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Tea-producing countries.

While drinking a sip of your daily tea, or perhaps, your "chai", did you ever wonder what all kinds of tea are there, or how are they made , or what are the potential effects of it on your health? NO? Well, if you do now, then move on with this article..
Tea is a beverage made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, in hot water for a few minutes. The processing can include oxidation, heating, drying, and the addition of other herbs, flowers, spices, and fruits. The four basic types of true tea are (in order from most to least processed): black tea, oolong tea, green tea, and white tea. The term "herbal tea" usually refers to infusions of fruit or of herbs that contain no Camellia sinensis . (Alternative terms for herbal tea that avoid the word "tea" are tisane and herbal infusion.) This article is concerned exclusively with preparations and uses of the tea plant C. sinensis.

Almost all teas in bags and most other teas sold in the West are blends. Blending may occur in the tea-planting area (as in the case of Assam), or teas from many areas may be blended. The aim is to obtain better taste, better price or both, as more expensive, better-tasting tea may cover the inferior taste of cheaper varieties. Blending may also achieve more consistent taste of the blend, regardless of the variation of taste among pure teas.
Various teas, as sold, are not pure varieties but have been enhanced through additives or special processing. Tea is indeed highly receptive to inclusion of various aromas; this may cause problems in processing, transportation and storage, but also allows for the design of an almost endless range of scented variants, such as vanilla-flavored, caramel-flavored and many others

Contents:
Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. In a fresh tea leaf, catechins can be up to 30% of the dry weight. Catechins are highest in concentration in white and green teas, while black tea has substantially less due to its oxidative preparation. Tea contains theanine, and the stimulant caffeine at about 3% of its dry weight, translating to between 30mg and 90mg per 8oz (or 0.25 L) cup depending on type and brand and brewing method. Tea also contains small amounts of theobromine and theophylline. Tea also contains fluoride, with certain types of brick tea made from old leaves and stems having the highest levels.

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Processing and classification:
These types of tea are distinguished by the processing they undergo. Leaves of Camellia sinensis soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried quickly after picking. The leaves turn progressively darker because chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This process, enzymatic oxidation, is called fermentation in the tea industry although no true fermentation happens (that is, the process isn't microorganism-driven). The next step in processing is to stop the oxidation process at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. With black tea this is done simultaneously with drying.

Without careful moisture and temperature control during its manufacture and thereafter, fungi will grow on tea. This form of fungus causes real fermentation that will contaminate the tea with toxic and sometimes carcinogenic substances and off-flavours, rendering the tea unfit for consumption.

TYPES & KINDS:

Tea is traditionally classified based on producing technique:

White tea: Young leaves (new growth buds) that have undergone no oxidation; the buds may be shielded from sunlight to prevent formation of chlorophyll. White tea is produced in lesser quantities than most other styles, and can be correspondingly more expensive than tea from the same plant processed by other methods. It is less well known in countries outside of China, though this is changing with increased western interest in organic or premium teas.; White tea Produced in India are:
Darjeeling White, having a delicate aroma and brews to a pale golden cup with a mellow taste and a hint of sweetness. This tea is particularly fluffy and light.
Assam White, which is much lighter in body than the traditional black teas, a white Assam yields a refined infusion that is naturally sweet with a distinct malty character. However, white tea production in the Assam region is rare.
Green tea: The oxidation process is stopped after a minimal amount of oxidation by application of heat, either with steam, or by dry cooking in hot pans, the traditional Chinese method. Tea leaves may be left to dry as separate leaves or they may be rolled into small pellets to make Gunpowder tea. This process is time consuming and is typically done with pekoes of higher quality. The tea is processed within one to two days of harvesting.
Green tea is popular in China, Korea, India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Japan, Pakistan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Morocco, and the Middle East. Recently, it has become more widespread in the West, where traditionally black tea is consumed.

For Brewing, generally, 2.25 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water, or about one teaspoon of green tea per cup, should be used. With very high quality teas like gyokuro, more than this amount of leaf is used, and the leaf is steeped multiple times for short durations.

Green tea brewing time and temperature varies with individual teas. The hottest brewing temperatures are 180°F to 190°F (82°C to 88°C) water and the longest steeping times 2 to 3 minutes. The coolest brewing temperatures are 140°F to 150°F (60°C to 66°C) and the shortest times about 30 seconds. In general, lower quality green teas are steeped hotter and longer, while higher quality teas are steeped cooler and shorter. Steeping green tea too hot or too long will result in a bitter, astringent brew. High quality green teas can and usually are steeped multiple times - 2 or 3 steepings is typical.
Oolong: Oxidation is stopped somewhere between the standards for green tea and black tea. The oxidation process takes two to three days. In Chinese, semi-oxidized teas are collectively grouped as blue tea (青茶, literally: blue-green tea), while the term "oolong" is used specifically as a name for certain semi-oxidized teas. Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea: it lacks the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea but it does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea. The best Oolong has a nuanced flavor profile. It is commonly brewed to be strong, with the bitterness leaving a sweet and pleasant aftertaste. Oolongs produced in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province and in the Central Mountains of Taiwan are world famous.

For Brewing, generally, 2.25 grams of tea per 6 ounces of water, or about two teaspoons of oolong tea per cup, should be used. Oolong teas should be prepared with 180°F to 190°F (82°C-87°C) water (not boiling) and steeped 3-4 minutes
Black tea/Red tea: This is the kind of tea usually used to make "chaai" in India. The tea leaves are allowed to completely oxidize. Black tea is the most common form of tea in southern Asia (Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.) and in the last century many African countries including Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The literal translation of the Chinese word is red tea, which is used by some tea lovers. The Chinese call it red tea because the actual tea liquid is red. Westerners call it black tea because the tea leaves used to brew it are usually black. However, red tea may also refer to rooibos, an increasingly popular South African tisane. The oxidation process will take between two weeks and one month. Black tea is further classified as either orthodox or as CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl, a production method developed about 1932). Unblended black teas are also identified by the estate they come from, their year and the flush (first, second or autumn). Orthodox processed black teas are further graded according to the post-production leaf quality by the Orange Pekoe system, while CTC teas use a different grading system.

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.

Chai (Arabic: شَاي, Hindi: चाय, Urdu/Persian: چاى, Russian: чай, Turkish: çay , Chinese: chá (茶)) is the word for tea generally in Asia, North and East Africa and Eastern Europe.

MORE ABOUT BLACK TEA
Post-fermented tea: Teas that undergo a second oxidation, such as Pu-erh, Liu'an, and Liubao, are collectively referred to as secondary or post-fermentation teas in English. In Chinese they are categorized as Dark tea or black tea. This is not to be confused with the English term Black tea, known in Chinese as red tea. Pu-erh, also known as Póu léi (Polee) in Cantonese is the most common type of post-fermentation tea in the market.
Many post-fermented teas do not arrive on the market as "finished" products, instead they often start-off as green teas or partially-oxidized oolong-like teas, which are then allowed to slowly oxidize and undergo microbial fermentation over many years, thus turning it into a post-fermented tea. Alternatively post-fermented teas can be created quickly through ripening process spanning several months, as seen in "ripened pu-erh". This ripening is done through a controlled process similar to composting, where both the moisture and temperature of the tea are carefully monitored. The resulting product from this fermentation is "finished" post-fermented tea. Many Tibetans and Central Asian use pu-erh or other post-fermented teas as a caloric food, boiled with yak butter, sugar and salt to make yak butter tea.
Yellow tea: Yellow tea (黃茶) usually implies a special tea processed similarly to green tea, but with a slower drying phase, where the damp tea leaves are allowed to sit and yellow. The tea generally has a very yellow-green appearance and a smell different to both White tea and Green tea, but similarities in taste and smell can still be drawn between Yellow, Green and White teas. It can, however, also describe high-quality teas served at the Imperial court, although this can be applied to any form of imperially served tea.
Kukicha: Kukicha (茎茶), or twig tea, is a Japanese blend of green tea made of stems, stalks, and twigs. Kukicha has a nutty, slightly creamy flavour, with a slight taste of rooibos. It is made of four sorts of stems, stalks and twigs of Camellia sinensis. For best results, kukicha is steeped in water between 70°C to 80°C (155°F - 180°F) for three minutes (otherwise, like all green teas, the result will be a bitter, unsavoury brew). Uniquely flavourful, kukicha is also one of the preferred teas of the macrobiotic diet. Kukicha can also be added to juice to make a children's drink. Kukicha is a powerful antioxidant and is very low in caffeine, in fact the lowest in caffeine of all traditional teas. The tea can be dry fried in an iron pan that makes the tea more alkaline and healthy for disease that thrive in acidic conditions. Also called winter tea, kukicha is made from twigs and old leaves pruned from the tea plant during its dormant season and dry-roasted over a fire. It is popular as a health food in Japan and in macrobiotic diets.

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