It's early August, and we're pretty late in the tea season. Many temperate growers have already ceased picking, but some will take an early autumn harvest. My plants are getting watered every other day, but it is crispy dry around here this time of year, and it takes a toll on the new growth. Not only have we not had rain, but it isn't very humid, either. (Portlanders may complain it's humid, but people in Atlanta would just laugh and call it a beautiful day.)
With the reduction in water, the pace of flushing has decreased. It's been several weeks since I picked last, and I thought I had a few bushes that could be picked. It wasn't much, but I wanted to pick anyway just to process again and increase my skill. I chose a day where I would be around the house so I could tend to all the steps of the process.
Unfortunately, I did not tend to all the steps of the process. My first mistake was the withering. The leaves were slightly too dry because they were due to be watered, and had not been watered the day before. I got distracted by other chores and let the leaves wither too long without checking their progress, and they were too dry after withering. I proceeded anyway, deciding on black tea because I didn't want to do any steaming. Unfortunately, I continued to be distracted by other chores, and I didn't do the rolling properly, either. I rushed the rolling, applying too much force in the early stages of the process. My tea began to break. I walked away, which was fine, but I stayed away too long. Then when I came back I rushed it again trying to catch the tea up. Then the leaves got wet, which is a sign the liquor has been raised too much and the magic is being lost. Grrrr! I walked away again, also for too long, and when I came back the leaves were already leathery. This was a lost cause. I pressed them very hard, hoping I might get something.
What I got was not very good tea. The tea is pale and very tannic. You can detect the barely developed smooth black tea flavor, but it is buried under a pile of astringence. Sigh! What's so disappointing is that this tea could have been so much better. The fact that I completely mishandled it and it still came out merely "not very good" and not "complete trash" is a testament to the quality of the leaves I started with. They were from my oldest plants, and deserved to be treated better.
I probably won't try to harvest again this year. The plants are small. I can let them spend the rest of the season getting taller. The moral here is you are better off leaving the leaves on the plant until you can give processing your full attention. Wake up excited to process tea that day. Don't do it as an afterthought in between all the other stuff on your list.
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