All About Different Tea Varieties, from Tea Selector

Tea Selector
Your One Stop Tea Shop

All About Different Tea Varieties

There are thousands of different types of tea out there, and the vast majority of consumers are confused and poorly informed as to which tea is which, and the differences between teas.

On this page:

About Different Tea Varieties

Is it actually tea?

All "real" tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant - the "tea tree" or "tea bush". There are many different strains of tea plants, and even more different methods of picking and processing the leaves. These differences make all the different styles of tea.

"Tisanes", which are usually referred to as herbal teas, don't actually contain any tea - the term "tea" is used here to describe infusions of herbs, flowers and fruits. Herbal infusions can be delicious, but if the product does not contain tea (camellia sinensis) then it will not give the health benefits associated with tea. However, many of the herbs traditionally used in herbal teas have health benefits of their own. Examples of herbal teas include Rooibos (or Red Tea, Red Bush), Chamomile, Mint, Ginseng and many fruit flavored beverages.

Infusions that do contain real tea as well as herbs or flowers are known as flavored teas. This includes the popular chai, jasmine teas, Earl Grey, and many fruit-flavored teas.

Where does tea come from?

Tea is grown in many parts of the world, but is most famous for originating in China and being produced in Japan, India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon). More recently, Kenya and South Africa have grown impressive tea industries, and many more countries, especially in Asia and South America, are adding to the mix. Particular countries are associated with particular types of tea - for example, Japan is famous for its green tea, and India its black tea. However, whilst some teas are more suited to certain climates and soils, most types of tea are grown in each of the major tea producing countries.

How is tea processed?

This is how we get the different tastes, aromas and sensations from different types of tea. Basically, all tea is picked (either by machine, which is generally used in tea bags, or by hand, which is generally sold as loose leaf tea) and then dried. It is the differences in where the tea is grown, at what time of the year it is picked, where on the bush the leaves are picked from, how it is dried, and how it is further processed (some of the finest hand-crafted oolong and pu-erh teas go through ten or more stages to completion) that determine what type of tea is produced and its character and taste.

White Tea

White tea is the uncured and unoxidized tea leaf which produces a light colored, clean tasting brew. Like green, oolong and black tea, white tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. White tea often contains buds and young tea leaves, which have been found to contain higher levels of caffeine than older leaves, suggesting that the caffeine content of some white teas may be slightly higher than that of green teas. White tea also contains the higher levels of antioxidants than other types of tea. A specialty of Fujian province in China, the leaves come from a number of different tea plant varieties. The most popular are Da Bai (Large White), Xiao Bai (Small White), Narcissus and Chaicha bushes. According to the different standards of picking and selection, white teas can be classified into a number of grades.

Green Tea

Green tea is made with the leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Minimal oxidation during processing gives green tea its astringent, grassy taste. Green tea originates from China but has become associated with many countries, especially Japan. Green tea is becoming increasingly popular in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Many varieties of green tea have been created, which differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing and harvesting time. Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer. Green tea has also been claimed useful for weight loss management.

Oolong Tea

Oolong tea, sometimes called wulong tea, is a traditional Chinese tea, popularly served in Chinese restaurants. With oxidation of 10% to 70%, it is usually somewhere between green and black in color and taste. It lacks the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea but it likewise does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea. It is commonly brewed to be strong, with the bitterness leaving a sweet aftertaste. Several subvarieties of oolong, including those produced in the Wuyi Mountains of northern Fujian and in the central mountains of Taiwan, are among the most famous Chinese teas. Oolong tea leaves are processed in two different ways. Some oolong teas finish with long, curly leaves, while some oolong teas are rolled into a ball-like form similar to gunpowder green tea. The former method of processing is the older of the two.

Black Tea

Black tea is more oxidized than oolong, green, and white tea. Black tea is generally stronger tasting and contains more caffeine than other teas. Two principal strains of the species are used, the small-leaved Chinese variety (C. sinensis sinensis), which is also used for green and white teas, and the large-leaved Assamese plant (C. sinensis assamica), which was traditionally only used for black tea, although in recent years some green has been produced.

Black tea is grown extensively in China, India, and Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Kenya, Indonesia and several other countries and is the most familiar tea around the world. Black tea is usually used as the base for many varieties of flavored tea.

Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea is available as loose leaf or more commonly, and famously, as cakes or bricks of compacted tea. Pu-erh tea is made from a "large leaf" variety of the tea plant and named after Pu'er county near Simao, Yunnan, China. Pu-erh tea is produced as either raw/green (sheng) or ripened/cooked (shou), depending on processing method or aging. Sheng pu-erh can be roughly classified on the tea oxidation scale as a green tea, and the shou or aged-green variants as post-fermented tea (like black teas). Unlike other teas that should ideally be consumed shortly after production, pu-erh can be drunk immediately or aged for many years; pu-erh teas are often now classified by year and region of production much like wine vintages. The best vintages fetch huge sums at auction; tea connoisseurs and speculators pay thousands of dollars for older pu-erh cakes.

Other Teas - Herbal Tea and Flavored Tea

"Tisanes", which are usually referred to as Herbal Teas, don't actually contain any tea - the term "tea" is used here to describe infusions of herbs, flowers and fruits. Herbal infusions can be delicious, but if the product does not contain tea (camellia sinensis) then it will not give the health benefits associated with tea. However, many of the herbs traditionally used in herbal teas have health benefits of their own. Examples of herbal teas include Rooibos (or Red Tea, Red Bush), Yerba Mate, floral herbal teas with chamomile, chrysanthemum and rose buds, herb teas made from mint, ginger and lemongrass, and many fruit flavored herbal tisanes.

Infusions that do contain real tea as well as herbs or flowers are known as Flavored Teas or Scented Teas. This includes the popular Jasmine Green Teas from China, Earl Grey flavored with exotic Bergamot Oil, Indian chai tea, flambouyant Display Teas and many flavored green teas and particularly fruit-flavored black teas.