Tea
From that first cup of English breakfast 
that gets you going in the morning to your nightcap of chamomile to help you wind down, there is nothing quite like a good cup of tea! For extensive information about the history, cultivation and preparation of tea, check out this Wikipedia article.
Types of Tea
Properly, tea refers to infusions made from the leaves of just one plant, the tea plant Camellia sinensis, sometimes with other botanicals or flavorings added. Popular additions include flowers, especially jasmine and rose, and flavorful herbs such as peppermint and lemongrass. Infusions made without tea leaves are properly known as tisanes (see below). Different kinds of tea are made by preparing and aging the leaves for different lengths of time. Tea is sold either as loose leaves or in tea bags and you can get numerous decaffeinated options.
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White Tea is a relatively rare and expensive tea; delicate flavor and light color. Sometimes paired with peach or jasmine. |
Green Tea ranges from light and mild to rich and grassy. Great hot or ice; try it paired with lemongrass or peppermint. Genmaicha is green tea and roasted barley, which has a robust, earthy flavor.
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Oolong Tea brews up a medium yellow to amber and has a moderately strong flavor. Very versatile, pairs with fruits nicely. |
Black Tea brews up darker and richer than other teas, usually a medium to dark amber. Great with rose, spiced with cinnamon, or vanilla. Earl Grey is black tea flavored with bergamot. |
Flavored Tea refers to any true tea which has been additionally flavored with herbs, spices, flowers, fruits, nuts, extracts or other flavorings. |
Tea Details
White Tea
White tea is the mildest variety of tea made from the tea plant. It is harvested very early in the spring, before the leaves have unrolled. The leaves still have a dense coating of very fine, white hairs, hence the name "white tea". Because they are so young, the leaves retain a strong concentration of antioxidants. White tea is not fermented like other teas, keeping the concentration of antioxidants high. The resulting tea has a very mild and subtle flavor, a pale, golden appearence, and up to three times as much antioxidant as green tea.
Popular varieties of white tea include silver needle, snowbud, song yang and pai mu tan from China, and white darjeeling from India.
Green Tea
Green tea is very popular in East Asian cultures where it has been consumed for thousands of years. Even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected claims of its health benefits, many people swear by the medical benefits of green tea. It has been claimed that green tea can increase metabolism, lower cholesterol, treat arthrititis, and cause increased brain and mental function. This is due to the high content of antioxidants in green tea, specifically the potent catechins.
Popular varieties of green tea include sencha and gyokuro from Japan and pi lo chun, dao ren, and gunpowder green from China. You can also find matcha, a form of powdered green tea, and kukicha, which is the twigs from the tea bush (sometimes called twig tea ). There are many other types of green tea from Japan and China; search for loose leaf green tea to find more!
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is partially fermented, putting it somewhere between green tea and black tea in terms of flavor and strength. Many oolongs, such as pouchong and tung ting jade, come from Taiwan; these are sometimes called Formosa oolongs because Formosa was the Portugese name for Taiwan. Ti kuan yin, iron buddha, and wuyi all come from China. Oolong is also frequently flavored with jasmine.
Black Tea
Black tea is tea which has been fully fermented. It is more popular in western cultures than green tea, although this has been changing in the last decade or two. It is also stonger and contains more caffeine than green tea. Black tea is traditionally served with milk or lemon and sugar or honey. (Don't combine lemon and milk!) Because of its strong flavor and caffeine content, black tea is the preferred breakfast pick-me-up for many people. Black tea is more popular in India and surrounding areas (as opposed to green tea in China and Japan) and a large number of varieties are from South Asia.
There are many popular black teas. From India and Sri Lanka, we get darjeeling (lighter bodied, almost sweet), assam (robust and malty), ceylon (smooth and versatile), and blends such as English breakfast and Irish breakfast. From China, we get golden monkey, keemun (both fairly robust), pu erh (earthy), and yunnan (slightly peppery). Nepal produces several varieities similar to darjeelings, including Himalayan majestic.
China also produces a smoked black tea called lapsang souchong, which is something of an acquired taste. More popular are spiced Indian "chais" (chai is actually just the Hindi word for tea; spiced tea is properly masala chai ) -- black tea flavored with spices (such as cinnamon, clove, black pepper, and cardamom ) served with milk and honey.
Tisanes ("Herbal Teas")
Often known as "herbal tea," tisanes are made with a wide variety of botanical ingredients. Many of them have medicinal properties — for example, ginger is well known as an excellent remedy for nausea or other stomach problems. Check out Wikipedia's list of popular tisanes.
Accessories
What good is tea without a teapot? There are lots of gadgets for brewing and enjoying tea.
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A teapot (or two) is handy if you enjoy several cups of tea at time, brew loose tea, or frequently pour a cup for friends. |
Tea Kettles are no more than specialized pots for boiling water. You never brew tea in a tea kettle. |
Electric Water Kettles are more efficient than stovetop kettles and allow you to measure out exactly as much water as you'll need. |
Tea Strainers catch loose leaves as you pour tea into a cup; you'll need one if you don't use an infuser when you brew. |
Tea Infusers hold onto the leave, sort of like a reusable tea bag made of steel. They can be clamshell-like or simply hang down into the teapot. |
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Tea Canisters keep your loose leaves stored in a cool, dry place.
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Teacups are usually wide and shallow, so that the tea quickly comes to a drinkable temperature. |
Travel Mugs let you take your tea on the go -- and save paper cups from coffee shops. |
Tea Cozies keep a brewed pot of tea warm so that the last cup is still hot when you get to it. |
Honey and a honey pot make your afternoon pick-me-up even sweeter. |
International Resources
For this resource in your home country, please see:
DE: Tee
