Name the main varieties of tea and explain their main characteristics.
Different types of tea:
- White tea: It is rarest of
all tea types. Delicate in flavour as
well as colour, the tea has a subtle, slightly sweet flavour and a mellow creamy
or nutty quality. White tea consists of the whitish buds of the tea plant. It
is unfermented tea.
- Green tea: production process
is similar to that of white tea. Starts with withering, followed by pan-frying
or steaming to prevent fermentation. Scientific studies have shown that both
green and black teas prevent cavities and gum disease, and increase the body’s
antioxidant activity.
- Oolong tea: Most expensive
and is a semi-fermented tea.
- Black tea: It is red brown in
colour. It is completely fermented and this imparts its characteristic dark
colour and also triples caffeine content.
- Pu-erh tea: It is fermented
twice. That’s the reason why it gets soil flavour. It is usually taken for medicinal purposes. It is best known digestive aid.
- Flavoured tea contains
additional flavours, from flowers and oils to herbs and spices.
- Blends are obtained by
mixing of different types of tea often to achieve flavour consistency from one
season to the next.