Though tea was discovered some 5000 years ago, our knowledge of tea and its vast contributions to human health was very limited. In the last 15 years a lot of scientific research was conducted which raised our awareness of tea and its health benefits. As a result, the consumer base for tea has expanded and generated an increase in demand for more information about tea. And now the educated consumer is generating an increase in demand for premium quality tea.

Today, some consumers know the difference between tea sold in supermarkets and whole-leaf gourmet tea, but some are still unaware of the facts. The teabags that you see on the shelves of your local supermarket are made of the lowest grade tea — fannings also referred to as dust. Fannings are tiny particles that break off when the tea leaves are processed. They do not give much flavor nor have much aroma nor do they possess all the beneficial qualities of whole-leaf tea.

Tea, as most of us know, comes from the leaves of camellia sinesis plant. There are four main types of tea — white, green, oolong and black — and many different varieties within each category, making a total of more than 3,000 teas from around the world.

The difference between these 4 types is the processing method.

White tea is produced in very limited quantities in China and Sri Lanka. The new buds are plucked before they open and left to wither and then dried.

Green tea is unfermented tea. The leaves are dried and then heat-treated to stop any fermentation/oxidation.

Oolong tea is semi-fermented. The tea leaves are first dried in direct sunlight, and then shaken to lightly bruise the edges of the leaves. Then, they are spread out to dry until they turn slightly yellow; the edges turn reddish as the chemicals in the bruised leaf react with the oxygen. This fermentation/oxidation process (12%-20%) is stopped after 1 ½-2 hours by firing.

Black tea is fully fermented tea. The leaves are picked and spread out to wither until limp enough to be rolled. Next the leaves are rolled and spread out in cool and humid conditions for 3 ½-4 ½ hours to absorb oxygen. The chemical change that takes place in the leaf particles turns them from green to coopery red. And finally the fermented/oxidized leaves are then fired, which turns them black.