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Tea leaf from Myanmar

Pickled sun-dried green tea (re-fermented lahpet)

Low-quality lahpet, the leaf left on top of the first grading sieve, is packed back into bags, tanks or pits under weights and left to ferment again for about six to seven months. It is then dried in the sun and sold as a tea for drinking, not eating.

Fully documentedTea leaf6.7 months – 7.7 monthsFamily: Lahpet

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedTrade practice with no fixed batch size; made when the lahpet price falls.
Low-quality lahpetThe leaf left on top of the first sieve when pickled tea is graded[thar2016]
Nothing elseThe source describes the leaf only as re-stored in bags, tanks or pits with pressure on top[thar2016]

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.7 months – 7.7 months

Start
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shapes, not to countLactobacillus plantarumAcetobacterYeastsCandida boidiniipH 4.4–4.7

What changes: Steamed, rolled leaf is pressed and stored for at least 20 days until it becomes lahpet

Step 1 of 4
Make lahpet, the pickled tea it starts from
Time
at least 20 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 4.4–4.7
Measured
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus plantarum
Acetobacter
Yeasts
Candida boidinii

In northern Shan State the leaves are steamed for three to five minutes, rolled 20 to 25 times, then pressed and stored for natural anaerobic fermentation (Thar 2016). In the first ferment the leaf is weighted down in a lined pit, often for two months (Htay 2006). Output: lahpet (pickled tea).

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Low-quality lahpet, the leaf left on top of the first grading sieve, is packed back into bags, tanks or pits under weights and left to ferment again for about six to seven months. It is then dried in the sun and sold as a tea for drinking, not eating. Made in 4 steps over 6.7 months – 7.7 months. The longest step, re-pack under pressure and ferment again, takes 6–7 months (Thar S.P. 2016). In lahpet, the parent product, Lactobacillus plantarum and L. collinoides, Acetobacter, and the yeasts Pichia manshurica, Candida boidinii and Cyberlindnera jadinii does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6–7 monthsReported[thar2016]Re-pack under pressure and ferment again
AciditypH 4.4–4.7Measured[thar2016]Make lahpet, the pickled tea it starts from

What makes this one different

Lahpet is eaten wet as a salad; this tea takes the low-quality lahpet left on the first sieve, ferments it a second time for six to seven months, and dries it so it can be brewed.

Related ferments

Safety

Lahpet brands measured pH 4.35–4.7, and one was above the pH 4.6 limit New Zealand used for botulism control (Thar 2016). The finished tea is sun-dried.

Hazards the sources name: In lahpet, the parent product, Clostridium botulinum as a precaution only; one of three brands had pH 4.7, above New Zealand's pH 4.6 limit.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Farmers and wholesalers make it when the price of lahpet falls (Thar 2016).

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [thar2016] Thar S.P. 2016, An exploratory value chain analysis for Burmese pickled tea (laphet), Master of AgriCommerce thesis, Massey Universitypaper
  2. [bo2020] Bo B., Kim S.-A., Han N.S. 2020, Bacterial and fungal diversity in Laphet, traditional fermented tea leaves in Myanmar, analyzed by culturing, DNA amplicon-based sequencing, and PCR-DGGE methods, International Journal of Food Microbiology 320:108508 (abstract; about lahpet, the parent product)paper
  3. [htay2006] Htay H.H., Kawai M., MacNaughton L.E., Katsuda M., Juneja L.R. 2006, Tea in Myanmar, with special reference to pickled tea, International Journal of Tea Science (ISSN 0972-544X)paper