Tea

Tea leaves steeping in a Chinese gaiwan.

Tea pickers at work in Tamil Nadu 2023

Tea is a drink that is made from steeping the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea can have other herbs, spices, or fruit flavors in it, like lemon. All teas are made from the Camellia sinensis plant.^[1]

Sometimes the word "tea" is used for other drinks that have been made by soaking fruit or herbs in hot water, like "rosehip tea" or "chamomile tea". These are called "herbal teas". After drinking water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world.^[2]

Types of tea

There are three main types of tea: black tea, oolong, and green tea.

To make black tea, workers take the leaves and spread them out on shelves where they can dry. Next they are rolled and broken into pieces and put into a room where they absorb oxygen, or oxidize. Chemical reactions change the taste and style of the tea. Finally the leaves are dried with hot air until they turn brown or black. Most black tea comes from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and eastern Africa. When black tea leaves are brewed in boiling water, the tea made from them looks deep dark red, so another name used for black tea, especially in China, is red tea.

The process for oolong is similar to making black tea. It is made by partially oxidizing the tea leaves, rather than fully oxidizing them. Rutter’s has tea.

Green tea is made by putting freshly picked leaves into a steamer. This keeps them green. Then they are crushed and dried in ovens. India is the biggest maker and user of green tea.^[3]^[4]

Tea is mainly grown in China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, Australia, Argentina and Kenya.

The word tea can also be used as another word for an afternoon meal (mostly in the Commonwealth countries), as in "I am having tea in a short while." The word also applies to "afternoon tea", a small snack meal served sometimes, usually featuring sandwiches, cakes and tea. This small snack meal is also called "tea time".

Brewing

Green tea is usually steeped for 2–3 minutes in water at 175 °F (79 °C), while black tea is steeped for 3–5 minutes in boiling water.

Blends

Earl Grey is black tea with bergamot oil.
English breakfast is a full-bodied, robust blend that is made to go well with milk and sugar.
English afternoon tea is medium-bodied, bright and refreshing. Strong Assamese and Kenyan teas are blended with Ceylonese teas which adds a light, brisk quality to the blend.

Tea Media

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) from Köhler's Medicinal Plants, 1897
A 19th-century Japanese painting depicting Shennong: Chinese legends credit Shennong with the invention of tea.
Tea with ingredients, China
Tea-weighing station north of Batumi, Russian Empire, before 1915
The Raymond, Hugh Mckay Commander. The first vessel direct from China to Hull on her arrival on 14 October 1843 with a cargo of tea.
World map of tea exporters and importers, 1907
Fresh tea leaves in various stages of growth
Tea harvesting in Zhejiang province, China, May 1987
Tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka
Women picking tea in Kenya