Tea Varieties

Varieties of Tea - Its various processes and health benefits...

Tea existence of tea dates back to 5000 years and is considered to be one of the most preferred beverages all over the world even today. Whether it is consumed hot or cold, tea is considered to be the second most consumed beverage, after water.

Tea with its rich history is still regarded as a high quality and refreshing beverage, inspite of the fact that a lot of new, innovative hot and cold beverages have now flooded the department stores, groceries etc. The delicious taste, soothing aroma, health benefits and often calming effect may be the reason for people taking a liking for this beverage all over the world.

Researches have found out through their various studies, that consumption of tea varieties and tea extracts have given relief to many an ailing. This feature of tea has attracted many researchers, medical professionals, scientists and even health conscious people, who are all seeking wellness from natural products, to suggest and acknowledge that consumption of tea has a lot of health benefits.

With these high recommendations and potentiality for improvement of health, there is a huge demand for tea arising all over the world. . To cater to the rising demands, tea manufacturers all over the world have started producing tea in various varieties, forms, flavors and specialty tea products, to give the consumer greater choices of tea and its products. Due to the increase in production, tea lovers these days are getting to taste new and more alternatives of tea.

All the varieties of teas available originate from the same evergreen plant, the Camellia Sinensis.

Around three thousand varieties of the bushes of these plants are grown in the mountain ranges all over the world. The different varieties in harvesting and processing procedures done on the dried tea leaves and buds, resulted in developing various varieties of tea. Many of the world’s best teas are grown in large plantations, also referred as tea estates or gardens. The Camellia sinensis plant, although has a high growth, is normally cut to under three feet in size for harvesting tea. Regular pruning of these plants results in thick growth and makes plucking of the tea leaves easier and more efficient. The major varieties of tea are the black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea.

Black tea commonly referred as red tea in China, Japan and India, is the most popular among the varieties of teas that is easily available al over the world. Black tea has deep red color and comes in wide range of flavors and tastes from flowery and fruity to spicy and nutty. The process of deriving black tea is a tedious one. After picking the leaves, they are exposed to air for about 10 to 24 hours, by spreading it out to let the water in it to evaporate. The leaves exposed to sunlight curls and begin to dry. After complete drying of the leaves, they are rolled into balls and then cooled. When this process is taking place, the leaves creates a chemical change wherein the juices of the leaves emerge and the leaves start to darken. After this oxidation process, the leaves are finally heated to stop the process of oxidation and seal the flavor and aroma in them.

Flavonoids present in high concentration in black tea, are found to lower cholesterol levels, improve blood flow, reduce inflammations and even maintain blood sugar levels. More and more people in the west have started preferring black tea to coffee and the tea bags, developed in early 90’s has significantly contributed to the popularity and consumption of black tea in the west.

Oolong tea is another variety of tea and is considered to be the most difficult one to process. Oolong also referred to as wulong tea, is a medium-bodied brew and has the freshness of the green tea and the aroma of the black tea. The tea leaves are wilted in sunlight immediately after plucking and then put into bamboo baskets and shaken up to slightly damage the leaves. Then the leaves are dried till its edges get the reddish color. Finally a special heating process is done on the leaves to stop further oxidation. The highest quality of oolong teas are got when the leaves are plucked during summer months. Oolong teas have more polyphenols than black or green teas. As polyphenols have strong antioxidants, oolong teas is known for lowering cholesterol levels, improves metabolism in man, assist in weight loss and promote healthier skin conditions.

Green tea is another variety of tea, which has lower caffeine and high antioxidant properties. The process of developing green tea is by preventing oxidation in the leaves to take place. Though the tea leaves are dried in the air for a few hours, it is then steamed or pan fried to neutralize the enzymes and prevent oxidation. This very technique of preservation of enzymes has recently become the focus of medical research. The final product has the tea leaves still quite green in color. Green teas are found to be having rich concentration of catechin polyphenols which act as powerful antioxidants to fight cancer, lower coronary heart disease, protects the tooth cavities and contribute for weight loss.

Finally, white tea which is now becoming very popular in the West, as it is least processed tea and hence tastes like fresh leaves or grass. White tea is obtained from the little buds and the tiny white hair grown on it.. Here again like green tea, the tea leaves are subjected to steaming inorder to prevent any kind of oxidation. Also great care is taken to avoid brushing or crushing the tea.  White tea is known for its wide range of health benefits like boosting immunization system, preventing dental plaque, provide protection from colon cancer and also  guard from skin cell damage.