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Black Tea versus green tea? – Black tea is THE tea as far as many are concerned.  Sure there is much mention of green tea these days, but the fact is that black tea offers the same health benefits and tastes much better, at least to this author’s pallette.

Black tea, as indeed does all REAL tea has as its source the Camellia Sinensis bush (or tree).  The differences between the main types of tea, such as white, green, and black teas is how long each tea leaf is allowed to age in the air (sometimes called fermenting) before it is processed into its final form.  Also there are differences in other preparation processes such as whether the leaves are smoked, how they are dried, etc.

For example, white tea is processed immediately after picking, with no aging. Green tea is only allowed to age for one or two days. And black teas (yumm) are aged until they completely oxidize, which usually takes between two to four weeks.  The leaves then turn very dark, but not actually black, despite the name.  when infused, black tea produces a reddish-brown liquid, sometimes called the liquor.

The so-called black tea also has had economic and cultural significance around the world for hundreds of years. Because it is

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already fully aged, black tea will not degrade during storage.  While the other teas may only last a few days or weeks before spoiling, black tea can remain good and fresh for months or even years. Some cultures have even used bricks of black tea leaves as currency in the past.

Other benefits of the long aging process involved in creating black tea include a stronger flavor, and higher caffeine content than other teas. It would seem more likely that the aging process would leach both flavor and caffeine from the leaves, but the opposite is actually the case. The long aging period in the production of black tea actually strengthen both flavor and caffeine concentration.

As mentioned earlier, black colored tea is not actually black at all.  In fact it is sometimes called red tea, mostly because it produces a dark reddish color when thea leaves are brewed. This can be a tad confusing because in many Western cultures, the term red tea frequently refers to drinks that are not actually teas at all, but rather tisanes made from the South African rooibos plant.  Recall that all real tea comes from the Camellia Sinensis bush. A tisane or herbal tea not a true tea at all.  So technially, there is no such thing as “herbal tea.”

Depending on your taste, black tea may be drunk with the addition of milk and/or some sort of sweetener.  In England and in the US, it is very common to drink hot black tea with milk and sugar.  Iced tea, which is almost always made from black tea, is also frequently served at restaurants already sweet.  IN the south you actually have to ask for “unsweet tea” if you don’t like it sweet.

So to recap, “black” is the name given to tea whose leaves are allowed to age for the longest period of time. The process results in a tea with a stronger flavor, and more caffeine, and longer shelf life, than other types of tea.

You’ve probably heard of English Tea, or High English Tea, not so much as a kind of tea, but as a way of drinking it.  It’s such a part of the British culture that throughout Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales (The British Isles) that quite often the term tea is used interchangeably with the word for dinner.  As a matter of fact, a family often have their tea without serving any actual tea. If you ask a native about how many meals per day there are, it wouldn’t be uncommon to get an answer like: “breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper” (dinner being what Americans would call lunch).  Odd, that.  This kind of thing is not at all uncommon over there.  They refer to dessert generically as “pudding,” even if you’re just having pie or cookies.  It is probably due to the fact that tea time is typically around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  Tea time refers to a sort of ritual or ceremony where tea is brewed and served along with a selection of snacks, usually scones, tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off, cookies, etc.

You may also hear terms such as “high tea” or “low tea.”  Both terms refer to some version of the tea-and-snack ritual.  Though perhaps not universally accepted definitions, high tea usually is reserved for more formal occasions where the fancy tea pots and china are used, people dress nicely, etc.  I’ve also heard it said that high tea refers to the larger meal served later in the day, as opposed to the light, 4pm tea-and-snacks type of thing.  Either way, the use of the word “high” is almost certainly not referring to the class system and nobles inhabiting high society; at least not anymore.

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Regardless of all the interesting and varied meanings of tea in England, when there is actual tea served, it will almost certainly be black tea.  That means you’re not likely to find herbal, specially flavored, or green tea (likewise for white tea for that matter) served at any English tea.  Black tea is usually suitable to adding milk and/or sugar, according to your taste of course.  And no English tea set would be complete without a special container for both the milk/cream AND sugar.

“Tea” in England can mean a huge number of different things from an afternoon snack to a full-on evening meal, neither of which might contain any actual tea!  It may also refer to an occasion or ceremony, spanning the range between informal and very posh.  And of course last, but not least (one hopes) it can refer to the actual drink made out of tea leaves.