The Beginner’s Guide to Tea

Tea is a drink made by steeping the leaves of Camellia sinensis.

From one plant comes tremendous variety: some tea is drunk hot, some cold; some teas are scented or blended with other ingredients, while others are just Camellia sinensis itself, with nothing added; some teas are hand-picked, others are mechanically plucked.

And the list goes on.

How is it that every type of tea is made with Camellia sinensis, yet there is such variety in the world of tea?

There are many factors that affect how tea turns out, but there are three in particular that provide us with the basic definitions of the five major varieties of tea:

• Oxidation: Black tea undergoes a chemical process known as oxidation, which turns its leaves and liquor into a darker colour. Green tea, white tea and raw pu-erh teas are unoxidized. Oolong tea makes up the middle, as it is partially oxidized.
• Bud or leaf: Most teas are made with tea leaves, but white tea is made with tea buds, plucked before they unfold.
• Fermentation: While many people confuse oxidation and fermentation, in actual fact only one type of tea is fermented: pu-erh tea.