In 2007, Americans consumed well over 55 billion servings of tea, or over 2.50 billion gallons of hot, iced and ready-to-drink (pre-bottled) tea beverages. Tea is a refreshing choice with no natural sodium, fat, carbonation, or sugar (always read labels on pre-bottled beverages to look for added sugar and sodium). When unsweetened, tea is almost completely calorie-free. Some of the other health benefits of tea include promoting proper fluid balance and heart health as well as cancer prevention. Tea contains naturally occurring antioxidant compounds. Tannin is one of the major components which contributes to the taste and pungency of tea and is the main chemical thought to be responsible for tea’s health benefits.

Any tea drinker has seen a wide variety of tea types and flavors. There are some important distinctions to make when choosing your tea. There are four "types" of tea all made from the same plant where the difference is in how the fresh leaves of the tea plant are processed and their level of contact with oxygen. During oxidation, tea leaves undergo natural chemical reactions that result in distinctive color and taste characteristics. Then there are a multitude of varieties and blends that are influenced by the geographic region where the tea is grown, methods of processing and exposure to other ingredients for added flavor.

The Four Types of Tea

Black, Green, Oolong and White teas all come from the same plant, a warm-weather evergreen called the Camellia sinensis. Each type of tea results from various degrees of processing and the level of oxidization. Black tea is oxidized for up to 4 hours and Oolong teas are oxidized for 2-3 hours. The tea leaves undergo natural taste and color changes through the oxidation process, allowing for distinguished characteristics. Green & White teas are not oxidized after processing and they most closely resemble the look and chemical composition of the fresh tealeaf. Each type has unique antioxidant properties and health benefits associated with drinking them.

You may also have heard of Red tea, which is not actually tea as it comes from the Rooibos plant. Herbal teas such as Red tea are not really "tea" at all, because they do not come from Camellia sinensis. Herbal teas are concocted of leaves, roots, bark, seeds or flowers of other plants.

Tea is grown in thousands of tea gardens or estates around the world, resulting in thousands of flavorful variations. The most common growing regions are in China and India and some of the most popular flavors are named after the places where they are grown.

Popular Blends

Earl Grey- Smoky and fragrant with hints of citrus Earl Grey refers to any black tea with bergamot flavor added, but traditionally it is a blend of Indian and Ceylon teas. Earl Grey is one of the most popular of all the flavored teas in the world and is usually enjoyed with a slice of lemon and without milk or sugar. Bergamot is a citrus fruit, somewhat like a lemon, orange and grapefruit mixed together.

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