Types of Tea - Know your Teas
Do you sometimes feel a little overwhelmed with all the different types of teas that are in the market today, and the choices are many! I know I do. Especially when I’m faced with a decision on what to buy at a tea store or when I’m at a dinner party and the host offers me a slew of choices.
Some of the more common teas are black tea, green tea, oolong tea,
white tea, roobois tea, herbal teas, organic tea, gourmet tea, fair
trade tea......and the list goes on.
I find that as I expand my
tea circle and learn more about this beverage, it helps me understand
better what the different teas offer in terms of aroma, strength and
taste and ultimately it helps with my choice.
Sometimes I weigh the benefits of the tea depending on how I feel and what would suit my mood. There are also the many Health Benefits of Tea.
As you learn more about the different tea types and their medicinal properties, you can make informed choices. Teas offer varying healing properties. For example, if you are having digestion problems, try Fennel Tea. It helps to settle the stomach.
So, you love experimenting with different types of tea.....I mean if you're on a tea website, you must love the brew... BUT......you don't want to spend too much money until you've at least had a taste to see if a particular blend pleases your palate and senses or you don't have the time to go to a store and browse through all the different varieties and as I have said, that can seem a little overwhelming sometimes.
Another way to try different samples is to to buy a 6 or 12 month membership which allows you to explore other types of teas which you may not otherwise think of trying out.
Given the huge assortment of teas in the marketplace, it may be difficult to choose the right one for that “special” occasion, or if you are looking for something specific with tea health benefits or even just tea for everyday consumption. Based on my experiences, here are a few pointers:
Rule # 1: Have fun with it
Rule # 2: You don’t need to be a tea expert to enjoy tea
start experimenting with the different teas, hence those Tea Samplers which are great. Try and distinguish the aroma and the body of infusion which is the taste and mouth feel. I’ll try and help define what is a good “morning tea”, a “dessert tea” etc but remember Rule #1 is to have fun with it so go with what you enjoy.
If you are hosting a party, this is information that you can share with
your guests and it will make the process more entertaining, informative
and interesting as your guests make their selections and you never know
where tea conversations can take you.
One of my tea
conversation took us to Sri Lanka, a country that my dinner host had
visited just recently and she gave us insight into the tea plantations
she had visited and the discussion then steered into an interesting chat
around fair trade tea.
So, what are the more common different types of tea - basically, there are four types of tea:
Black Tea
Green Tea
Oolong Tea
White Tea
These
teas are all harvested from the same plant, Camellia Sinensis but are
processed differently to attain different levels of oxidation.
Black tea is oxidized for the longest period of time which produces the darkest of the tea. Green tea is steamed very soon after picking to stop the oxidation process. Oolong tea is left to oxidize a bit longer and is the type used by most Chinese restaurants. White tea is the least processed of all teas.
Here is more information on a few other types of teas:
