Black tea

Black tea is more oxidized than the green, oolong 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. Black tea Taken by Ultratomio at June 28, 2004(JST). ... Black tea Taken by Ultratomio at June 28, 2004(JST). ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Green tea (绿茶) is tea that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. ... Rolled Oolong tea leaves Wuyi Huang Guan Yin tea leaves Wuyi Qi Lan Oolong tea leaves Oolong (Chinese: ; pinyin: wÅ«lóng) is a traditional Chinese type of tea somewhere in between green and black in oxidation. ... Bai Hao Yinzhen from Fuding in Fujian Province, widely considered the best grade of white tea Bai Mu Dan, widely considered to be the second grade white tea White tea is tea made from new growth buds and young leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. ... Binomial name Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze Camellia sinensis is one of the two major varieties or strains of the tea plant, the plant species whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea (The other being Camellia Assamica). ... Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ...

In Chinese and culturally influenced languages, black tea is known as red tea (紅茶, Mandarin Chinese hóngchá; Japanese kōcha; Korean hongcha), perhaps a more accurate description of the color of the liquid. In Chinese, black tea is a commonly used classification for Pu-erh tea. However, in the western world, "red tea" more commonly refers to South African rooibos tisane. This is the current collaboration of the week! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... This article is on all of the Northern Chinese dialects. ... Pu-erh (or Puer tea) is a fermented tea, named after Puer county near Simao, Yunnan, China. ... Binomial name Aspalathus linearis (N.L.Burm. ... A herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is a herbal infusion other than that made with real (black, oolong, or green) tea (Camellia sinensis). ...

While green tea usually loses its flavor within a year, black tea retains its flavor for several years. For this reason, it has long been an article of trade, and compressed bricks of black tea even served as a form of de facto currency in Mongolia, Tibet and Siberia into the 19th century^[1]. It was known since the Tang dynasty that black tea steeped in hot water could also serve as a passable cloth dye for the lower classes that couldn't afford the better quality clothing colors of the time.^{[citation needed]} However, far from being a mark of shame, the "brown star" mark of the dying process was seen as much better than plain cloth and held some importance as a mark of the lower merchant classes through the Ming Dynasty^{[citation needed]}. Traditionally, black tea was the only tea known to Western culture. Although green tea has been gradually increasing in popularity, black tea still accounts for over ninety percent of all tea sold in the West. Tea Bricks are blocks of whole or finely ground tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; pronounced in the Lhasa dialect; Chinese: ; pinyin: or Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: [the two names are used with different connotations; see Name section below]) is a region in Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. ... Siberian Federal District (darker red) and the broadest definition of Siberia (red) Udachnaya pipe Siberia (Russian: , Sibir; Tatar: ) is a vast region of Russia constituting almost all of Northern Asia. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... The Ming Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Western World. ...

The expression black tea is also used to describe a cup of tea without milk (served black), similar to coffee served without milk or cream. In the United Kingdom, black tea is not commonly consumed black, as adding milk is the common practice. A cup of coffee Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. ...

Varieties of black tea

Generally, unblended black teas are named after the region in which they are produced. Often, different regions are known for producing teas with characteristic flavors.

Chinese black teas

• Lapsang souchong (正山小种 or 烟小种): originally from Mount Wuyi, Fujian Province, China. Lapsang souchong is a black tea which is dried over burning pine, thereby developing a strong smoky flavour.
• Keemun (祁門) : from Qi Men, Anhui Province, China, a Chinese Famous Tea.
• Dian Hong (滇紅): from Yunnan Province, China. Well known for dark malty teas and golden bud teas.
• Ying De Hong (英徳紅): from Guangdong Province, China.

Lapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Zheng Shan part of Mount Wuyi in the Fujian province of China. ... Mount Wuyi is a mountain located at Wuyishan, on the northern border of Fujian province with Jiangxi province, China. ... (Chinese: 福建; Pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... Keemun is a black Chinese tea with a winey and fruity taste, with depth and complexity. ... Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: An-hui; Postal System Pinyin: Ngan-hui, Anhwei or An-hwei) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... China Famous Tea refers to a finite list of Chinese tea, thought different sources will cite slightly different teas, this is a list from Chinese Tea Culture Research Centre of the 10 famous teas. ... Dian Hong is a Black tea which is used as a reasonable gourmet tea and in blends, the main difference being the preservation and amount of buds (golden tips) present. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally south of the clouds) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the far southwestern corner of the country. ... Ying De Hong is a black tea from the Guangdong province of China. ... Guangdong, often spelt as Kwangtung, is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Indian and Sri Lankan black teas

• Assam: from Assam, India. Full bodied, strong and distinctively malty. When astringency is present addition of milk is desirable.
• Ceylon: from Sri Lanka.
• Darjeeling: from West Bengal, India.
• Nilgiri: from Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, India.

Assam is a black tea named after the region of its production: (Assam, India). ... Assam   (Assamese: অসম Ôxôm) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur - now a part of Guwahati. ... Darjeeling tea has traditionally been prized above all other black teas, especially in the UK and the countries comprising the former British Empire. ... West Bengal   (Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, Poshchimbôŋgo) is a state in eastern India. ... Categories: Tea | Stub ... Map of The Nilgiris district The Nilgiris or Blue Mountains are a range of mountains and a district in the south-Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...

Other black teas

• Vietnamese: from Vietnam. Not dissimilar to some cheaper Yunnan teas, with a pleasant and sweet aroma but a more bodied and darker brew; unlike teas from Nepal or Darjeeling.
• Nepalese: from uplands of Nepal. Somewhat similar to lower grades of Darjeeling.
• Rize Tea (Çay): from Rize Province on the eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey, that is crystal clear and mahogany in color. Prepared in a samovar or a caydanlik, it can be served strong ("koyu" dark) or weak ("açik" light), in small glasses with cubed sugar.

Black tea from Yunnan in China is generally very malty and produces an amber brew, which turns more golden or brassy if there is an overwhelming presense of golden tips in the tea. ... Darjeeling tea has traditionally been prized above all other black teas, especially in the UK and the countries comprising the former British Empire. ... Darjeeling tea has traditionally been prized above all other black teas, especially in the UK and the countries comprising the former British Empire. ... Rize tea or Çay is a form of black tea. ... Location of Rize Province Rize is a province of Turkey and is located along the eastern part of the Black Sea coast. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... A samovar   (Russian: самова́р, IPA: literally self-brewer) is a heated metal container traditionally used to brew tea in and around Russia, as well as in other Slavic nations, Iran and Turkey. ...

Blends of black tea

Black tea is often blended and mixed with various other plants in order to obtain a beverage.

• Earl Grey: black tea with bergamot oil.

Pile of Lipton Finest Earl Grey Tin of Lipton Finest Earl Grey A pack of Twinings Earl Grey tea A Twinings Earl Grey tea bag Earl Grey tea is a black tea blend with a distinctive flavour and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of... Trinomial name Citrus aurantium subsp. ...

Processing of black tea

1. After the harvest, the leaves are first withered by blowing air on them.
2. Then black teas are processed in either of two ways, CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) or orthodox. The CTC method is used for lower quality leaves that end up in tea bags and are processed by machines. This method is efficient and effective for producing a better quality product from medium and lower quality leaves. Orthodox processing is done either by machines or by hand. Hand processing is used for high quality teas. While the methods employed in orthodox processing differ by tea type, this style of processing results in the high quality loose tea sought by many connoisseurs.
3. Next, the leaves are oxidized under controlled temperature and humidity. (This process is also called "fermentation", which is a misnomer since no actual fermentation takes place.) The level of oxidation determines the quality of the tea. Since oxidation begins at the rolling stage itself, the time between these stages is also a crucial factor in the quality of the tea.
4. Then the leaves are dried to arrest the oxidation process.
5. Finally, the leaves are sorted into grades according their sizes (whole leaf, brokens, fannings and dust), usually with the use of sieves. The tea could be further sub-graded according to other criteria.

The tea is now ready for packaging. Crush, Tear, and Curl is a method of processing tea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... Fig. ... Humidity is the concentration of water vapor in the air. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Anaerobic respiration. ...

Classification

Tea plantation in Java, Indonesia

Indian and Ceylon tea is usually named after the region of origin: Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon, etc. and further by estates and grades for quality leaf: e.g., "Darjeeling Lingia FTGFOP1". Download high resolution version (1400x1050, 586 KB)Rice fields on Java, Indonesia. ... Download high resolution version (1400x1050, 586 KB)Rice fields on Java, Indonesia. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... Darjeeling (Nepali: , Bangla: দার্জিলিং) is a town in the Indian state of West Bengal. ... Assam is a black tea named after the region of its production: (Assam, India). ...

In Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka the grade names are an indication of the size and/or appearance of the tea but not the quality. There can be a lack of uniformity in the market grades which makes it difficult to describe them with accuracy. Ceylon teas can be divided into two groups:

1. The leaf grades originally made by the Ceylon tea pioneers.
2. The smaller broken grades which are used today.

List of Ceylon tea leaf grades:

• Orange Pekoe (O.P.) - Long, thin, wiry leaves which sometimes contain the tip. Usually a tea made with pickings containing 2 leaves and one leaf bud. The liquors are light or pale in colour.
• Pekoe (Pek.) - The leaves are shorter and not so wiry as O.P., but the liquors generally have more colour. Usually a tea made with pickings containing 3 leaves and one leaf bud.
• Souchong (Sou.) - A bold and round leaf, with pale liquors.
• Broken Orange Pekoe (B.O.P. or BOP) - This grade is one of the most sought after. It is much smaller than any of the other leaf grades and contains the tip. The liquors have good colour and strength.
• Broken Pekoe (B.P.) - Slightly larger than B.O.P., with rather less colour in the cup; useful primarily as a filler in blends.
• Broken Pekoe Souchong (B.P.S) - A little larger that B.P. and in consequence lighter in the cup, but also used as a filler in blends.
• Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings (B.O.P.F.) - This grade is much sought after, especially in the UK. It is much smaller than B.O.P. and its main virtues are quick brewing, with good colour in the cup.

A small quantity of Tippy or Flowery grades (including Flowery Orange Pekoe (F.O.P) and Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (F.B.O.P) are made. They are much more expensive to produce than run-of-the-mill grades, as this involves sorting out the tip by hand. This tea is made with pickings containing a leaf and one leaf bud. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Leaves are an Icelandic five-piece alternative rock band who came to prominence in 2002 with their debut album, Breathe, drawing comparisons to groups such as Coldplay and Doves. ... Spirits redirects here. ... The leaves of a Beech tree A leaf with laminar structure and pinnate venation In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... In general, a filler is something that is used to fill gaps. ... Blend can mean one of the following: Portmanteau word Mixture of different tea or tobacco varieties. ... A 16th century brewer A 21st century brewer This article concerns the production of alcoholic beverages. ...

In Assam, the main leafy tea grades produced are flowery pekoe (FP), orange pekoe (OP), pekoe (P), pekoe souchong (PS), and souchong (S), with broken tea grades BOP = Broken Orange pekoe; FOP = Flowery Orange Pekoe; TGFOP = Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe; FTGFOP = Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe.

All types are sold as either "single" teas, meaning just one variety, or as blends. Blend names are usually more general e.g. "Assam Tea".

Adulteration and falsification are serious problems in the global tea trade; the amount of tea sold worldwide as Darjeeling every year greatly exceeds the annual tea production of Darjeeling, which is estimated at 11,000 tonnes. Adulterants are chemical impurities or substances that by law do not belong in a food or pesticide. ... A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ...

Brewing

Generally, black teas should be prepared with boiling water and steeped 3-4 minutes. Black teas that will be served with milk or lemon should be steeped a little longer, 4-5 minutes. ^[2]

Major producers of black tea

The biggest producers of black tea in the world (with % value) are:

• Unilever - Lipton, PG Tips (17.6%)
• Associated British Foods - Twinings (4.4%)
• Tata Tea - Tetley (4.0%)
• Teekanne

Unilever (Euronext: UNA, LSE: ULVR, NYSE: UN) is an Anglo-Dutch company that owns many of the worlds consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. ... Lipton is the worlds best-known and best-selling brand of both hot leaf and ready-to-drink tea[]. It forms part of the Unilever portfolio which sells around 15. ... PG Tips is a popular brand of tea in the United Kingdom; its manufacturers Unilever UK Foods say that Britons drink 35 million cups of PG Tips a day. ... Associated British Foods (ABF) is a multi-billion pound turnover British multinational with diverse food manufacturing interests and a secondary business in fashion retailing. ... Twinings is a brand of tea, primarily operating in the United Kingdom. ... Set up in 1964 as a joint venture with UK based James Finlay and Company to develop value-added tea, the Tata Tea Group of Companies, which includes Tata Tea and the UK-based Tetley Group, is the worlds second largest global branded tea operation with product and brand... U.K. logo The Tetley Group was an Indian tea company. ...

Nutritional information

Plain black tea without sweeteners or additives contains negligible quantities of calories, protein, sodium, and fat. Some flavored tea with different herbs added may have less than 1 gram of carbohydrates. All teas from the camellia tea plant are rich in polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant.

References

1. ^ Ken Bressett "Tea Money of China" International Primitive Money Society Newsletter Number 44, August 2001
2. ^ Upton Tea Imports, "A Brief Guide to Tea".

External links

• Hope, S-J, K Daniel, K L Gleason, S Comber, M Nelson and J J Powell, "Influence of tea drinking on manganese intake, manganese status and leucocyte expression of MnSOD and cytosolic aminopeptidase P," European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 60: 1-8; advance online publication, August 24, 2005; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602260
• Black tea