Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring boiling water over cured leaves of the camellia sinensis plant.
The term also refers to the plant itself. There are seven main types of tea:
- White tea – least processed leaves. The leaves are only dried. Explore our organic white teas.
- Green tea – Prepared in China by pan-firing. Prepared in Japan by steaming. Explore our organic green teas (our speciality).
- Oolong tea – Can be oxidized 10%-90%. Explore our organic oolong teas.
- Black tea – Most processed tea. Explore our organic black teas.
- Pu-erh tea – Gets better as it ages/ferments. Explore our organic pu-erh teas.
- Rooibos tea – Not from the camellia sinensis plant. Red bush tea from South Africa. Explore our organic rooibos teas.
- Herbal tisanes – Not from the camellia sinensis plant. Tea made from various flowers, roots, plants and herbs. Explore our organic herbal teas and organic healing teas.
Why drink tea?
After water, tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world.
No pleasure is simpler, no luxury cheaper, no consciousness-altering substance more benign.
– James Norwood Pratt
Norwood Pratt, author of the New Tea Lover’s Treasury, is widely credited with sparking a tea renaissance in the United States. In his premier edition of The Tea Dictionary, he defines tea as, “A miracle of vegetation that became a treasure of the world as medicine, beverage, currency and communion – the wellspring of empires, industries and art.”
How true those words are! Tea truly is a “treasure of the world”.
Tea… is a religion of the art of life.
– Okakura
Once bitten by the tea bug your life will never be the same. It becomes enriched with ritual, relaxation, better health, and an incredible variety of flavors, textures and characters. Special times will be had over this wondrous cup!
This content has been adapted from the book Your Path of Tea for Health of Body, Mind and Spirit by the late Thia McKann, Tea Master and Owner of The Path of Tea.