Tea Help

The four primary types of tea are White, Green, Oolong and Black. Although their coloring may look completely different when steeped, all four of these teas come from the raw leaves of the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. It's the processing method that differentiates each tea from the other. More specifically, it's way the leaves are processed-steamed, oxidized (often referred to as fermented, though no fermentation actually takes place), dried, or bruised-gives the tea the special characteristics of its category.

Tea spin offs, such as scented, flavored or blended teas, are produced using one of the four major types of tea as a base. Tossing jasmine flowers with either black or green tea makes a scented tea such as jasmine tea. A flavored tea such as Earl Grey is mainly the combination of bergamot oil and a strong black tea. English Breakfast tea is usually a combination of different black tea leaves from India and Sri Lanka.

Choose from one of the many kinds of tea to see pictures and learn more about it.

• Black Tea
• Green Tea
• White Tea
• Oolong Tea
• Rooibos
• Herbal Teas

From the Tea Plant to your Cup:

Here's how the four main varieties of tea that are produced from Camellia sinensis are treated differently.


After the drying, the tea leaves then go on to the final stage of production: grading.