Different tea colors

[GB]

Everyone knows about black tea and most people know about green tea. Now white tea is starting to become very popular. well today I just heard someone mention red tea (otherwise known as rooibos tea). Are there any other colors of tea out there that I am unaware of or is this it?

 

[momerlyn]

I think that's all, but check out www.psteas.com. And if you want to order from them, your first cup is at a discount. I love their pina colada tea, and their green tea with lemon is superb.

 

[GB]

Oh very cool! I remember you telling me about this place a while ago. My next order will be from them. I just placed an order from teavana. It was from here that my brother bought me my cool teapot. My order should arrive tomorrow. I forgot exactly what I ordered, but I think one of then had coconut in it. I love coconut

 

[Andy M.]

So red or rooibos tea isn't real tea. It's brewed from the leaves of the South African Aspalathus Linearis plant. I guess that makes it a herbal tea.

Regular tea is brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis. Also known as the Thea sinensis.

That leaves you with white (unfermented young leaves), green (unfermented older leaves), oolong (partially fermented leaves) and black (fully fermented leaves).

 

[GB]

So for true "tea" it is only the four types. No one is going to pop up next year and talk about yellow yea or blue tea or purple tea. Too bad, blue tea could be kind of cool

 

[kimbaby]

so waht does this white tea suppose to taste like? I love black tea and green tea... just being curious

 

[corazon]

teavana has monks blend. It's a black tea flavored with vanilla and grenadine. One of my faves!

 

[Robo410]

white tea is harvested a few time a year when the leaves and branches are young and fragrant. the tea brewed is floral and yellowish in color. THe tea leaves themselves look like twigs and scraps. I've had Pan Mu Tai, but there are other more expensive white teas available. THe flavor is really fine.

 

[buckytom]

white tea, like robo said, is aka silver tips because it is picked from the very first few buds that appear at the beginning of a growing season. they are supposed to be exponentially higher in all the good stuff that tea has in it.

i get my teas from harney and sons, www.harney.com

their site has some good info on teas. check it out. i love the earl grey supreme (with silver tips and extra bergamot), and the tropical green (sencha with pineapple).

 

[CharlieD]

Nothing like a good old cup of plain black, bulk Indian or Ceylon, or better yet blend of those two together for me. O well, once in a while maybe some Hibiscus tea.

 

[fireweaver]

i'm a big fan of stash, everything i've ever gotten from them rocks. stash makes a "double bergamot" earl grey that is just phenomenal. they have lots of internet specials, so even better deals than in the paper catalog, and shipping costs are reasonable. frequently, they'll offer sampler packs of some of the more popular kinds, so you can sample all those colors.

alternately, test-drive some things from the republic of tea. they have lots of super fancy "limited edition" stuff that's typically quite worth the extra cash. the "imperial republic snow rose" is a white tea with rose petals, and the "tea for the queen of hearts" is black with rose petals...both of which smell like heaven and taste just as good.

in all kinds of tea, tho, remember that loose tea is always better quality, since the stuff in the bags tends to be just the twigs, fragments & dust that wasn't nice enough to go into the loose package.

 

[Jenny]

oooh ooooh, I just love Earl Gray! I think it must be the bergamot, makes it taste so fine, perfect w/cookies and pound cake! Have never ordered tea in before. Thanks for the links!

 

[Sandyj]

After coming to the US 11 years ago, I met lots of folks from SA who seemed to be trying to re-create life as they knew it overseas, right down to the everyday foods. Big Mistake, IMO. You left SA, get over it, my friends! However.....Tea, a decent cup of tea...boy, that's the one thing I just missed so much. I love a good strong cup of tea, English breakfast tea if possible, brewed in a pot, served in a (pre-heated) tea cup with milk and sugar (milk added first). When it's done right, the colo(u)r of the tea as it comes out of the pot is a glorious reddish brown. Can't give it up. This insipid Lipton's tea and other brands...I could just weep.... and the way it's served...sad little tea-bag in a cup of luke warm water!! Oh.
King's supermarkets here in New Jersey sell the Marks & Spencer "St. Michaels" brand, and it's good. You get English breakfast, Earl Grey (over rated) and a Kenyan black tea (very very good) for next to nothing in price.
Now then, Rooibos tea may not be a real "tea" by some definitions, and it's an acquired taste, but it is wonderful stuff. Some company here has had the audacity to patent the name "Rooibos". That's like patenting the word "coffee", to me. What a cheek! You can bathe a baby in that tea - it works for curing dry skin. There are dozens of 'old wives' remedies based on that tea.