Did you know that tea is the second-most popular beverage in the world, with water in first place? The plant that tea comes from is the Camellia sinensis, which is native to Asia. A tropical or subtropical climate is required for its cultivation. There are thousands of different varieties of tea.
The Camellia sinensis may have come from areas around southwest China, Tibet, and northern India. During the Tang dynasty (618 – 907), tea became popular in China and was established as the national drink. The Buddhist monk Lu Yu wrote the Ch’a Ching (Classic of Tea treatise), a book about the different types of tea, their methods of preparation, their health benefits, and referenced spirituality that reflected religious thoughts of that time. In the 9th century, a Japanese Buddhist monk introduced tea to Japan after he brought back seeds from the plant. Eventually, tea became an important part of Japanese culture.
In North America, black tea is the most commonly used tea in tea bags. In order to make black tea, the leaves are withered. As the water evaporates, oxygen is absorbed by the leaf in a process known as oxidation. The leaves usually undergo full oxidation for black tea. Earl Grey, Darjeeling, and Ceylon tea are all varieties of black tea. Ceylon tea comes from Sri Lanka, which used to be called “Ceylon”.
The leaves of Oolong tea are partially oxidized. This allows the tea to be very fragrant. The flavour qualities of this tea combine the qualities of black tea and green tea.
Green tea is allowed to wither for only a short while. It is quickly steamed or heated to stop the oxidation. This results in green tea having less caffeine than black tea. One variety of green tea is Matcha. For this type of tea, the leaves are not rolled but are stone-ground. Green tea is the most popular tea in Japan.
White tea is hand-picked and uses the youngest shoots of the tea plant before they are open. It is not oxidized at all. This results in a mild and naturally sweet flavour to the tea.
