Tea is Served

I love tea.  It’s my favourite drink. It might be black, green, white, red, herbal or some combination, but the common thread for me is that its TEA, the most widely consumed beverage in the world.

Main Tea Groups

It’s the processing of the tea leaves, not the type of plant, that determines the types of teas: White tea, Green tea, Yellow tea, Oolong tea, and Black tea. Dark tea (or post-fermented tea)Some types of teas are fermented and oxidized, while others are not. To ferment tea, leaves need to wither or be bruised by hand. This process allows enzymes on the leaves to interact with the air, oxidize, and change the chemical compound and color of the leaves. The tea flavor can change greatly depending on temperature, humidity, and other air conditions. Heat treatments will stop the oxidation process.

Black Tea

Black teas are perhaps the most common on the market. Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon, and Keemun are a few of the most well-known. These teas are heavily oxidized and brew up strong, bold, and often malty.

Green Tea

Green teas require more steps to process than white teas, but less oxidation takes place, which is why the leaf itself remains green. Two main methods yield green tea: steaming and pan-firing. Japanese green teas that are steamed tend to be brighter and more vibrant in color compared to pan-fired teas. Steaming, not a better method, just produces a different type of green tea. Popular Japanese greens include Sencha and Genmaicha.

Oolong Tea

Oolong is a semi-oxidized tea, the most complex type of tea to produce.  These teas require numerous steps to produce, and leaves are usually rolled or balled up. A great oolong can be steeped eight or so times, each steep releasing a new dimension of flavour. As a general rule, the higher the tea’s oxidation level, the more steps involved in the process. Famous oolongs include Baozhong, Da Hong Pao, and Jin Xuan.

Pu’erh Tea

Pu’erh is a fermented style of tea from the Yunnan province in China.  Two styles: sheng/raw and shou/cooked. (The latter involves a process that encourages faster fermentation.) After the leaves are oxidized, a small amount of moisture is left, and the leaves are then aged for months or years.

Tea Leaf

Tea is harvested by hand, not all leaves are picked during harvesting but only a few top young and juicy leaves with a portion of the stem on which they have grown and the so-called bud (or tip) – an unexpanded leaf at the end of the shoot. A few leaves, part of the stem and a tip are called “flush”.

White Tea

These teas are subtle in flavor, very delicate and elegant on the tongue, and the leaves undergo the least amount of processing. Leaves are picked, withered (oxidation takes place), and dried. The finished tea leaves are a soft grey color, consisting only of the bud and two top leaves from the shoot of the plant. Popular white teas include Silver Needle and Bai Mudan.

Including Pu’erh, these additional teas are my favourites.

Lapsang Souchong

Pu’erh is a fermented style of tea from the Yunnan province in China.  Two styles: sheng/raw and shou/cooked. (The latter involves a process that encourages faster fermentation.) After the leaves are oxidized, a small amount of moisture is left, and the leaves are then aged for months or years.

Royal Moroccan Tea

The tea is loose-leaf Chinese gunpowder green, with its tight, granular roll. To that Moroccans add sugar, skip the milk, and stuff generous handfuls of fresh herbs into the teapot. Mint is key. The area around Meknes, the imperial capital during Moulay Ismail’s reign, produces the country’s most vibrant mint.

Earl Grey Tea

Earl Grey tea is a tea blend which has been flavoured with the addition of oil of bergamot. Bergamot is a variety of orange that is often grown in Italy and France. The rind’s fragrant oil is added to black tea to give Earl Grey its signature pungent punch. Traditionally, Earl Grey was made from black teas, but tea companies have since begun to offer Earl Grey in other varieties as well, such as green or oolong.

Geography of Tea
Tea is grown all over the world including the US in states like Hawaii and South Carolina, but the main tea producing countries that consistently turn out the highest quality and volume of tea are China, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Taiwan. China is recognized as the birthplace of tea, but it was the British who took tea plants from China and established tea plantations in both India and Sri Lanka.
Varieties  of Tea
All tea comes from the Camellia sinensis species of plant. Camellia sinensis is broken down into two varieties: Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, and Camellia sinensis var. assamica. The former is from China with smaller leaves that can adapt to lower temperatures, and the latter grows in India with larger leaves, better suited to warmer temperatures.

Herbal Teas

Herbal teas are not brewed from tea leaves like other varieties. These teas are made from dried herbs, fruits, and flowers, which can create a wide range of delicate flavours. Tea types are generally caffeine free, making them ideal for customers with dietary restrictions.

TWG Tea

TWG Award

Correana - Azores

MATE TEA comes from the South American yerba plant, and the leaves are blanched, dried, aged, and cut into loose leaf tea.

Flavor Profile: has a bold, vegetal flavor.

ROOIBOS TEA, or African Red Tea, comes from the South African Red Bush, and the leaves are ground and bruised before they’re fermented and dried. Green rooibos tea doesn’t go through an oxidation/fermentation process and has a lighter flavour.

Flavour profile: naturally sweet, and can have warm, nutty, or vanilla tones.

HERBAL TEAS.  Rooibos, mate, and herbal infusion teas are all herbal teas. Common ingredients for herbal infusions include chamomile, ginger, lemongrass, peppermint, rosehips, hibiscus, and dried fruits.

Flavour Profile: often has a delicate flavour that can be vegetal, naturally sweet, citrus-like, floral, minty, or spicy depending on the variety and blend of ingredients.

MATCHA TEA is made by grinding up green tea leaves into a powder, which is whisked together with a small amount of water. You ingest the whole leaf, which makes this variety extremely healthy, and it’s especially popular in Japanese tea ceremonies.

Flavor Profile: has a grassy, vegetal flavor.