Introduction To Tea Tasting
From the collection of
From the collection of
Just like wine, black tea comes in different varieties and flavours, explains tea-taster Peter Barry.
A tea-tasting demonstration is under way at a tea stall in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Professional tea-taster Peter Barry samples the teas much as one would wine, slurping loudly and spitting out each mouthful to release the full aroma. Peter is the chief tea taster for CWS Teas and Co-op supermarkets. He is also chairman of the UK Tea Council Panel of Tasters.
The average packet of tea is a blend of 26 different types of leaf. As tea is grown in 27 countries around the world and is a leaf crop (meaning that it can be harvested every 5 to 6 days), the variables affecting the brew's taste are endless. Just as a seasoned wine-taster is able to distinguish between vineyards, Peter is able to pinpoint where the tea for each brew was grown. Assam tea, hailing from Northern India, is a thick, full-bodied tea, Kenyan tea is known for its brightness and briskness, while Ceylon tea is deemed the most flavourful. Peter is currently touring the UK introducing the people to new types of tea, as well as making them more aware of what goes into preparing their favourite hot beverage. Despite his day job, Peter still finds comfort in a cup of tea when relaxing at home.
The reporter was Greg Barnes for this video, made to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television's early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.
video, made to be inserted during live broadcast of Anglia Television's early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia. The live studio presentation provided context for the video as part of a news story or magazine feature within the programme. About Anglia was not recorded during broadcast, so it is usually just the pre-recorded programme inserts which survive. In the 1980s Anglia Television was broadcasting to a wide area in the East of England including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk and adjoining parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Rutland where there was some overlap with neighbouring ITV regions.