The most loved beverage tea is available in more than one form, and their properties vary from one another. But some of you may think that all teas are the same, but they are not. Before adding a new tea type to your meals, you need to know some facts about them.
Although teas are available in various types, in this blog, I will only talk about the three most famous and delicious teas: green tea, black tea, and herbal tea.
The source of teas
Green tea and black tea derives from the same tea plant: Camellia Sinensis. Both of these teas are prepared with the leaves of this plant. Conversely, herbal tea is entirely different. Herbal tea is prepared with dried herbs, fruits, roots, flowers, or certain spices. It can be a mixture of many ingredients or just a single like lavender or chamomile.
Green or chai tea is called true tea, and herbal teas are famous with the name tisane.
Ingredients
Each tea has its different ingredients, but water is required in all. Green tea is just prepared with boiling water and leaves of green tea. Similarly, herbal teas are plain and need water and other base ingredients like flowers, seeds, or spices. There can be one or more herbs in this tea.
But chai tea is incomplete without milk. The popular drink of India is a mixture of black tea leaves, water, sugar, milk, and some spices like cardamom, cloves, fennel, ginger, etc. People add the spices according to their choice in chai and balance its taste.
The preparing process
It is the preparation process that makes one tea different from the other. Oxidation determines the properties of tea. Chai tea and green tea come from the same plant, but after plucking the leaves, their preparation process differs. Green tea is minimally oxidized; once the leaves are plucked from the plants, they are heated or steamed to stop the oxidization process. This method retains its natural green color and gives a grassy flavor.
Adversely, black tea, the prime ingredient of chai, is highly oxidized. The oxidization process gives it robust black color and strong flavor. The leaves of black tea are tightly rolled and fully oxidized.
Unlike green and black tea, herbal tea has nothing to do with oxidization. It just requires dried or fresh forms of herbs or spices. After drying herbs, they are ready to make a cup of herbal tea. Herbal tea can be made with rose, mint chamomile, and roots like ginger.
Caffeine content
The level of caffeine is significantly different from one tea to another. It is also another factor that influences by the process of oxidization. But it also varies as per each tea; simple green tea has mild caffeine, whereas matcha green tea has a high caffeine level.
Black tea also contains high caffeine content, while chai is low. It happens because we add milk and other spices to chai, which reduces the level of caffeine. So I can say chai tea has a mild level of caffeine, whereas, in simple black tea, it is higher. The steeping time of a tea also determines its caffeine level.
In contrast, tisane or herbal teas are completely caffeine-free. This is the reason that this tea type is recommended at bedtime. If you want to just unwind, relax and do something refreshing that does not affect your sleep, choose herbal tea.
Types of tea
Herbal tea, green tea, and chai tea are further available in various forms. Let’s know about them.
Chai tea can be made in more than flavor here are some of them:
Like chai tea Green tea has more than a refreshing flavor and varieties:
Herbal teas or tisanes are delicate in flavor and available in several flavors:
You can now choose the best tea for you and can buy it from Herblend’s online tea store. We prepared the most delicious teas for you.