Black Tea

Black tea has more caffeine, tastes more bittersweet and has a stronger astringent quality than any other of the basic types of tea. It often makes a great breakfast drink, and many of its fans enjoy it with milk or cream. It has become the most popular tea in North America and Europe, though green tea is now making inroads in that market. Black tea takes longer to prepare than the other basic types of tea. After the leaves and buds are harvested, they are brought to the preparation area and laid out for their treatment. Green tea and other types skip the next two steps, but black tea must be allowed to wilt for a day or two.

Then they are bruised, which may be done by hand or by rolled heavy wheels over them. After these two steps are completed, the leaves are left alone. They will now break down and oxidize in the air, turning blacker as they do so. In the tea industry, this step in the process is called fermentation, but the term is inaccurate. Instead, enzymes in the leaves are performing the task of oxidizing the organic material. If true fermentation were to take place, the leaves would be cover in a slightly poisonous fungus that would destroy their value. After the tea leaves are allowed to completely oxidize, the tea is taken to a rolling station, to twist them into their familiar shapes, and they are dried in the air. The entire process of making black tea can last as long as one month.

In China, black tea is called "red tea," which is the color the leaves add to water when brewed. Westerners have always in the past called it black because of the color of the leaves in their packages. Now that the South African herbal drink called Rooibos, meaning "red tea" in Afrikaans, has achieved a measure of popularity, the labels based on color can be confusing. It is important to remember that the Chinese do not employ an accepted international standard in the production and grading of their teas, and that false and misleading labels are an ongoing problem in many Chinese cities.

One especially confusing term used in the tea industry is "Orange Pekoe." Within the industry, Orange Pekoe describes a popular and simple medium-grade black tea composed of bunches of whole, individual leaves that all have reached a minimum size. In India and other tea-exporting countries, Orange Pekoe is a term used to indicate high-grade black tea. The flavor of orange is not shown with this label. The term was probably invented when the Dutch traders representing the royal House of Orange began the grading system. Although "Pekoe" is used in the industry to indicate leaf size, it has another solid meaning, however, referring to the buds of tea leaves. These buds add a better flavor to the tea, and they are included in higher grades of leaves.

Black tea is also famous for its ability to blend well, and many tea farms and estates will create blends at their facilities. Blended teas are generally consider blander and less individualistic than unblended, much like the Scotch single malt whiskeys discovered by North America in the 1990's.