Tea varieties
Liquid variables
There are four main types of tea: black, green, oolong and white. They all originate from the same plant species (camellia sinensis) but undergo different processing.
Black tea requires the most processing. Once plucked, the leaves are withered, rolled, heated and most importantly fermented (or "oxidized") which produces black tea's distinctively rich flavour and coloured amber brew. Black tea varieties include Darjeeling, Ceylon and Assam.Green tea is withered and rolled but heated dry (or "fired") to prevent fermentation. The result is a lighter, fresher tasting tea producing a pale, greenish yellow liquid, with a somewhat grassy or flowery flavour. All Japanese teas are green, with names such as gyokuro or sencha. Well-known Chinese green teas include jasmine and dragon well.
Oolong tea lies somewhere in the middle. It is fermented like black tea, but only partially, producing a unique balance between green tea's delicacy and black tea's depth. Formosa oolong, from Taiwan, is considered one of the finest.
White tea is the rarest and least processed tea variety. It is neither fermented nor withered: simply steamed and dried. This special tea, picked only at daybreak in four northeastern Chinese provinces, contains buds covered with fine silvery hairs imparting a whitish grey colour to the tea. Names include silvertip pekoe and white needle and prices may climb to as much as $35 for 50 grams.
There are four main types of tea: black, green, oolong and white. They all originate from the same plant species (camellia sinensis) but undergo different processing.
Black tea requires the most processing. Once plucked, the leaves are withered, rolled, heated and most importantly fermented (or "oxidized") which produces black tea's distinctively rich flavour and coloured amber brew. Black tea varieties include Darjeeling, Ceylon and Assam.Green tea is withered and rolled but heated dry (or "fired") to prevent fermentation. The result is a lighter, fresher tasting tea producing a pale, greenish yellow liquid, with a somewhat grassy or flowery flavour. All Japanese teas are green, with names such as gyokuro or sencha. Well-known Chinese green teas include jasmine and dragon well.
Oolong tea lies somewhere in the middle. It is fermented like black tea, but only partially, producing a unique balance between green tea's delicacy and black tea's depth. Formosa oolong, from Taiwan, is considered one of the finest.
White tea is the rarest and least processed tea variety. It is neither fermented nor withered: simply steamed and dried. This special tea, picked only at daybreak in four northeastern Chinese provinces, contains buds covered with fine silvery hairs imparting a whitish grey colour to the tea. Names include silvertip pekoe and white needle and prices may climb to as much as $35 for 50 grams.
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