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Tea, Part 1 - Classic

© Lindsay W. McSweeney

I've had to change my impressions of tea recently. I'd always thought of tea as a warm, cozy drink to cuddle up with, but I read recently that 85% of all tea drunk in the U.S. is iced. I've also become aware of the popularity of something called "chai" (a word simply meaning tea), but this chai is available at Starbucks and in the grocery store - and I really wasn't sure what it was. Finally, I've noticed "white" tea for sale - so much for the standard green and black categories. This article will deal with classic tea; the next article will describe variations, e.g. herbal teas and chai.

Tea is the most popular beverage in the world, except for water. All classic tea (i.e. not herbal), comes from the same plant, camellia sinensis. First brewed by the Chinese some 4,000 years ago, this one plant produces a drink that has hundreds of variations. These variations are a result of: 1) how the tea is processed, 2) where the plant is grown, 3) which leaves are used, or 4) how or with what the tea is blended.

Traditionally, tea has been divided into three categories based on processing, i.e. green, oolong, and black. White tea is a new, fourth category. In order of popularity, these categories are:

Black: Black tea is the most full bodied category. To make black tea, once the leaves are picked from the tea plant, they are wilted, bruised by a rolling process, aired, and then dried. Through this oxidation process, the oils in the leaves ferment and develop tannin. Tannin is the same protein that causes your mouth to feel dry and pucker when you drink red wine.

Green: The leaves that make green tea, by contrast, are not wilted, bruised and aired, but rather immediately dried. Because of this minimal processing, tannin and color are not allowed to develop, so green tea is mild and only has a light, greenish hue.

Oolong: Oolong teas are a compromise between black and green teas. Oolong leaves are allowed some oxidation, so there is a mild tannin component to an oolong tea.

White: White tea is made from only the uppermost leaves of the plant, and additionally includes buds. These buds are covered with silvery "hairs," which look white, giving the tea its name. The leaves and buds are steamed and dried, so there is no oxidation. Fans claim it is the purest tasting tea, without any tannin or even the grassy undertones that many drinkers detect in green tea.