Introduction

The understanding of quality of tea is something which varies from individual to individual. Often questions are asked as to which garden is producing the best quality tea. Although this may appears to be an easy question, yet it is difficult to answer without knowledge of the juirernent, taste and choice. Consumers of Darjeeling tea may not necessarily appreciate even the second flush Assam Tea, or for that matter the best from Nilgiris.

In scientific terminology, a minimum platform of quality in terms of chemical characterization of tea has been set by the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS), followed by setting up of safety requirement of teas under the prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and Rules, 1955 (PFA). It should be made clear that terminologies like super fine, pekoe, tipsy, broken, golden, silvery and so on, associated with tea culture, are different from the specifications on the minimum chemical limits of tea.

Recycling of tea

While on the subject of tea quality and to its various attributes, reconditioning of tea as practiced in many tea factories in India needs special mention. By definition, 'recycling' means "return to previous stage of cyclic process" which does not mean "converting waste to reusable material"; the alternate terminology 'reconditioning means to make things "usable again" or 'reconstitution means "return to previous condition by adding water".

In the process of reconditioning of tea, black teas are mixed at different proportions with the withered leaf as re-conditioner to manufacture CTC teas following a modified process for meeting a specific market demand in South India . However, this RC tea is passing the PFA but distorts the original quality of CTC teas. Therefore, there is a controversy on the subject.

Conclusion

Quality in tea is difficult to generalize. It varies depending on the interactions between and within the physical, chemical and biological factors associated in the growing and processing of tea. Once the interactions are understood, it will be possible to develop a unifying concept of quality. Furthermore if the influencing factors can be controlled, uniformity in quality can be achieved. At Girnar , we adhere to the high quality controls to ensure that the best of the tea is offered to our consumers.