

Black Tea

Black teas are fully oxidized teas. Black teas brew a liquor from reddish brown to dark brown. They are the most popular type of tea in the Western world. Black teas range from 40 – 60 milligrams of caffeine per 8 oz cup.

Black Teas from China are divided into two main categories: Northern Chinese (Keemun teas from Anhui province and similar teas such as Golden Monkey) and Southern Chinese which are the black teas from the Yunnan province. Many teas from China often have poetic names that don’t give any information about the type of tea or the region that it came from, such as Cloud Mist and Fairy Branch.

There are three major tea producing areas in India: Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri. Black teas are also available from Sikkim, an area bordering Darjeeling. Ceylon teas come from the island nation now called Sri Lanka. Other loose-leaf black tea producing countries include: Nepal, Turkey, Indonesia, Kenya and Australia.

Preparation of black teas requires pure water at boiling point (212° F).

Process: After the leaves are plucked they are allowed to wither. They are then rolled and crushed by hand or by machine. This activates the oxidation processes and the leaves are allowed to turn black. Finally they are fired in ovens to stop the oxidation process.

Origins: Traditionally from China, India, and Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Tea Gradings:

There are several ways to reference any particular tea from India or Sri Lanka:

By estate

The grade of the tea

The year of the plucking

The plucking season (or flush)

Tea gradings refer primarily to the way the leaf looks.

S, or "super" means that the particular estate considers this tea one of its "best of best".

F, or "fine" usually means that the tea is a very high quality, clean, dust free and relatively uniform leaf.

T, or "tippy" means that the tea has many leaves from the very end bud - the terminal bud.

G, or "golden" refers the those terminal buds that had tiny hair-like fuzz on them that, after oxidation, has turned golden in color (desirable)

F, or "flowery" generally refers to the nose, it’s floral in character.

O, or "orange" is a reference to the Earl of Orange who once was so involved in tea trade that he required the estates to note whether or not they thought the teas measured up to his expectations. Using the letter "O" means that the tea does indeed do this.

P, or "pekoe" simply means a hand picked and processed tea that is dust and mold free.

Flavored Black Teas

Chinese black tea leaves have been flavored since around the time the Ming Dynasty was founded in 1368, and have become wildly popular in America and Europe in recent decades. The addition of natural essences and flavors create an exciting sensual and gastronomic experience, as both the tea and the scent are often enhanced in the marriage of the two. Tea can be flavored by adding fruits, floral essences, and/or flavorings to the finished black tea leaves. All tea leaves are very absorbent of fragrances (and all odors, which is another reason why air-tight containers are important for storage.) Popular scented black teas include Earl Grey, scented with bergamot; Lapsang Souchong, which is scented with pine wood smoke; Rose tea, Caramel tea and various fruit-flavored black teas. View our entire selection of Black Teas.

Chai Tea

India is the largest tea exporter in the world. Most of its tea production is consumed at home. This gives us an idea of the magnitude of production, and of its economic impact on the country. While tea plants are indigenous to parts of northwestern India, tea was not a part of the Indian diet until after the British began producing tea there circa 1850. The Indian palate was not satisfied by the thin, sugared beverage. But by drawing from their own cultural pantry they created the tea drink that we know as chai - black tea simmered with milk, sugar, and rich flavorful spices such as cardamom, ginger, clove and cinnamon. Every household in India has their own family recipe for what they call masala chai, or spice tea.