Facts about tea - white, green and black!

[Gaz]

I've been away for work...but had a chance to visit a tea farm! Considering I am a tea drinker, I had no idea where all the types of tea come from. I (foolishly) thought they came form different types of plants

So here is the scoop: http://www.almostafarmer.com/facts-about-tea/

I hope this is interesting to all the tea (and some of the coffee) drinkers out there

Gaz

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Odd they completely left out oolong (the tea between green and black, and where most of the really expensive ones are classified). Guess they don't process one at that plantation.

 

[baymule]

Iced tea is the National Drink of Texas!!

 

[Gaz]

I love oolong tea...but it is really a mix of teas between green and black...using smaller leaves. The most expensive is silver needle....and I mean 'start saving' expensive!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I love oolong tea...but it is really a mix of teas between green and black...using smaller leaves. The most expensive is silver needle....and I mean 'start saving' expensive!

No it isn't, unless you are getting really crappy oolong. Oolong is tea that has been partially fermented, long enough to no longer be green; not long enough to be black. it covers the whole range between the two. There are greener oolongs (like Tung Ting) and Darker oolongs (like Rou Gui, or my beloved Tie Lo Han)

And I stand by my expense thing too. Silver needles are expensive, but some of the top grade Tieguanyin oolongs are ridiculous. Silver needle may be "start saving expensive" but a top grade Wuyi mountain Da Hong Pao is in the "win the lottery first" expensive. Some of those rare mountain oolongs sell at auction for tens of thousands of dollars an ounce. I'm not sure I seen ANY silver needle reach that.

 

[Smart Red]

And all this time I've been thinking that 'Tea for Two' meant two people drinking tea together, not two people pooling their resources to be able to purchase tea.

 

[ninnymary]

Gaz, you didn't mentioned that jasmine pearls are expensive because each leaf is rolled by hand to make a ball.

Mary

 

[Pulsegleaner]

And so called "flowering teas" even more, since they have to be sewn together with silk thread.

 

[Smart Red]

My Gypsy introduced me to "flowering teas". Not too bad, but I still prefer a cup of cheap green tea when I'm feeling under the weather.

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks Gaz, for shedding some light on something I don't know much about.
It was an interesting read.