fiber and stalk than BOP 1A.

BT - (Off Grades) – All mixed teas of varying sizes, with or without stalk and fiber.

FNGS 1 (FGS1) - (Off Grades) – Flaky leaf of small size. Can contain more fiber than BOPF, but reasonably clean.

FNGS (FGS) - (Off Grades) – Same as Fannings 1. Can be more fiber and uneven and not as clean as Fannings1.

DUST1 - Smaller than BOPF. (Rainy even well-made and reasonably clean)

DUST - (Off Grades) ………… size to Dust 1. Could be flaky and contain some fiber.

SILVER TIPS - Long tippy leaf, silver in colour, with hardly any black leaf.

GOLDEN TIPS - Long tippy leaf, golden in colour, with hardly any black leaf. Note: Tips and Golden Tips are not catalogued, but sold only privately.

BP1 - Equivalent to size of a high grown BOP, but granular.

BP Special - Larger particle size than BP1.

PF 1 - Equivalent in size to grainy high grown BOPF, but granular.

OF - Smaller than the PF 1. Larger than PD.

PF - (Off Grades) – Similar or slightly larger than PF1 and may contain some fiber.

PD - Grainy Dust grade. Should be smaller than OF.

DUST 1 - Less grainy than PD. Clean.

DUST - (Off Grades) – Inferior to Dust 1. Could be powdery and fibry.

In addition, there are the various “Flowery” varieties of the main grades (e.g. FOP and FBOPF).This tea possesses extraordinary quality in liquor and is composed almost entirely of small golden tip which are the extreme ends of the small succulent shoots of the plant, and the preparation of such tea is course most costly, since it involves sorting out the tip by hand.

Only small quantities of the leafy and flowery grades are produced. The former finds their chief markets in South America, and to a lesser degree in North Africa and a few North African countries. The latter is mostly popular in the Middle East, particularly Iran. Few of the up-country estates make these grades at all. Their stable lines are BOP and BOPF such as are dominant in Britain, Australia and South Africa. The demand appears to be forever smaller and smaller leaf, and a great deal of cutting or milling is resorted today, both in countries of origin and by the packers.

Source: Forbes Tea Portal 

Categories: Grade, Tea

About Tea - Facebook

Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It has a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour that many people enjoy.
Tea likely originated in China as a medicinal drink. It was first introduced to Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the 16th century. Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. The British introduced it to India, in order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on the product.
Tea has long been promoted for having a variety of positive health benefits. Recent studies suggest that green tea may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, promote oral health, reduce blood pressure, help with weight control, improve antibacterial and antivirasic activity, provide protection from solar ultraviolet light, and increase bone mineral density. Green tea is also said to have "anti-fibrotic properties, and neuroprotective power." Additional research is needed to "fully understand its contributions to human health, and advise its regular consumption in Western diets."
Tea catechins have known anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, help regulate food intake, and have an affinity for cannabinoid receptors, which may suppress pain and nausea and provide calming effects.

Consumption of green tea is associated with a lower risk of diseases that cause functional disability, such as “stroke, cognitive impairment, and osteoporosis” in the elderly.
Tea contains L-theanine, an amino acid whose consumption is strongly associated with a calm but alert and focused, relatively productive (alpha wave-dominant) mental state in humans. This mental state is also common to meditative practice.
The phrase "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or herbs made without the tea plant, such as rosehip tea, chamomile tea, or rooibos tea. Alternative phrases for this are tisane or herbal infusion, both bearing an implied contrast with "tea" as it is construed here.

Cultivation and harvesting

A tea plantation in the
Cameron Highlands in Malaysia

Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical climates. Some varieties can also tolerate marine climates and are cultivated as far north as Pembrokeshire in the British mainland and Washington in the United States.

Leaves of Camellia sinensis, the tea plant

Tea plants are propagated from seed and cutting; it takes about 4 to 12 years for a tea plant to bear seed, and about three years before a new plant is ready for harvesting. In addition to a zone 8 climate or warmer, tea plants require at least 127 cm (50 inches) of rainfall a year and prefer acidic soils. Many high-quality tea plants are cultivated at elevations of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. While at these heights the plants grow more slowly, they acquire a better flavour.
Two principal varieties are used: Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, which is used for most Chinese, Formosan and Japanese teas, and Camellia sinensis var. assamica, used in Pu-erh and most Indian teas (but not Darjeeling). Within these botanical varieties, there are many strains and modern clonal varieties. Leaf size is the chief criterion for the classification of tea plants, with three primary classifications being,Assam type, characterised by the largest leaves; China type, characterised by the smallest leaves; Cambodian type, characterised by leaves of intermediate size.
A tea plant will grow into a tree of up to 16 m (52 ft) if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are generally pruned to waist height for ease of plucking. Also, the short plants bear more new shoots which provide new and tender leaves and increase the quality of the tea.
Only the top 1–2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes. A plant will grow a new flush every seven to fifteen days during the growing season. Leaves that are slow in development tend to produce better-flavoured teas.Pests of tea include mosquito bugs that can tatter leaves, so they may be sprayed with insecticides.
Organic tea cultivation is endorsed by governments, corporations, and foundations in tea-growing countries, due to the danger of insecticides to human health and the potential for soil pollution. Naturally occurring mined products are used for soil fertilization. Leaf pests and diseases are controlled with the use of biological control agents, which are prepared or extracted without the use of chemical solvents.


Source : facebook

Categories: History, Tea

History of Tea production in Sri Lanka

Tea production in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is of high importance to the Sri Lankan economy and the world market. The country is the world's fourth largest producer of tea and the industry is one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange and a significant source of income for laborers, with tea accounting for 2% of GDP, generating roughly $700 million annually. In 1995, Sri Lanka was the world's leading exporter of tea, (rather than producer) with 23% of the total world export, but it has since been surpassed by Kenya. The tea sector employs, directly or indirectly over 1 million people in Sri Lanka, and in 1995 directly employed 215,338 on tea plantations and estates. The humidity, cool temperatures, and rainfall in the country's central highlands provide a climate that favors the production of high quality tea. The industry was introduced to the country in 1847 by James Taylor, the British planter who arrived in 1852.

Pre-Tea era

Cinnamon was the first crop to receive government sponsorship in Ceylon, while the island was under Dutch control. During the administration of Dutch governor Iman Willem Falck, cinnamon plantations were planted in Colombo, Maradana, and Cinnamon Gardens in 1769. The first British governor Frederick North prohibited private cinnamon plantations, thereby securing monopoly on cinnamon plantations for the East India Company. However, an economic slump in the 1830s in England and elsewhere in Europe affected the cinnamon plantations in Ceylon. This resulted in them being decommissioned by William Colebrooke in 1833. Finding cinnamon unprofitable, the British turned to coffee.
By 1825 the Ceylonese already had a knowledge of coffee. They started planting coffee as a garden crop and the first coffee plantation was started in Baddegama in Galle District. Although this venture failed due to the unsuitability of the area for the crop, George Bird Hemileia vastatrix or coffee rust, better known as "coffee leaf disease" or "coffee blight". The planters nicknamed the disease "devastating Emily" when it was first identified in the Madolsima area in 1869. Production dipped rapidly as the disease set in and every effort failed to revive coffee production. Of 1700 coffee planters, only 400 remained on the island as the rest left for their home countries. The coffee crop died, marking an end of an era when most of the plantations on the island were dedicated to producing coffee beans. Planters experimented with cocoa and cinchona as alternative crops but failed due to a bug, Heloplice antonie, so that in the 1870s virtually all the remaining coffee planters in Ceylon switched to the production and cultivation of tea. By the year 1900, only 11,392 acres (46 km²) were still under coffee cultivation.

became the first to start planting coffee on a commercial scale. After Bird began his coffee plantation in Singhapitiya, Gampola governor Edward Barnes also started a plantation in Gannoruwa. The demand and high price in the European market for coffee fueled the rush of coffee planting. Investors flocked to Ceylon from overseas and around 100,000 ha (386 sq mi) of rain forest was cleared to pave the way for coffee plantations. The term "Coffee rush" was coined to describe this developing situation in 1840. In 1869 the coffee industry was still thriving in Ceylon but shortly afterwards, coffee plantations were devastated by a fungal disease called Hemileia vastatrix or coffee rust, better known as "coffee leaf disease" or "coffee blight". The planters nicknamed the disease "devastating Emily" when it was first identified in the Madolsima area in 1869. Production dipped rapidly as the disease set in and every effort failed to revive coffee production. Of 1700 coffee planters, only 400 remained on the island as the rest left for their home countries. The coffee crop died, marking an end of an era when most of the plantations on the island were dedicated to producing coffee beans. Planters experimented with cocoa and cinchona as alternative crops but failed due to a bug, Heloplice antonie, so that in the 1870s virtually all the remaining coffee planters in Ceylon switched to the production and cultivation of tea. By the year 1900, only 11,392 acres (46 km²) were still under coffee cultivation.

Categories: History, Tea

The Tea Cup That Heals

Nowadays it often seems as if everything we eat or drink is bad for us in some way. Foods once considered healthy and nourishing contain, we are told, ingredients like carbohydrates, sodium and saturated fats which can cause dreadful diseases when consumed frequently or in excess. Every few days we hear, read or see on television news of some medical discovery exposing the harmful effects of yet another favourite food or beverage, now to be banished from the tables of health-conscious folk. The parade of bad news seems to have no end. So it comes as a relief to learn that one popular beverage, affordable and loved by billions of people around the world, is entirely beneficial and may in fact have preventive and curative health properties when consumed regularly. The beverage, of course, is tea.

Medical benefits have been claimed for tea for as long as it has been drunk. The origins of the ‘cuppa’ are lost to the ages, yet when we first hear of tea it is in a medicinal connection: a Chinese text, The Divine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic, dating from around 250BC, recommends infusions of tea-leaves for the treatment of tumours, abscesses, bladder ailments and lethargy. Since then, generation after generation of medical authorities have sung the praises of tea; and today, a popular encyclopaedia lists no less than 22 separate claimed health benefits for the beverage, ranging from protection against HIV infection to the elimination of bad breath.

 Health-Promoting Ingredients
Extreme or bizarre claims must, of course, be taken with a grain of salt. Far more trustworthy are the benefits proclaimed or suggested by genuine scientific research. When subjected to chemical analysis, tea turns out to contain a number of ingredients whose health-promoting properties are well established. It is also nutritious: taken with milk, four cups of tea a day can provide:

•    approximately 17% of the recommended intake for calcium
•    5% for zinc
•    22% for Vitamin B2
•    5% for folic acid
•    5% for Vitamins B1 and B6

The manganese and potassium in a cup of tea also helps maintain the body’s fluid balance.
Besides these ingredients, tea contains a unique amino acid, theanine, which has a relaxing effect on humans and also assists the natural immune response to infection. The modest amount of caffeine in tea also acts as a mild mood enhancer.

Antioxidants
Perhaps the most significant health-promoting properties of tea lie in the antioxidants or ‘flavonoids’ it contains. Antioxidants are compounds that help remove harmful toxins from the bloodstream, and tea contains uniquely high concentrations of them. Research has shown that consuming such antioxidants can lower the risk of heart disease, strokes and cancer.
There are also indications that antioxidants in tea may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related memory impairment. Black and green tea both contain higher levels of antioxidants than common fruits or vegetables.

A Fluid Ounce (or Two) of Prevention
Even if we disregard extravagant, scientifically unsupported claims, the established health benefits of tea are numerous. Many of these benefits are preventive, suggesting that a few cups of tea a day can help stave off heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and many forms of cancer.

•    Cancer prevention Animal and in vitro studies have shown that tea polyphenols may react directly with and neutralise chemical carcinogens, including those causing cancers of the skin, lungs, oral cavity, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, pancreas, bladder, and prostate. In addition to the antioxidant ‘scavenging’ activity mentioned above, tea polyphenols may also alter enzymes involved in tumour formation, inhibit malignant cell proliferation and act against forms of bacteria that promote gastric cancers. According to some American studies, tea drinking may also protect against breast and ovarian cancers.

•    Tea and heart disease Epidemiological studies have shown that regular tea consumption is linked to decreased risk from heart disease and stroke. While the data from different tests contains some inconsistencies, ‘meta-analyses’ comparing all the available population studies have tended to confirm the relationship, with regular and frequent tea drinkers showing risk levels up to 20% lower than those who do not, or rarely, consume it. Another study suggested that drinking three cups of tea a day reduces the risk of myocardial infarction by 11%.

•    Tea and oral health Containing significant amounts of fluoride, tea can contribute considerably to daily fluoride intake, helping reduce tooth decay. Tea polyphenols may also inhibit the growth of bacteria which cause decay, or make them less harmful to the teeth. Recent research indicates that tea could also inhibit the growth of harmful micro-organisms that cause inflammation and oral diseases, including certain oral cancers.

•    Tea and your digestion It has been found that consumption of tea can reduce the quantity of harmful microorganisms such as Enterobacteriacea found in the digestive tract, simultaneously increasing the number of beneficial ones and promoting digestive health.

Categories: Health Tips, Tea