Tea
Types
of
Tea
#02
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Cover Photo Credit: teajourneyman
Contents
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Photo Credit: libraryman
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About
This is a part of an exploratory series about tea. Targeted for people who are beginners, this edition will explain different types of teas, give examples, and provide a sommelier-esque profile of each tea type.
Me
A little information about myself: I am 23 years old and used to be a server & busboy in top NYC restaurants. I’ve decided to leave the fast paced and grunting life of the restaurant industry to find a career I could fall in love with. Graphic Design is something I found to enjoy, so projects like this give me the ability to learn and practice my craft. Hopefully, you enjoy it as much as I had in creating it. Follow the Tea series & myself by subscribing to my social media accounts below:
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Green
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Color: Pale Green Aroma: Floral, Vegetal, & Fruit Tasting Notes: Vegetal, Grassy, & Leafy Body: Low Astringency: Low Caffeine: Low
Green Tea is produced when tea leaves are heated or steamed right after being harvested. This halts the oxidation process, preserving the leaf’s emerald hue and naturally occurring antioxidants and amino acids (Theanine). The leaves are finished by rolling or twisting, and then fired. The result is a bright cup with fresh grassy notes and a vibrant green hue.
Photo Credit: teajourneyman
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Photo Credit: robertomaxwell
Bancha
Grassy / Collard Greens / Subtle
Photo Credit: blackdragonteabar
Spring Snail Honeysuckle / Snap Peas / Almond
Dragon Well Nutty / Spring / Sweet
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Color: Brown to Amber Aroma: Floral, Pine, & Caramel Tasting Notes: Wood, Malt, & Nutty Body: Medium to Full Astringency: High Caffeine: High
Black tea is produced when withered tea leaves are rolled and allowed to oxidize (similar to how an apple changes color when the white flesh is exposed to air). This darkens the leaves and develops flavor, color and body. When the time is right, the tea is dried to halt the oxidation process and lock-in the scent and flavors.
Photo Credit: teajourneyman
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Photo Credit: naterkins
Darjeeling Mossy / Citrus / Muscatel
Ceylon
Juicy / Mandarin Peel / Tangy
Yunnan Gold Photo Credit: chadao
Cocoa / Stone Fruit / Creamy
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Photo Credit: oxborrow
Pu-erh
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Color: Amber to Gold Aroma: Floral, Pine, & Caramel Tasting Notes: Wood, Malt, & Nutty Body: Medium to Full Astringency: Medium to High Caffeine: High
Pronounced “poo-erh,� and like wine, this tea improves with age. The tea is processed like green tea and then heaped into piles or formed into bricks. Heat is then combined with moisture to encourage natural bacterial fermentation. When the tea is ready, it is only partially fired to stop enzyme activity, but leaves the tea moist enough to continue to age. You can find some Pu-erhs that have been aged +50 years. Photo Credit: teajourneyman
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Photo Credit: ignatgorazd
Menghai Gold Cream / Nutty / Bittersweet
Tuo Cha Dark Mocha / Earthy / Dry Leaf
Orange Peel Photo Credit: chakungfu
Mandarin Orange / Earthy / Mellow
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Photo Credit: oxborrow
Oolong
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Color: Orange to Gold Aroma: Orchid, Spice, & Moss Tasting Notes: Fruity, Honey, Barley Body: Light to Full Astringency: Medium to High Caffeine: Medium to High
Oolong teas are picked, bruised, and left to dry. The bruised edges of the leaves turn yellow as they ferment & oxidize. The tea producers can choose how much of the Oolong to oxidize - ranging from 12% to 70%. This places them between Green Teas and Black Teas. This gives them the body and complexity of Black Tea, with the brightness and freshness of Green Tea. Photo Credit: teajourneyman
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Photo Credit: oxborrow
Honey Orchid Honey / Orange Blossom / Lavender
Photo Credit: redblossomtea
Tung Ting Honey / Gardenia / Honey
Oriental Beauty Photo Credit: oxborrow
Citrus / Honey / Spices
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Photo Credit: oxborrow
White
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Color: Pale White Aroma: Sweet, Melon, & Fruity Tasting Notes: Grassy, Vegetal, Peachy Body: Low Astringency: Low Caffeine: Low
White Tea is the most minimally processed of all tea varietals. The fragile tea buds are neither rolled nor oxidized, and must be carefully monitored as they are dried. The rarest white teas are made from tea buds that are plucked the day before they open. This precise and careful technique produces a subtle cup with mellow, sweet notes. Photo Credit: teajourneyman
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Photo Credit: tea-tea
Photo Credit: mateasse
Silver-Tipped Floral / Cucumber / Fresh Cut Grass
Photo Credit:90664717@N00
100 Monkeys Earthy / Floral / Honey
Photo Credit: tea.flavorboulevard
White Peony Melon / Floral / Subtle
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Photo Credit: matchateafactory
Matcha
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Color: Vibrant Green Aroma: Vegetal Tasting Notes: Vegetal, Grassy, Rich Body: Thin to Thick Astringency: Low to High Caffeine: Low to High
Matcha is tea leaves that are steamed, air-dried, destemmed, and ground into a mixable powder. There are many ‘Grades’ of Matcha, from Ceremonial Grade (High) to Kitchen Grade (Low). High Grade Matcha will be vibrant green and have a delicate taste. The Low Grade Matcha will have a full-bodied Green tea taste and higher astringency.
Photo Credit: ladystiles
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Photo Credit: yamagatacamille
Low Grade Vegetal / Medium Bodied / Sweet
Photo Credit: http: tealux
High Grade Vegetal / Silky / Mellow
White Tea Photo Credit: tealux
Mossy / Oolong / Crisp
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Photo Credit: agirlwithtea
Blends
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Color: Any Aroma: Any Tasting Notes: Any Body: Any Astringency: Any Caffeine: Any
Tea blending is a process that takes a combination of different teas and herbs to make unique flavors. One rule in tea blending is to make sure that a specific tea blend - like Earl Grey - tastes like as it should. This is to avoid confusion with the customer - think about how awkward it would be to taste notes of coconut or apple in an Earl Grey blend. The almost infinite amount of blending combinations allow blends to be any color, aroma, or taste - limited only by imagination. Photo Credit: teajourneyman
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Earl Grey Citrus / Grapefruit / Spicy
Photo Credit: lianhua
Jasmine Phoenix Jasmine / Grassy / Sweet
Chai
Spicy / Cinnamon/ Cloves
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The Other The following are, technically, not classified as teas. To be a tea, it must come from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. The following will not. However, a special mention should be brought to them for their popularity & similarity. They are also ingrained within tea culture, from Herbal to Yerba, they represent a wide spectrum within the plant infusion world.
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Photo Credit : healthynyc
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Photo Credit: archangeli
Herbal
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Color: Any Aroma: Any Tasting Notes: Any Body: Low Astringency: Low - Medium Caffeine: None
Also known as Tisane, these teas are made from an infusion from plants that are not a part of the tea family Camellia sinensis; plants like Yerba Mate & Rooibos also fall into this category. Tisanes also have a longer history of use than tea, being used primarily for medicinal purposes. Similar to blends, they have an enormous rainbow of possible combinations for tastes and smells.
Photo Credit: clifico
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Photo Credit: sushiesque
Photo Credit: naturestealeaf
Lavender
Woody / Herbaceous / Mint Undertones
Photo Credit: sarabeth
Hibiscus Tart / Cranberry / Bitter
Peppermint Bell Pepper / Vegetal / Cool
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Photo Credit: theteacupany
Rooibos
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Color: Amber to Crimson Aroma: Delicate, Woody, Sweet Tasting Notes: Nutty - Fruity Body: Low Astringency: Very Low Caffeine: None
Rooibos is not a ‘pure’ tea, but an herb. It grows from a broom-like shrub that grows in South Africa - the Western Cape province being the most renown. The tea gets its famous amber color from it’s natural compounds that are exposed when the leaves are bruised and left to ferment & oxidize. Green Rooibos are specially treated to prevent oxidation, allowing their leaves to preserve their green color that produces a golden cup of tea. Photo Credit: imperialteas
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Photo Credit: verymuchdutch
Photo Credit: ifordmanorteas
Traditional Fruity / Earthy / Spicy
Photo Credit: lianhua
Blended Spicy / Fruity / Sweet
Green
Photo Credit: tching
Grassy / Earthy / Delicate
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Photo Credit: naturestealeaf
Yerba Mate
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Color: Pale Green Aroma: Herbal, Smoky, Nutty Tasting Notes: Spearmint, Mocha, Coffee Body: Light to Thick Astringency: Low to High Caffeine: High
Yerba Mate is made from the naturally caffeinated and nourishing leaves of the Holly Tree (Illex paraguariensis) from South America. It is known as “The Drink of the Gods” to the natives and said to have the strength of coffee, health benefits of tea, and euphoria of chocolate. Traditionally, it’s sipped out of a hallowed gourd with a bombilla (straw-filter). There is a specific technique to create the Yerba Mate tea, however it is also sold in tea-bags for easier use.
Photo Credit: nolachef
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Photo Credit: maitsetv
Photo Credit: englishteastore
Traditional Herbaceous / Crisp / Earthy
Photo Credit: nolachef
Blended Fruity / Floral / Spicy
Photo Credit: jennifersteagarden
Roasted
Nutty / Caramel / Black Tea
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