Tea

Tea is a caffeine-containing beverage, an infusion made by steeping the dried leaves or buds of the shrub Camellia sinensis in hot water for a few minutes. In addition, tea may also include other herbs, spices, or fruit flavours.

Blends and additives

Almost all teas in tea-bags and most other teas are blends. Though recently with improvements in the dry freeze technique and the improved infusion method, tea powder and condensed tea essence that only needs hot or cold water to make a cup of tea are sold. Blending may occur at the level of tea-planting area (e.g., Assam), or teas from many areas may be blended. The aim of blending is a stable taste over different years, and a better price. More expensive, more tasty tea may cover the inferior taste of cheaper tea.

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There are various teas which have additives and/or different processing than "pure" varieties. Tea is able to easily receive any aroma, which may cause problems in processing, transportation or storage of tea, but can be also advantageously used to prepare scented teas.

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Variants include:

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; Breakfast tea : Generally a blend of different black teas that are robust and full-bodied, and go well with milk. Some flavours are English, Irish and Scottish. Afternoon blends are lighter. Both blends are popular in the British Isles.

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; Jasmine tea : Spread with jasmine flowers while oxidizing, and occasionally some are left in the tea as a decoration. Many other flowers, including roses and other fragrant blooms, are used as flavouring in tea in China.

Related Topics:
Jasmine - Rose

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; Earl Grey tea : Usually a mix of black teas, with essence of the citrus fruit bergamot added.

Related Topics:
Earl Grey tea - Citrus - Bergamot

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; Spiced teas : Include the Indian chai, flavoured with sweet spices such as ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, Indian bay leaf and sometimes nutmeg are common in southern Asia and the Middle East.

Related Topics:
Chai - Ginger - Cardamom - Cinnamon - Black pepper - Clove - Bay leaf - Nutmeg

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; Touareg Tea : Strong green tea with Nana mint, prepared in desert areas of North Africa and the Middle East.

Related Topics:
Touareg Tea - Mint

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; Jagertee : A tea with rum added.

Related Topics:
Jagertee - Rum

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; Gen Mai Cha (genmaicha): A Japanese tea with roasted rice added, and favoured (as are many teas) by adherents of a macrobiotic diet.

Related Topics:
Genmaicha - Rice - Macrobiotic

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; Lapsang souchong (正山小种 or 烟小种) : originally from Mount Wuyi in the Fujian province of China. Lapsang souchong is a black tea which is dried over burning pine, thereby developing a strong smoky flavour.

Related Topics:
Lapsang souchong - Mount Wuyi - Fujian - Pine

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