Tea Info

Tea is drunk and enjoyed everyday all over the world. As a matter of fact, Tea is the second most consumed liquid after water.

The history of Tea is a very interesting one. Wars have been fought over Tea. The fate of countries and individuals have been decided over Tea. Tea is said to be the oldest cultivated plant in the world and has been known to be grown in China for over 2,500 years.

The Tea plant belongs to the Camellia family. Left untouched, the Tea plant can grow 10 – 66 feet. The young Tea plant is pruned after the first year in order to encourage them to grow outwards and then trimmed back regularly for up to three years. This allows the pickers to reach the leaves a lot easier. Good quality loose leaf Tea is still picked by hand today.

Types of Tea

White Tea

White teas are the least processed of any tea and therefore taste the most like fresh leaves or grass. They also have the lowest amount of caffeine and most likely have the highest antioxidant properties.

White tea starts with tightly rolled leaves and undergoes no oxidation at all. To avoid any oxidation to occur, white teas are immediately fired or steamed after letting them air dry for a period of time. There is no rolling, breaking, or bruising of any kind.

The dried buds have a silver-like appearance because the tiny white hairs of new growth are still present. This is probably why the most popular white tea known as Silver Needle.

Green Tea

Green tea is process in a similar fashion as that of White Tea. After the leaves are picked they are allow to wither for 8 to 24 hours. This process allows most of the water to evaporate from the leaves. Then, in order to neutralize the enzymes and prevent oxidation, the leaves are steamed or pan fried.

Next the leaves are rolled up in various ways and tightness. After that, a final drying takes place. Since no oxidation took place, the tea has more of a green appearance. From there, it goes off to be sorted, graded, and packaged. Green Tea is said to inhibit a grassy flavour.

Oolong Tea

Oolong teas are the most difficult of the four types of teas to process. The best way to describe oolong tea is that they are somewhere in between green and black tea. This is because they are only partially oxidized during the processing. The processing of oolong tea requires only a partial oxidation of the leaves. After the leaves are plucked, they are laid out to wither for about 8 to 24 hours. This lets most of the water evaporate.

Then the leaves are tossed in baskets in order to bruise the edges of the leaves. This bruising only causes the leaves to partially oxidize because only a portion of the enzymes are exposed to air.

Next, the leaves steamed in order to neutralize the enzymes and stop any oxidation. Oolong tea can have varying degrees of oxidation. Some are closer to black teas, and some are closer to green.

Black

Black teas are the most consumed of the four types of teas. They are the highest in caffeine, but still have antioxidant properties. The processing of black tea requires a full oxidation of the leaves. After the leaves are plucked, they are laid out to wither for about 8 to 24 hours. This lets most of the water evaporate.

Then the leaves are rolled in order to crack up the surface so that oxygen will react with the enzymes and begin the oxidation process. The leaves are left to completely oxidize, thus turning the leaves to a deep black color.

Tisanes (Fruit Tea)

Tisane is the proper word for a fFuit Tea or Hot Fruit Beverage. Tisanes does not contain any Tea leaves and is therefore Caffeine free. Tisanes are usually made from fresh or dries leaves, stems, fruits, roots, seeds or flowers.

The components are usually selected for flavour and or homeopathic properties. Tisanes can be prepared much like Tea and can be consumed hot or cold.