Tea is hands down the most-loved warm drink in the UK and is a solution for almost anything. Something bad happens? Make a cup of tea. Relaxing after a tough day? Enjoy a cuppa. It’s no secret that tea makes things better. However, as much as we as a nation adore our tea, how much do you actually know about the different types of tea?
To keep you in the know, we have compiled a list of available teas and provided all the information you’ll ever need to know about this British staple. Next time you make a cup of tea for someone, you’ll be able to serve them some interesting titbits about their drink.
What Is Tea, and Where Does It Come From?
Tea is a herbal drink usually made from the dried or fresh leaves of the camellia sinensis, a shrub indigenous to East Asia. However, you can also make tea from the leaves of other plants, which we will look at later.
It was first popularised as a drink during the Tang dynasty in China, and the earliest mention of tea drinking is in a medical manuscript written by Hua Tuo in the third century. Tea only made its way to Europe in the 16th century when Portuguese merchants brought it back to Europe. But it was only in the 17th century when tea drinking really took off in the UK.
Tea can be sold in the form of teabags which you can find at any grocery store, or loose leaves, which are usually only found at specialist or health stores. Which form is used depends on personal preference.
How to Brew perfect Tea?
There are various ways to make tea, some more popular than others, but it all depends on what an individual prefers and whether you are using tea bags or loose leave. Let’s take a look at the simplest ways to do it.
Mug or Teacup
The simplest way to make tea is to make it in a mug. Simply pop a teabag into your mug or teacup and pour boiling water over it. Give it a quick stir, and then let the teabag steep for a few minutes to release all the flavour. After this step, gently squeeze the teabag against the side of your mug, then remove it or keep it in, depending on your preference.
While making tea using loose leaves is not as quick as using teabags, it is still super easy. With loose leaves, you need to place them in either a tea infuser, tea filter or teapot for the leaves to infuse.
After brewing your tea, you can add milk, sugar, honey, sweetener, or lemon or drink it straight. Whatever makes you happy – you do you.
Teapot
Add two teabags (or one if the teapot is small) to a teapot and add boiling water. Gently stir and let it steep for a few minutes. Like with a mug of tea, you can add anything you like to your teapot.
Whether you like it in a mug or teapot, in the form of bags or loose leaves, there is a tea for everyone.
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What Are the Different Tea Varieties?
A range of different tea types are available, with more appearing regularly. So far, the different kinds of teas available include:
- Black Tea
- CBD tea
- Flavoured Tea
- Green Tea
- Herbal tea
- Matcha
- Mate Tea
- Oolong Tea
- Pu-erh Tea
- Purple Tea
- White Tea
- Rooibos tea
- Chamomile tea
- Peppermint tea
This list is by no means exhaustive, and we can almost guarantee that it will grow with time. For now, let’s take a closer look at the different types of tea currently available.
Black Tea
Hands down, the most well-known and popular tea on the market is black tea. It is so popular that almost 100 million cups are consumed in the UK daily!
Black tea is mainly produced in China and India and is made from the leaves of the camellia sinensis. As such, black tea is seen as a bona fide tea.
It has a slightly bitter taste that can be countered with a splash of milk, sugar or honey and has a relatively high caffeine content for a tea, although it contains roughly half the caffeine a cup of coffee does.
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CBD Tea
CBD tea is regular tea infused with cannabidiol (CBD). It can come in a variety of flavours and formulations, such as:
Numerous studies on CBD have shown that the cannabinoid has the potential to help with the symptoms of various conditions, making it a popular ingredient to infuse tea with.
CBD may help:
- Soothe inflammation
- Improve sleep
- Reduce pain
- Lower anxiety
- Improve gut health
- Prevent and reduce seizures
- Improve heart health
However, studies are ongoing, and no concrete claims can be made at the moment, although results from current reviews are promising.
Many users prefer to get their daily dose of CBD in the form of a delicious tea. Find out more about CBD tea here.
Flavoured Tea
Any tea can have the likes of herbs, flowers, spices and more added to it to create unique aromatic blends. These are known as flavoured tea, which is popular in both summer and winter as a hot cup of tea or a glass of refreshing ice tea. The tea leaves form the base in flavoured tea, while other ingredients add to the taste. The most popular flavoured teas are chai, matcha, purple and fruity teas.
Green Tea
Although it is growing in popularity in the west thanks to its healthy properties, green tea is the most popular choice in the east, where it has dominated for thousands of years.
Like black tea, it is made from the camellia sinensis plant, although it contains less than half the caffeine black tea does and has a milder taste.
While research is still in its infancy, many studies show evidence that green tea could have health benefits such as:
- Lowering glucose levels and cholesterol
- Improving brain function
- Reducing risk of heart disease
- Increasing fat burning
Green tea is largely produced in China and Japan, and tea made in these two regions may differ slightly. Chinese green tea is more mellow and has a slightly golden colour, whereas Japanese green tea is emerald green with a savoury taste.
Although not as high in caffeine as black tea, green tea is not a tea you would want to have before bed as it has very stimulating effects that may hinder sleep.
Herbal Tea
Although called “tea”, herbal teas aren’t actually teas as they do not come from the camellia sinensis plant but from other herbs. Herbal teas are also sometimes called herbal infusions or tisanes. herbal teas, including chamomile tea, lavender and peppermint tea – each with its own medicinal properties. Many people use herbal teas as remedies for its potential benefits and numerous ailments, such as drinking chamomile tea to help aid sleep or ginger tea for an upset stomach.
Matcha
Matcha is a healthy yet bitter Japanese tea that is ground into a powder. Basically, it’s a powdered form of green tea. In Asia, it is consumed as is, making it especially healthy. However, in the west, it is usually served in lattes and smoothies, which significantly decreases any therapeutic benefits it may have.
Matcha tea has notes of umami and a smooth yet bitter taste.
Mate Tea
Yerba mate, commonly known as mate tea, is a South American herbal tea made from the yerba mate plant. It was consumed only by natives of Paraguay until Europeans arrived. Today, you can find it almost anywhere in the world.
Mate is consumed using a silver or stainless steel straw known as a bomba. The straw also functions as a sieve, with a flared end containing holes that stop plant matter from passing through.
Nowadays, mate is commercially sold in the form of tea bags and ice tea.
Oolong Tea
A traditional Chinese tea, oolong tea lies between black and green tea. Like these teas, oolong tea comes from the camellia sinensis plant, but it is processed differently and is produced when the leaves are partially oxidised after being allowed to wilt in the sun. Depending on the oxidation level, it can taste more like either green tea or black tea. However, there are many different flavours of oolong tea, depending on the manufacturing process. Some are sweet and fruity, while others can be much heavier.
Like green tea, oolong is thought to have several medicinal properties, such as easing stress and improving metabolism.
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Pu-erh Tea
Another one of the “true” types of teas, Pu-erh (pu’er) tea, comes from the camellia sinensis plant and is a fermented drink similar to kombucha. During the manufacturing process, the Camellia sinensis leaves are processed in a way to allow for microbial fermentation and for the tea to continue developing even after the leaves are dried. Recently, it has become popular to make pu-erh from black tea instead of green.
Pu-erh is used as a medicine in Asia, especially in Taiwan, and is believed to improve alertness and lower cholesterol levels. It does not contain as much caffeine as other teas.
Purple Tea
Purple tea has only been produced commercially for a few years, making it a relatively new offering. It is made from a rare tea plant with purple leaves that is indigenous to the Assam region in India. Today, Kenya is the leading producer of purple tea.
The tea is packed with antioxidants and is low in caffeine, providing you with many health benefits without the anxiety that may be caused by drinks such as coffee or caffeine-rich teas.
Rooibos Tea
Rooibos (red bush) tea is a popular tea that originated in South Africa. It comes from the rooibos plant and has been consumed for hundreds of years.
People often drink it similarly to black tea, some preferring it as is, while others add milk, honey or sugar.
Rooibos tea is red in colour and has a delicious flavour that combines fruity notes with spice in equal measure. There is no caffeine in rooibos, making it an ideal tea for people wishing to avoid it.
White Tea
White is the mildest “true” tea available. It contains very little caffeine (about 25% as much as coffee). The reason white tea is so mild is because it is minimally processed.
Camellia sinensis leaves are picked before they have time to unfurl fully and are quickly dried. These buds are covered in white hairs, which is where the tea got its name from.
The low oxidation from the production process is what makes this tea so mellow.
The Best Tea
So, which types of tea are the best? The answer to this differs from person to person and entirely depends on preference and what you’re looking for. If health benefits are what you’re after, green, matcha, CBD and oolong tea are the ones you should try. Simply looking for comfort? Black tea or chamomile will do the job. Whatever you desire in a tea, there is one out there for you.
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