How Well Do You Know Your Tea

all of the true tea's are made from the one plant camellia sinensis. all other hot drinks we enjoy are call herbal infusions or tisane's.

all of these common types of tea's are all made from the same plant, the camellia sinensis. it is the different processing of the plant that makes them a black or green tea.

rooibos has been used in south africa for over a century for medicinal purposes. for conditions such as headaches, digestion problems and many others.

there are many different tools and products that can be used to steep your tea. herbal and tisanes can hold up to long steeping times, but when it comes to green, oolong, white and black teas the longer you steep the tea the more bitterness will be pulled out of the leaves. so you want to be able to remove the leaves from the water, like with a ball or strainer. as well pick a product that has the right hole size for your tea. you don't want to be straining your tea with your teeth and you don't want to smother your leaves and not allow them to open up.

most loose tea's will come with steeping instructions. if it does not you can play it safe and steep it at a maximum temperature of 180°f. once you get into the superior sencha's and gyrokuro green tea's you want to keep the temp down.