Tea – the elixir that has guided travel-weary souls in India for generations now. There is something about sipping a hot, steaming, cup of tea. Better still is having a sip of tea from an authentic earthen tea cup.
Most people start their tea journey with masala chai or malaai chai. Truth be told, these are not so much varieties of tea as they are methods of preparation. So, if that has been your exposure to tea so far, then you are in for a rude awakening!
Of course, most people get introduced to tea as part of a homemade health drink such as ‘adrak chaai’ and again, those are recipes.
The point behind this blog is not to indulge in such speculation. Today, we are going purely on taste alone.
Of course, this is somewhat subjective, but there are three varieties of tea that most tea-lovers swear by.
What are the 3 Magic Teas that Everyone Loves?
Let’s get one thing straight – all tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The difference between different teas arise from their preparation and treatment. There are five basic steps involved in the processing of tea.
Not all tea varieties use all the five processes. In some cases, the tea uses only a few steps. In other cases, the steps are repeated over and over again for a stronger flavor. The first step, which is fermentation, results in the primary distinction between teas.
Enough preamble. Let’s dive into the types of tea that we are talking about here:
- Black Tea: utilizes all five basic steps, but is allowed to oxidize more completely than white tea. The steps are followed in a very linear form and are generally not repeated for a single batch. The entire processing is done within a day. The brewed liquor of a Black tea ranges between dark brown and deep red with the strongest flavor. Black teas are the only style of tea regularly consumed with milk and sugar.
- Green Tea: is plucked, withered and rolled. It is not oxidized during the rolling process and in fact, oxidation is prevented by applying heat. For green tea, freshly plucked leaves are either steamed or tossed in a hot, dry wok to stop the enzymes from browning the leaf. Green tea liquor is usually yellow or green, with a mildly astringent flavor.
- Oolong Tea: is one of the most time-consuming teas to create. It goes through all of the five steps, with rolling and oxidizing done repeatedly. Oolong is most simply described as half-way between green and black. Since Oolong tea has a smooth yet rich flavor profile, it is ideal for those new to tea drinking.
There you have it. The three magic teas.
Wrapping Things Up
We mainly know about the tea for it’s taste. Whereas, when it comes to the benefit of the tea, do we really what are we drinking? Well, so here are we, to let you know what your real cup of tea is. Stay tuned and brew the best kind of tea.