Camellia Sinensis: the tea plant

Did you know all tea comes from the same plant? 

Camellia Sinensis is the tea plant, and the processes of growing, picking, oxidizing, and drying determine which type of tea each leaf becomes. Anything that does not have Camellia Sinensis, is not technically tea! Chamomile, Rooibos, Hibiscus, and many other blends that we call “herbal tea” are truly herbal infusions, or tisanes. This of course doesn't mean those blends aren't delicious and often great for your health, they just have different benefits. Also, herbal infusions have a couple of advantages over tea, most of them won't turn bitter if you steep them for too long, and they don't contain caffeine.

So, what makes all the differences in what we drink?

Many factors will affect the outcome of your brewed tea, such as the growth process, environment, altitude, drying, and more. Some teas will taste more bitter or more sweet because of where they were in the world they were grown. A lot of tea drinkers consider higher altitude growth to produce the heartiest, boldest tea leaves. Other factors like humidity, rainfall, soil nutrient levels, and temperature can affect the overall quality and taste of your tea as well. Another factor is which leaves are plucked from the plant for the specific tea, Leaves from higher up on the plant will actually contain more caffeine! The specific process of oxidation, or stopping it, will also make a difference, this is why Japanese green tea tastes more grassy compared to the subtle earthy flavors in Chinese green tea: Japan prefers to stop oxidation with a steaming process, while China uses a low temperature pan frying method.

The part of the process that makes the most difference to flavor and type is oxidation.

Picture an apple that you’ve cut up and left on the counter, what happens? It turns brown, and this is oxidation. White and green tea are not oxidized at all, the oxidation is stopped by a process like the ones I mentioned above, and then the leaves are dried. Black tea is oxidized to completely brown before drying. Oolong tea is anything in between, or partially oxidized, leading to more nuanced, complex flavor profiles. That's right, this process doesn’t just affect the color of the leaves, but the flavor, and even the specific benefits. (read more about this here) Oxidation is simply exposing something to oxygen. So to start oxidation the tea leaves will be “bruised” by rolling or otherwise breaking the cell walls within the leaf. When this happens, the molecules of organic matter lose electrons to the oxygen molecules in the air. This will largely affect the flavor of the tea, as well as the concentration of caffeine and other compounds. For example: Since black tea is fully oxidized, it releases more tannins into the water, making the tea deeper, and richer in flavor. Oxidation also increases the amount of caffeine released into the water, so usually, black tea has more caffeine than green tea. What makes a white tea unique from green tea is that it is plucked from higher up on the tea plant, typically before the leaves have even unfurled, so those leaves will contain higher caffeine to start. Fun fact: Leaves plucked from the top of the plant are called "tippy" and some black teas are made with tippy leaves! If oxidation makes caffeine content higher, and so does plucking the leaves from higher on the plant, then tippy black teas must be SUPER high in caffeine!

So, green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and black tea... What about matcha? Yes, matcha is tea too! Matcha is a special type of green tea, that is pulverized to a superfine powder after drying. The cool thing about matcha is that instead of "infusing" the leaves into water and then removing the leaves, you whisk the entire tea leaf in its powdered form, into your water. (or milk, or lemonade, or whatever you like, really) Which means you are actually digesting every part of the leaf! Because of this, Matcha typically has the highest caffeine content of any tea, as well as the highest concentration of L-Theanine, EGCG, and all the amazing antioxidants that tea has to offer. Super charged tea! (read more about the health benefits of tea Here)