A Sip filled with delight - Chai
Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia. After water, it is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea, some like Darjeeling and Chinese greens, have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour,while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily by its caffeine content.
Now Let's move to the Tea Table...
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea is a traditional tea. It's made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, the same plant used to make green tea and black tea. The difference is in how the tea is processed. All tea leaves contain certain enzymes, which produce a chemical reaction called oxidation. Most oolong teas, especially those of fine quality, involve unique tea plant cultivars that are exclusively used for particular varieties. Different styles of oolong tea can vary widely in flavor. They can be sweet and fruity with honey aromas, or woody and thick with roasted aromas, or green and fresh with complex aromas, all depending on the horticulture and style of production.
Green Tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from Camellia sinensis leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process used to make oolong teas and black teas. As we’ve demonstrated, green tea can hail from many different parts of the world and processed using one of many different methods. So how the green tea you’re brewing tastes will depend on many factors, including where it was grown, how it was processed and even how it was brewed. However, there are some common traits used to describe the overall flavor profile of the green tea category, including vegetal, grassy, earthy, sweet, buttery, nutty, toasty, seaweed-like, broth-y, lush, green and herbaceous.
Black Tea
Black tea is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. All four types are made from leaves of the shrub (or small tree) Camellia sinensis. While green tea usually loses its flavor within a year, black tea retains its flavor for several years. The Western palate has certainly become used to typical strong black tea that can stand up to sweetener and cream or lots of ice. A brewed black tea can range in color from amber to red to dark brown, and its flavor profile can range from savory to sweet, depending on how long it was oxidized and how it was it was heat processed. Black tea typically has more astringency and bitterness than green tea, but if brewed correctly it should be smooth and flavorful.
White Tea
White tea is known to be one of the most delicate tea varieties because it is so minimally processed. White tea is harvested before the tea plant’s leaves open fully, when the young buds are still covered by fine white hairs, hence the name “white” tea. White teas are still revered today for their delicate, rare and beautiful aromas and flavors. Most white teas are still handpicked and hand processed, making them a true delicacy to sip in appreciation of the artisanship that went into their making. Some common traits used to describe the overall flavor profile of the white tea category include floral, grassy, honey, fruity, melon, peach, apricot, vanilla, chocolate, citrus, herby, mild, subtle, delicate and sweet.
