Tea Education

All About Tea

All teas come from the same basic plant, the Camellia Sinensis plant, a warm-weather evergreen shrub that may grow up to 60 feet in the wild. When cultivated for harvest the tea bushes are kept to a height of about three feet. The differences in tea arise from differences in geography, growing conditions, the way the leaves are processed, and their level of contact with oxygen. These factors all determine the resulting types of tea. During oxidation, tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions that result in distinctive color and taste characteristics. Green tea is not oxidized at all; the leaves are steamed, rolled and dried while black tea is allowed to oxidize for two to four hours. Oolong tea falls somewhere between green and black teas, in that the leaves are only partially oxidized.

Tea is grown in thousands of tea gardens or estates around the world, resulting in thousands of flavorful variations. Just as Bordeaux wine is named after the Bordeaux region in France, Assame is named after the Assam region in India, and Keemun is named after the Keemun region of China. Like wines, each tea takes its name from the district in which it is grown, and each district is known for producing tea with unique flavor and character. Tea is also divided by grades, determined by leaf size. Smaller sized leaves are used in tea bags while the large sized leaves can be found in packaged loose tea.

Tea is harvested after each flush – the sprouting of the top two leaves and bud. The top two leaves and bud are hand plucked and then processed into any of the four types of tea, which are Black, green, Oolong and White.

Herbal teas do not come from Camellia sinensis, but are an infusion of leaves, roots, bark, seeds or flowers of other plants. They lack many of the unique characteristics of tea and are not linked with the research on the potential health benefits of traditional teas.

With over 3,000 varieties, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world, after water. New and different teas are being produced every year, so the world of tea is literally inexhaustible and filled with endless fascination.

Caffeine
“There is much controversy surrounding caffeine and its effects. Taken in moderation, caffeine increases alertness, reviving the spirits of the tea drinker.”

“Tea contains caffeine. Tea, per pound of tea leaf, contains more caffeine than coffee per pound of bean. But because more ground coffee is typically used to brew a cup of coffee than tea is used for a cuppa, the average cup of tea contains less than half the caffeine than the average cup of coffee.”

“One cannot generally tell the amount of caffeine based on the taste of the tea.”

“Caffeine content in tea depends on where the tea was grown, the method or style of infusing, the type of tea, and the temperature of the water. Contrary to popular opinion, green tea does not necessarily contain less caffeine than black tea, although because green tea leaves are generally from var. Sinensis Chinese shrubs, they will sometimes produce a beverage which has lower amounts of caffeine than black teas, typically produced from var.Assamica Indian teas.”

Article taken from Serendipitea Tea Company
Written by Tomislav Podreka, Founder