Tea, briefly

I am one of approximately 17 people in the United States who know anything about tea. It’s a hell of a distinction. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It deserves to be better understood by the average American, and I’m now going to lay down the definitive guide to the various types of tea available today. Next time you stare at the jars of tea in the bulk foods section, you’ll know what’s what.

The first type of tea you’ll encounter isn’t truly tea at all. This is herbal tea, made from herbs (surprise!), flowers, spices, roots, dried fruit, and myriad other plant-based ingredients. The reason I say this isn’t truly tea is because it contains no actual tea leaves (more on this below). Herbal teas are typically light, floral, and refreshing. African rooibos and honeybush are also classified as herbal teas. There’s virtually no limit to the combinations one could make with all the fragrant plant parts out there, and as you go shopping you’ll find a profusion of special recipes created by tea distributors. My favorite herbal teas are chamomile (helps with sleep) and nettle leaves (alleviates allergy symptoms).

There are four types of true tea: white, green, oolong, and black. What distinguishes the true teas from the herbal teas is that the true teas all come from just one shrub species: Camellia sinensis. The hearty English Breakfast you have with eggs and fried tomatoes comes from the very same plant as the ethereal jasmine green tea you have after sushi. The differences between the four types of tea result from how the leaves are processed. All true teas contain caffeine, but the caffeine content varies widely depending on soil chemistry, processing methods, brewing methods, and the particular cultivar of C. sinensis being used.

Green tea and white tea are the least processed of all teas, which means that the leaves undergo no oxidation (You know when you leave apple pieces sitting out and they turn brown? That’s oxidation). Immediately after being picked, the leaves are dried to arrest oxidation. Doing so preserves a grassy, vegetal flavor. The difference between green tea and white tea is only that white tea comes from extremely young leaves, and sometimes leaf buds. Otherwise, the processes to produce them are essentially the same. White tea comes almost exclusively from China, while green comes from mostly from China and Japan. Both teas tend to have very light flavors that make an excellent accompaniment to East Asian foods. It’s common to find green teas infused with the scent of jasmine blossoms, a personal favorite of mine.

Oolong tea is probably the most obscure tea for Americans. It comes primarily from China and Taiwan, and it has yet to make many inroads in American tea culture. Oolong teas are sort of like if green tea and black tea had a baby. The leaves are allowed to oxidize, but not as much as black tea leaves. The result is a drink with more aroma and stronger body than a green tea, but with unmistakably grassy notes that you won’t find in a black tea. I think it’s generally safe to say that a green tea drinker would enjoy oolong, but I would hesitate to say the same for a black tea drinker. The oolong baby got more of the green genes. Taiwanese oolongs, typically sold as “Formosa Oolong,” are my favorite.

Black tea, undoubtedly the most popular tea in America, consists of fully oxidized tea leaves. Once picked, the leaves are bruised by machines or by hand to assist oxidation. The extensive oxidation creates a richer flavor and fuller body than that found in other teas. Black tea is produced by countries all over the world, but China and India remain the titans of tea. The varieties of black tea are staggering. Some, like Earl Grey, get their distinctive flavor from the addition of flavorful oils (the oil of the bergamot orange in Earl Grey’s case). Others, like Darjeeling or Ceylon, get it from being grown at particular altitudes and under particular climatic conditions. Still others, like China’s delightful Lapsang Souchong, get their flavor from being dried amid the intensely aromatic smoke of burning pine.

All of these teas, though, still come from the humble C. sinensis. Tea is quite similar to wine in this respect. Most wines come from the grapes of Vitis vinifera, but the choice of cultivar, growth conditions, and processing can create wildly diverse products. So too can the same tea shrub be manipulated by human ingenuity into countless different elixirs. It’s an ancient wonder of human culture, and a delicious one, to boot.