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Tea (Camellia sinensis): Black Tea

Last Updated: Aug. 19, 2010

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Black Tea Leaf
Darjeeling Black Tea
from Upton Tea
Black tea is tea that has been fully oxidized (sometimes referred to as being "fermented" although it is not a true fermentation process). Both the leaves and brewed tea tend to have a dark color, although some black teas are golden in color. In Chinese, black tea is called hóngchá(紅茶), meaning red tea, although in English, red tea more often refers to rooibos, an herbal tea that is not made out of the tea plant. Black tea typically stays fresh longer than green or white teas (see storing tea). Black tea also tends to contain more tannins, chemicals giving the tea its characteristic dark color.

Black tea is the most popular and widespread style of tea in the world and makes up the bulk of the world's tea production and consumption; outside of southeast asia, most of the tea produced and consumed is black tea.

Black and Golden Wiry Tea Leaves
Golden Monkey
from Adagio Teas
Black tea is grown in many countries and comes in many styles and grades; it is hard to generalize about the flavor or aroma of black teas. It is a widespread assumption that black teas are stronger, more bitter, and more heavily caffeinated than green teas; this is not true: green teas can be quite bitter, and black teas can be mellow. The strength of tea depends both on how it is brewed and the style and grade of tea used.

The caffeine content also varies greatly from one tea to the next and depends on how the tea is brewed--and it is not safe to assume that black tea contains more caffeine than green or other types of tea. In general, black teas with more tips / leaf buds such as golden monkey are the most heavily-caffeinated of black teas, and souchongs, made out of larger leaves, are less caffeinated.

In general, black teas should be brewed with boiling water, although a few of the more delicate black teas should be brewed with water slightly below the boiling point.


Listings of this style of tea: (1021 including sub-styles - hide sub-styles)

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 of 52 pages with 1021 results:

F : Fair Trade | O : Organic | CF : Caffeine Free | D : Decaffeinated

Leaf: L Loose | T Teabag | S Sachet | B Bloom | C Compressed
Tea:Brand:Region:# Ratings:
LTC56: Koslanda Estate Organic BOP OUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC66: Ceciliyan Estate FBOPF Ex. Spl.Upton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC74: Tea Bank Estate FBOPF Ex. Spl.Upton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC10: Ceylon Black OPUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC15: Ruhuna Estate OPUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC52: Shawlands Estate OPUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC54: Sarnia Plaiderie Estate BOP1Upton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC61: Koslanda Estate OP OUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon1
LTC63: Adawatte Estate OPUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC65: Adawatte Estate OP1Upton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC78: Frances Bissell's Special BlendUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LCeylon GoldEarthbound TeaSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LOrganic Ceylon Pekoe OEarthbound TeaSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LCeylon Coppers CupEarthbound TeaSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LPekoe VitalityEarthbound TeaSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTB18: Ceylon English Breakfast SelectUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0
L#184 - Evergreen Estate CeylonTealuxeSri Lanka / Ceylon0
LCeylon Silver Tip Supreme FOPPlymouth Tea CompanySri Lanka / Ceylon0
LKoslande OP Large Leaf Ceylon (Organic) OPlymouth Tea CompanySri Lanka / Ceylon0
LTC09: Decaffeinated English Breakfast (Ceylon OP) DUpton Tea ImportsSri Lanka / Ceylon0

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