More About Tea

Tea's world consumption easily equals all other manufactured drinks in the world - including coffee, chocolate, soft drinks, and alcohol - put together.

All tea comes from the “camellia sinensis”, an evergreen shrub harvested in over thirty countries around the world, though the finest comes from just five: China, India, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Taiwan (Formosa) and Japan. Similar to wine, naming is often after the region where the tea was produced, for example Assam after the Assam region in India or Keemun after the Keemun region of China. While location, soil conditions, and climate impact the flavor characteristics of the tea, how the leaves are processed will determine their classifications as black, green, oolong and white. The main difference between the many tea varieties is how much oxygen the leaves are allowed to absorb during processing. Much oxidation produces dark-colored black teas. Little oxidation results in green tea. Unprocessed leaves are called white tea.

Green teas, the earliest form of tea, are simply withered and dried and are processed without oxidation. The resulting leaves infuse to create a delicate and refreshing drink that is pale green/golden in color. Prized for centuries for their health benefits, green teas are an excellent choice as a relaxing afternoon cup.

Black teas are withered, fully oxidized, and dried. They are the most popular types of tea in American and yield a hearty, amber colored brew. Often served with milk or sugar, Black teas can be enjoyed all day - from a morning pick-up to an evening indulgence after dinner.

Oolong teas are not fully oxidized, and this processing imparts a lighter flavor than black teas. They are characterized by beautiful, large leaves, which are suitable for multiple infusions. Oolong is a cross between black and green tea in color and taste. Stimulating flavor notes make oolongs a great afternoon choice.

White teas undergo the least processing of any of type of tea; only the young leaves and buds are dried to remove all moisture but preserve the delicate nature. Lighter in body than greens, a white tea yields a refined infusion that is naturally sweet.

The traditional method of making a cup of tea is to place loose tea leaves, either directly, or in a tea infuser, into a tea pot or teacup and pour hot water over the leaves. After a couple of minutes the leaves are usually removed again, either by removing the infuser, or by straining the tea while serving. It is also recommended that the teapot be warmed before preparing tea, easily done by adding a small amount of boiling water to the pot, swirling briefly, before discarding. The amount of tea to be used per amount of water differs from tea to tea but one basic recipe may be one slightly heaped teaspoon of tea for each teacup of water (8 oz). The strength of the tea should be varied by changing the amount of tea leaves used, not by changing the steeping time.

The temperature of the water and the steeping time has as large effect on the final flavor as the type of tea used. In general, the less the leaves were oxidized during processing, the lower the temperature and the shorter the steeping time. For example, water for green tea should be around 175 °F and the tea should only be steeped for about 3 minutes. Hotter water will burn the green tea leaves, producing a bitter taste. For black teas though, the water should be added at the boiling point (212 °F) and steeped for about 5 minutes. The higher temperatures are required to extract the large complex flavorful phenolic molecules found in the oxidized teas.