SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — You may already know that coffee comes from a berry-producing tree. It has caffeine and can be made properly in less than five minutes — even fewer if you use a K-cup. But how much do you know about tea?
The most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water, discovered 5,000 years ago, is still a mystery to many Americans. In Maine, as more restaurateurs start to take tea seriously and specialists and farmers thrive, the ancient beverage is becoming new again.
But first, what is tea?
“An infusion of the leaf that comes from the Camellia sinensis,” said Marianne Russo, a certified tea specialist and owner of Nellie’s Tea and Gifts in South Portland. She points to the plant growing in a pot in the corner. It looks innocent enough.
But here’s where it gets confusing.
“There are a thousand varietals of tea, just like a rose,” she said.
In the green tea department alone, “there is an array of tastes from stringent green tea to flavors,” she said. There’s Japanese, Chinese and green tea from South Korea. Each is made differently, heated differently and should be prepared differently.
In her cozy destination shop off Route 1, Russo makes 15 unique blends. The latest is Dark and Stormy, a deeply roasted oolong tea blended with smoky black tea and ginger root. Another top seller is a creamy, smooth Mainely breakfast, a blend of black tea from India and China. Hikers Nirvana, a concoction of cacao nibs and a blend of herbs and spices, “reminds me of granola — it has everything in it but the kitchen sink.”
Growing up with an English father, afternoon tea was always part of life.
To carry on the tradition, the retired nurse caters tea services, complete with tarts, cucumber sandwiches and scones, for events and in private homes. Although some hotels across the world have nixed afternoon tea altogether because of low profit margins, restaurateurs in cities such as Portland are buying her tea to spruce up cocktails. Sur Lie and Isa Bistro, for example, use Nellie’s hibiscus for liquor infusions.
Tea has a natural antioxidant that has a calming effect. Plus it’s civilized.
“I am convinced that if world leaders all met over tea, instead of beer or coffee, we would be in a better spot,” Russo said.
If that happens, new tea farmers such as Mark E. Mooradian of Karnak Farm in Saco will be ready.
After years of growing elderflower on 30 acres, he is just starting to see results.
“It’s a slower process than I thought. For plants to be mature enough to harvest, it takes five years,” he said. “In six to 10 years [we] will see some real volume.” His elderflower is sold under two labels: MEM Tea Imports, a company he founded based in Watertown, Massachusetts, and In Pursuit of Tea.
In the tea business for decades, Mooradian decided to grow his own herbs to make sourcing elderflower easier. Now instead of importing from the Middle East, which “has gotten to be a mess, we are harvesting a native plant that grows wild in Maine,” Mooradian said. “I am hoping to make it more popular. It’s moderately popular now.”
Tea’s health properties are no secret.
“Tea has always been, for 5,000 years, a medicinal herb. Tea is very, very healthy. More people drink tea because of health. That part never leaves,” Mooradian said.
But specialists such as Russo don’t lead with that. The pragmatist is not a tea pusher.
“If someone doesn’t like tea, they should drink wine and eat vegetables,” said Russo. “You should enjoy what you are drinking and eating. The whole idea of having tea is pleasure.”
Here are several brewing tips:
— Black tea: Hot off the boil. Let leaves steep three to five minutes.
— Green tea: Let water cool for a few minutes before pouring it over the leaves. Green leaves are more sensitive and delicate than black leaves. Steep for one to three minutes. Japanese green teas need less time.
— Oolongs: Oolongs fall somewhere in between. Steep two to five minutes.
— Best method: Put the leaves in the pot or cup, then pour water over the leaves. That begins the agitation: “The agony of the leaves is like a dance.”
— Why steep? Steeping brings out the flavor into the water
— Herbals teas, such as chamomile and elderflower, are not technically tea but rather herbal infusions.
