Tea - A Popular Beverage With Health Benefits to Boot

Tea has been consumed for over 5,000 years and is the second most popular beverage in the world, playing second fiddle only to water. It is in almost every culture, and there are more than thousands of varieties.  Loose-leaf tea is superior in both flavor and health benefits. Whole, intact leaves retain the full components of the teas which are diminished with the chopping, grinding and sifting that prepares tea for tea bags. Loose-leaf teas unfurl while steeping and release their full aroma, taste and goodness.

Types of Tea

There are four main types of teas - white, green, oolong and black. The tea plant, Camellia Sinensis gives us all four of these common tea types. What determines a type of tea is color, taste and the processing the newly-picked leaves will undergo before they reach your cup. Camellia is native to most of Southeast Asia, but is cultivated throughout the world.  Depending on where it comes from, flavors and varieties vary enormously.

Black Tea

Black tea is the most commonly consumed tea in the United States. Black teas are produced by subjecting the freshly plucked leaves of Camellia sinensis to a process of withering, rolling and drying. This processing oxidizes the leaf and allows many unique aroma and flavor elements to form. Black teas can be malty, floral, biscuity, smoky, brisk, fragrant and full-bodied. The robustness of black tea lends itself to the addition of sugar, honey, lemon, cream and milk. While black teas have more caffeine than green or white teas, they still have less than you would get in a cup of coffee.

Green Tea

Green tea leaves are not fermented and benefit from amazing antioxidant properties.  Green tea leaves are plucked, withered, rolled and dried before any curing or oxidation takes place. Green teas have the least caffeine of all true teas and help to flush your body with oxygen, especially decaf and organic varieties which will also aid your digestion.

Oolong Tea

Oolong is semi fermented so it's somewhere between black and green tea. Before the leaves are fully cured, a quick drying preserves the flavor and aroma elements of the green leaf and combines them with black tea characteristics that arise from the partial curing. Oolong has slightly less caffeine than black tea, but slightly more than green teas.

White Tea

White teas are made from young tea leaves or buds and are not fermented.  As soon as the leaves are harvested, they are withered and dried. The delicate young leaves and buds are covered with soft, silvery white hairs…thus “white” tea. White teas are generally uncured in the style of green teas and are similarly very low in caffeine.Herbal Teas (Tisanes)

Herbal teas contain no caffeine and are a healthy alternative to caffeinated teas or coffee. True herbal teas are brewed from herbs (or combinations of herbs) other than Camellia sinensis are technically "tisanes", but are commonly referred to as "herbal teas." The herbs are blended to create unique flavors and/or desired health benefits. Herbal teas do not contain caffeine, and have extra layers and nuances of flavor that are not attainable with true tea. These teas can be refreshing, calming, invigorating - or simply a delight to the senses.

Grades of Tea

Tea grading is based on the size of the leaf and types of leaves included in the tea. Though leaf size is an important quality factor, it is not, by itself, a guarantee of quality. Teas are often designated as OP or FOP. These designations are part of the grading system used for whole leaf black teas and refer to the leaf size and amount of tip in the tea. Pekoe means teas picked as 2 leaves & a bud. OP, or Orange Pekoe, is a full-leaf tea with no tip or buds. FOP, or Flowery Orange Pekoe, is a longer leaf than an OP and has some buds. Grading systems and terminology vary with tea type and country. Generally, the more whole the leaf is and the more buds it contains, the higher the grade of tea.

Black Tea Leaf Grades

P	Pekoe	smaller, shorter leave than OP
OP	Orange Pekoe	long, thin, tightly rolled leaves
FOP	Flowery Orange Pekoe	longer leaf than an OP but not as tightly rolled
GFOP	Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe	FOP with some golden tips
TGFOP	Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe	GFOP with more golden tips
FTGOP	Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe	Better quality TGFOP teas
BOP	Broken Orange Pekoe	OP leaves that are broken
FBOP	Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe	FOP leaves that are broken

To brew the very best cup possible, you should steep the tea in freshly boiled water for three to five minutes for a mild tea. Or if you prefer a more robust flavor, you can steep for five to ten minutes. Experiment to find the perfect balance for you, but be careful as over-steeping can eliminate the subtleties of herb blends.

Make Tea a Part of Your Diet

To brew the very best cup possible, you should steep the tea in freshly boiled water for three to five minutes for a mild tea. Or if you prefer a more robust flavor, you can steep for five to ten minutes. Experiment to find the perfect balance for you, but be careful as over-steeping can eliminate the subtleties of herb blends.

There really is nothing quite like the delicious, fresh taste of a perfectly-brewed loose-leaf tea, not to mention, all the great health benefits. For starters, tea has high antioxidant levels which help boost your immune system and can lower cholesterol levels.  Although tea has about half the caffeine content as coffee, it does not cause nervousness or insomnia.  Many studies show health benefits, including cancer prevention, in only 1 to 2 cups of tea daily. Choosing the correct form of tea is also important. Brewed tea, either hot or iced, offers the most potent cancer-fighting activity. Instant iced tea and bottled tea beverages offer little health benefit. The key to realizing the potential health benefits of tea is consistency. Consumed regularly over many years, white, green, oolong, and black teas can offer substantial protection against cancer and other diseases. When combined with a mostly plant-based diet, the catechins from tea could have an even greater effect as all the plant chemicals work together to safeguard your health.