How many different varieties of tea are they?

Answer 1

The Oxford dictionary states that "tea" is the infusion of leaves, herbs, flowers and/or barks as a beverage.

Another meaning of the word "tea" is the leaves of the tea plant "camellia sinensis" dried and prepared in various ways to be used in making an infusion.

The leaves of the tea plant are plucked and then processed in one of three ways, resulting in either green, black or oolong tea.

To produce "Green Teas", the leaves are steamed, rolled on mats, fermented for a short period of time and heated (or fired).

"Black Teas" are not steamed, but set in warm moist rooms to "wilt," rolled and left to ferment (a much longer time than green tea).

"Oolong Teas" are semi-fermented teas. Processed similarily to black tea but not allowed to ferment as long.

The more recent inclusion to the tea market of "White Tea" is merely the use of just the smallest most delicate of the tea leaves from a specific harvest, and processed as black tea is processed.

All of the above teas are basic and all naturally contain tannins and caffeine. The various places the plants are grown will have some impact on the flavour of the tea produced.

In many cases teas from several places and of different qualities are blended together creating, obviously enough "Blended Teas."

"Scented/Spiced Teas" come about with the admix of various flowers, herbs or spices. The most commonly known scented tea is most likely "Earl Grey Tea" which has oil of bergamot added to it.

Most of the above mentioned teas are now commercially available in a decaffeinated form, but be aware, all decaffeination involves some form of chemical process

Finally there are "Herbal Teas" made from various combinations of herbs, flowers, roots, barks, leaves and fruits. Many herbal teas are enjoyed simply for their flavours and aromas, while others are taken for their medicinal properties. Most herbal teas are naturally decaffeinated, as the herbs they are made from do not contain caffeine.