Most of the tea you see, isn’t actually tea. There are only six tea types, the rest are tisanes (tee zan), infusions of herbs and/or fruits in water. So, chamomile and peppermint are tisanes. Surprised? Tea, to be truly called ‘tea’ must come from the camellia sinensis plant. I’m sure you can name at least three types. Yes, that’s right, white tea, black tea and green tea. There are three more, oolong (wulong), yellow tea and Pu-erh or aged teas.
In China, black tea is known as ‘red’ tea due to its coppery colour. Pu-erh belongs in the aged teas category, but as it is the most popular it is often considered the category itself.
If all of these teas come from the same plant then why do they have different names and colours? Well, it’s all in the processing.
White tea is the least processed, the leaves are plucked then dried in the open air, which is called withering. The taste is subtle because the enzymes in the leaves haven’t been released. Yellow tea is rare in that few growers take the extra step needed to produce yellow tea. Yellow tea is withered, pan-fired and then, unlike any other tea, it is covered with a damp cloth for 4 to 10 hours which warms and develops the leaves’ aromas.
Green tea is processed in two distinct ways. Japanese green tea, my favourite! is steamed to stop oxidation. If you’ve tasted it you recognize a very vegetal flavour, reminiscent of spinach or cooked celery. It reminds some people of dulse which is a maritime seaweed. Not convinced? You owe it to yourself to give it a try. Sencha would be the best place to start, matcha is more bitter to those new to Japanese green tea. Chinese green tea is pan-fired, meaning the leaves are placed in a large wok and rolled over and over with bare hands inside the hot pan. The flavour profile may be one with which you are more familiar as this smokey, flinty taste is the green tea most often served in restaurants.
Oolong teas may be lightly or fully oxidized, meaning they are withered then laid out in a humid environment and stirred periodically to create friction which releases enzymes. Further rolling and drying changes the flavour profile. Shorter lighter handling and you have a lightly oxidized oolong with fruit and floral flavours. Longer and rougher handling results in an oxidation level closer to black teas. The fully oxidized oolong tastes toasty and nutty and has a darker liquor.
Black teas are fully processed, sometimes even cut into small pieces, rolled, rubbed, beaten up, you get the idea, and the result is a flavourful brew able to hold up to milk and sugar. What about your Tetley, Salada or PG Tips? These are blends of black teas, often up to 40 different teas are used. I’ll talk more about blends in a subsequent post along with the massive differences in Assam versus Darjeeling teas.
Pu-erh teas have a long history originating from the necessity to carry tea long distances, to sustain traders on their journey along The Tea Horse Road, or to be traded itself for horses. Ah, Tea Horse Road. Pu-erh is compressed into bricks or discs and basically composted, yep, buried for fifty years or more. This is the only category of tea that is fermented. Again, more on Pu-erh in the future. By the way it tastes like leather and its liquor looks black.
Your tea adventure is underway. Perhaps you have a preference for the teas of Sri Lanka, still called Ceylon in the tea world. You may be planning to try the vast range of oolongs. Imagine discovering that you love raw Pu-erh rather than cooked. Darjeeling or Gyokuro, Silver Needle or Long Jing, you can travel the world on your teaspoon. This is an affordable, joyous, lifetime pursuit. Welcome to the fascinating world of tea.