Tea Basics; The Types of Teas

You may already know that there are different types of tea.  However, you may not know exactly what separates them besides the color.  This article will give you basic information on the different types of teas.

Green
Over the last few years, green tea has become very popular.  The leaves will need to be dried as soon as they are picked from the plant.  If they aren't dried, then the enzymes will take away the green color.

Making the different types of tea differs slightly.  When making green tea, the water should be hot but not boiling.  The tea will taste bitter if the water temperature is too steep.  Also, you should be aware that there are many different types of green tea alone.

Black
Black tea has long been the tea of choice for Americans.  In fact, it's always been the most popular type of tea throughout the world.  These tea leaves have been allowed to wilt unlike their green counterparts.  They are oxidized as well as fermented. 

One of the main things that differentiate black tea is that it offers more caffeine than other types.  Generally, you'll need to steep these leaves for a longer period of time depending on the exact temperature of the water and the age of the leaves.

Oolong
Oolong is also known as blue tea.  These leaves are more mature than green leaves as they've been semi-fermented.  This also means that the amount of caffeine this type of tea offers is less than black, but a bit more than green.  People enjoy drinking oolong tea because of the flowery undertones it delivers.  There is also a wide range of flavors to choose from.

White
Our ancestors have been drinking white tea for a very long time.  Although it's been around for so long, not much of it has been produced.  This is because it can only be made using unopened buds of certain Chinese tea plants.

Those who get the experience of drinking this type of tea will notice that it's much sweeter than other varieties.  With limited production, you can also expect to pay a bit more money for the luxury of drinking white tea.

Herbal
Something should also be said about herbal tea.  Although society refers to it as tea, it really isn't since it's not made from the leaves of a tea plant.  Other things like flowers or herbs will be steeped in water instead of true tea leaves.  The resulting beverages are quite tasty though.