Tempting tea

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.

Flavourful blends
Blended and flavoured teas constitute two major subgroups of tea. Most commercial blends contain 20 or more teas from different origins. English breakfast, orange pekoe and Earl Grey are all well-known black tea blends, the latter also belonging to the "flavoured" category, as it is perfumed with bergamot oil. Other flavoured teas include orange spice, jasmine and Chinese rose.

Not really tea
We call it tea, but technically herbal tea is not a true tea since it doesn't contain leaves from camellia sinensis. Best defined as herbal infusions or tisanes, popular brews include peppermint, chamomile or rose hip.Peak of confusion
Many people assume that orange pekoe is a type of tea, but along with its variations (pekoe, pekoe souchong, and flowery orange pekoe) are all used to identify a leaf size or grading measurement. Most tea labelled orange pekoe is a blend of black teas from India and Sri Lanka. Plus, who knew we were pronouncing it wrong? The right way to pronounce it is PECK-oh.

Loose versus bagged
Tea bags usually contain lesser quality, broken leaves which infuse more quickly than whole leaves, but tend to go stale faster with a six-month shelf life, compared to loose tea which can be stored one to two years.

Storage
Tea stores best in a dark, cool cupboard in an airtight metal or opaque glass container. You can flavour your own loose leaves by putting cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla beans or dried citrus peel in the container.

Brewing a perfect cup
Good quality tea is the first necessary ingredient, but water is the second. When using tap water, make sure it is fresh and cold. If your tap water has an "off" flavour, you may want to use filtered or bottled water. First, warm up your tea pot. Black and oolong teas require hot, boiling water, however with green tea, it's best to heat water to steaming. Or let boiled water rest 3 minutes before making tea. Opinions vary on the amount of tea you should use, but generally use one bag, 1 level teaspoon of loose leaves per 8 ounces of water. Steeping times vary among varieties: black 3 to 5 minutes; oolong 7 to 12 minutes; green tea should steep only 2 to 2-1/2 minutes. For a richer tea, add more leaves rather than steeping excessively as the brew will turn bitter. Remove tea bags or strain out leaves from the pot before serving tea.

Two tea-rrific recipes:

Warm Tea Noodle Toss
These refreshing Chinese noodles carry a light hint of oolong tea. Serve as a light lunch or make them part of a dinner.Tea Smoked Duck
Here's a duck to impress! Home-smoked in a wok, this can be served cold or at room temperature, with cold Asian noodles and a salad. While loose Chinese black tea is best suited for this, you can split open tea bags of orange pekoe, Darjeeling or English breakfast tea.

Tea time
Designer coffeehouses are giving way to trendy tea boutiques selling an intriguing and tasty variety of loose teas. Loose tea is superior in flavour and freshness to packaged tea bags. Like the flavour of loose tea, but not the mess?

According to Shabnam Weber of the Tea Emporium in Toronto, one of the biggest tea-making mistakes is leaving the tea leaves to steep for too long, making for a bitter brew. Weber suggests using a tea ball, or a tea filter or basket that fits into your teapot, to be removed after the recommended steeping time. Look for tea balls or tea filters in specialty tea shops; $3 to $15. Go to www.theteaemporium.com for more info.