Vicony Tea Directory

Black Tea

What is black tea

Black tea （红茶）is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties. All four varieties are made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas. Two principal varieties of the species are used, the small-leaved Chinese variety plant (C. sinensis subsp. sinensis), also used for green and white teas, and the large-leaved Assamese plant (C. sinensis subsp. assamica), which was traditionally only used for black tea, although in recent years some green has been produced.

Black tea is the most popular type of tea in the western world, accounting for about 90% of total tea consumption. It is a very general term, however, as there are many different types of black tea.

Black Tea Varieties

Black tea is commonly classified by its origin. The most popular types of black tea includes:

Indian Black Tea:

• Darjeeling Tea
• Assam Tea

Chinese Black Tea：

• Lapsang Souchong from Fujian province;
• Keemun from Anhui province;
  the only one black tea you can find among the list of the top ten chinese teas
• Dian Hong from Yunnan province;
• Ying de Hong from Guang Dong province.

Ceylon from Sri Lanka

Other areas that produce black tea include Vietnam, Nepal, Rize Province of Turkey, and Nilgiri, India. Each tea producing region produces distinctive black tea, and there can be a wide variety of quality in each region. Lower quality black tea is usually machine processed and is most often used for tea bags. High quality black tea is hand processed and almost always sold loose.

Serving Methods of Black Tea

Black tea has an astringency and bitterness that can be reduced with the addition of milk and sugar, and this method of serving is the most popular in the west. In China and other parts of Asia, however, black tea is usually served straight.

Other additives besides milk and sugar include lemon juice (especially good for iced tea), and herbs such as mint and basil, and herbs such as cardamom, cloves, and ginger are added to black tea in some parts of the world.

Popularity of Black Tea

Black tea is the most popular type of tea in western countries. Part of the reason for this is that black tea has a longer storage life than either green or oolong tea, and so was better suited for the long transport time during the early days of European / Asian trade. With modern transportation methods this is less of a concern, and may be a factor in the increasing popularity of oolong and green tea in Western countries.

See Also:

• Tea Set
• Tea and Water
• Tea Infusion Skills
• Tan Yang Congou
• Tai Ping Hou Kui
• Chun Mee Tea
• Gunpowder Tea
• Da Fang Tea
• Huo QingTea
• Green Tea Benefits
• Green Tea Effect Study
• Black Tea Effect Study
• Tea Storage
• Caffeine and Tea