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What Is Black Tea?

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This is the standard tea that just about everyone knows about and is the basis of the "sweet tea" that is among the common beverages in the southeast of the United States. Interestingly, it is called "red tea" in China, although other nations have given that name to an African tea listed below.

The great variety amongst black teas comes from that this is an example of the tea plant's leaves being treated in a certain manner. Since there are two varieties of tea plant, the Chinese and the Indian, that produces a mild difference in flavor.

The tea leaves are left in the air to dry, wilting and losing most of their moisture; then they are rolled to further oxidize. Heat is used to stop the process in a mechanical dryer, using a process called "panning."

Black tea always has caffeine, even when "decaffeinated," which only reduces the amount of caffeine in the tea and does not remove caffeine. It usually has the most caffeine of the teas.

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