Tea is the second most consumed beverage behind water. There must be something special about this brewed beverage. If we are to discuss tea and the different types of teas, we must first cover what it actually is. What is Tea? Chinese Tea is basically the dried and processed leaves of only one species of plant called camellia sinensis. Interestingly enough, herbal teas or herbal infusions are not really teas, but simply dried flowers and/or herbs.
Even though all teas come from only one species, there are three major varietals:
The China – Small leaves and generally thrives at higher altitudes.
The India (or Assam) – Larger leaves and generally thrives at lower altitudes.
The Hybrid – Kind of in-between the Chinese and Indian.
Earlier, I talked about the processing of the camellia’s leaves. There are four main methods of processing and each produces a different type of Chinese tea. These four main types are:
* White Tea
* Green Tea
* Black Tea
* Oolong Tea
A Tea for Everyone:
Some teas are flavored with oils or scented with flower petals during the processing stage. Some teas are blends of the four main types listed above. One of my favorites is chai tea which is black tea brewed with various spices. Finally, let's not forget refreshing iced tea!
Source : articlesbase
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