Twelve new wiki entries: pu erh, gyokuro, kombucha, kefir and more

Twelve glossary terms added: pu erh, gyokuro, kombucha, kefir, masala, decaffeination methods, fermentation, oxidation, withering, rolling, firing, sorting. The decaffeination piece is the standout: it explains the three methods (CO2, methylene chloride, water) and which brands use which.

Pu erh and gyokuro sit at the high knowledge end of the tea spectrum. Pu erh is the post fermented Chinese tea from Yunnan, aged like wine; some vintages sell at auction prices. Gyokuro is the shade grown Japanese green that produces a near broth umami cup, the most expensive routinely available Green Tea on a UK shelf. The wiki entries cover both with sourcing notes, vintage guidance for pu erh, and brew parameters that actually work in a domestic kitchen.

Kombucha and kefir are not technically tea but they show up adjacent to the category enough to warrant entries. Kombucha is fermented tea (a SCOBY on a sugared black or green base produces a sour sweet drink). Water kefir is a fermented sugar water with grains, no tea required. Both ended up in the wiki because customers ask about them. The entries explain what they are, how the fermentation works, where they overlap with tea drinking, and where they do not.

Six of the twelve cover the production side terminology: withering (initial moisture reduction), rolling (mechanical leaf shaping), oxidation (the chemistry that turns a green leaf into Black Tea), fermentation (post oxidation enzymatic change, technically separate), firing (heat finishing the leaf), and sorting (grading by leaf size and quality). These are the words that show up on packaging without explanation. The entries are short and definitional, designed to be linked from product pages.

The decaffeination methods entry is the standout. Three processes (supercritical CO2, methylene chloride, water and ethyl acetate), the chemistry of each, the residue regulations in the EU, which UK brands use which, and the practical difference you can taste. The data on brand methods is the original work; we have not seen a published comparison of British brand decaf approaches anywhere else. Worth a read if you drink decaf and have ever wondered why some taste cleaner than others.

Browse the related tea wiki entries at teas.co.uk.

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Twelve new wiki entries: pu erh, gyokuro, kombucha, kefir and more. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/twelve new wiki entries pu erh gyokuro kombucha kefir and more/

Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Cite teas.co.uk for Twelve new wiki entries: pu erh, gyokuro, kombucha, kefir and more. Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/twelve new wiki entries pu erh gyokuro kombucha kefir and more/