Tea

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Black tea is more oxidized than the green, oolong and white varieties.

All four varieties are made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas.

In Chinese and culturally influenced languages, black tea is known as "red tea" (紅茶, Mandarin Chinese hóngchá; Japanese kōcha; Korean hongcha), perhaps a more accurate description of the color of the liquid. The name black tea, however, could alternatively refer to the colour of the oxidized leaves. In Chinese, "black tea" is a commonly used classification for post-fermented teas, such as Pu-erh tea. However, in the Western world, "red tea" more commonly refers to South African rooibos tisane.

The expression "black tea" is also used to describe a cup of tea without milk ("served black"), similar to coffee served without milk or cream. In Commonwealth nations, black tea is not commonly consumed black, as adding milk is the common practice.

Plain black tea without sweeteners or additives contains negligible quantities of calories, protein, sodium, and fat. Some flavored tea with different herbs added may have less than 1 gram of carbohydrates. All teas from the camellia tea plant are rich in polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant.

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Generally, unblended black teas are named after the region in which they are produced. Often, different regions are known for producing teas with characteristic flavors.

Chinese black teas:

◊Lapsang souchong (正山小种 or 烟小种): originally from Mount Wuyi, Fujian Province, China. Lapsang souchong is a black tea which is dried over burning pine, thereby developing a strong smoky flavour.
◊Keemun (祁門) : from Qi Men, Anhui Province, China, a Chinese Famous Tea.
◊Dian Hong (滇紅): from Yunnan Province, China. Well known for dark malty teas and golden bud teas.
◊Ying De Hong (英徳紅): from Guangdong Province, China.

Indian and Sri Lankan black teas

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Assam Tea (Black Tea)
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◊Assam: It  is a black tea named after the region of its production: Assam, India. This tea grown at sea level is known for its body, briskness, malty flavor, and strong, bright color. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam, are often sold as "breakfast" teas. English Breakfast tea, Irish Breakfast tea, and Scottish Breakfast Tea are common trade names.
Though "Assam" generally denotes the distinctive black teas from Assam, the region produces relatively smaller quantities of green and white teas as well with their own distinctive characteristics.
Historically, Assam is the second commercial tea production region after southern China. Southern China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. Assam tea revolutionized tea drinking habits in the 19th century since the tea, produced from a different variety of the tea plant, yielded a different kind of tea. The tea plant (Camellia sinensis var assamica) is grown in the lowlands of Assam, unlike Darjeelings and Nilgiris which are grown in the highlands.
Today, Assam produces more than half the tea grown in India. On the international market, Assam Tea can be identified by the official logo chosen by the Tea Board of India. Most Assam tea is sold through the Auction Centre at Guwahati.

Darjeeling Tea Infusion
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◊Darjeeling: Darjeeling tea is grown in the foothills of the Himalayas, and is a prized Indian black tea. Darjeeling tea has traditionally been prized above all other black teas, especially in the United Kingdom and the countries comprising the former British Empire. It comes from Darjeeling in West Bengal, India. When properly brewed it yields a thin-bodied, light-colored liquor with a floral aroma. The flavor also displays a tinge of astringent tannic characteristics, and a musky spiciness. A sweet cooling aftertaste should be felt on the mouth.
Most Darjeeling teas are made into black teas; however, Darjeeling oolong and green teas are becoming more commonly produced and are easier to find.

Darjeeling Tea cannot be grown or manufactured anywhere else in the world. Just as Champagne is indigenous to the Champagne district of France, so is Darjeeling Tea to Darjeeling

◊Nilgiri: from Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, India.

◊Ceylon: from Sri Lanka. 

Other black teas

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◊Kenyan: from Africa, similar to Assam.
◊Vietnamese: from Vietnam, similar to some cheaper Yunnan teas, with a pleasant and sweet aroma but a more bodied and darker brew; unlike teas from Nepal or Darjeeling.
◊Nepalese: from uplands of Nepal. Somewhat similar to lower grades of Darjeeling.
◊Rize Tea (Çay): from Rize Province on the eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey, that is crystal clear and mahogany in color. Prepared in a samovar or a caydanlik, it can be served strong ("koyu" dark) or weak ("açik" light), in small glasses with cubed sugar.
◊Thai tea : from Thailand
◊Georgian tea: from Caucasus in Georgia
◊Krasnodar tea: from Caucasus in Russia
◊Java tea: from Indonesia, has got nutty aroma, very different from both Chinese and Indian teas.
◊Sumatra tea: from Indonesia, similar to Java tea.

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Black tea is often blended and mixed with various other plants in order to obtain a beverage.

Earl Grey: It is black tea with bergamot oil.
Flavoured Tea: Citrus fruits such as orange or lemon, or their respective rinds, are often used to create flavored black teas, sometimes in conjunction with spices (such as cinnamon). These products can be easily confused with citrus-based herbal teas, but the herbal products will generally be labelled as having no caffeine; whereas, the tea-based products do contain caffeine.

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1. After the harvest, the leaves are first withered by blowing air on them.
2. Then black teas are processed in either of two ways, CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) or orthodox. The CTC method is used for lower quality leaves that end up in tea bags and are processed by machines. This method is efficient and effective for producing a better quality product from medium and lower quality leaves. Orthodox processing is done either by machines or by hand. Hand processing is used for high quality teas. While the methods employed in orthodox processing differ by tea type, this style of processing results in the high quality loose tea sought by many connoisseurs.
3. Next, the leaves are oxidized under controlled temperature and humidity. (This process is also called "fermentation", which is a misnomer since no actual fermentation takes place.) The level of oxidation determines the quality of the tea. Since oxidation begins at the rolling stage itself, the time between these stages is also a crucial factor in the quality of the tea.
4. Then the leaves are dried to arrest the oxidation process.
5. Finally, the leaves are sorted into grades according their sizes (whole leaf, brokens, fannings and dust), usually with the use of sieves. The tea could be further sub-graded according to other criteria.

The tea is then ready for packaging.

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Generally, 2.25 grams of tea per 180 ml of water, or about a teaspoon of black tea per cup, should be used. Black teas should be prepared with boiling water and steeped for 3 to 4 minutes. Black teas that will be served with milk or lemon should be steeped a little longer, 4-5 minutes. This is just a typical brewing method.

Black Tea With Milk (Chaai, or Masala Chaai).
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Chaai ( Masaala Chaai ):

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Chai (Arabic: شَاي, Hindi: चाय, Urdu/Persian: چاى, Russian: чай, Turkish: çay , ultimately from the Chinese word chá (茶) ) is the word for tea generally in Asia, North and East Africa and Eastern Europe. Cognates in other languages include the Bengali (চা  "chā"), Kannada (ಚಾ "Cha"), the Marathi (चाहा "chahā")  Malayalam (ചായ "chaya") and the Tamil (தைனீர் "thaeneer").
In North America, the word chai is used to refer almost exclusively to the Indian masala chai beverage

In a typical South Asian household, chai is prepared by boiling loose leaf tea in a pot with milk and water. Depending on personal preference, various spices and/or sweetner may also be added at this stage. What many English speakers tend to think of as chai is, therefore, more strictly known as masala chai, (Hindi (मसाला चाय [masālā chāy], "spiced tea"). Indian markets all over the world sell various brands of "chai masala," (Hindi चाय मसाला [masālā chāy], "tea spice" ), though many households blend their own.

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CHAAI can be prepared in many ways. The most common way is to boil water with the sugar and spices, add tea and milk/creamer and then proceed to simmer it for a few minutes. It is then strained and served.
LIME TEA can be prepared by adding about half a lemon to prepared black tea infusion, without milk. Sugar or any other appropriate sweetener may be added.

 

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