Rubra ^TM

Black, green, herbal, infusions…. But what does it all mean? When it comes to tea there are so many options that it can at times be quite daunting. With this article we hope to help break it down to help make your next purchase a little bit easier. 

Tea comes from an evergreen plant known as Camellia sinensis. Most of the teas you see, other than herbal, all come from this plant. It is the way it is processed that will define whether it is a black or green tea. You then also have herbal teas and infusions, which incorporate different parts of plants other than the traditional tea bush. 

Black teas:
Black tea goes through a processing method where it is wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidised. This category includes plain black teas of different varieties such as Ceylon, Assam & Darjeeling. It also includes black tea blends such as English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast, or black teas with different herbs, spices, etc. added, such as Punjabi Chai (with citrus peel, rose petals cloves & cardamom), or Earl Grey (with natural bergamot oil).

Green Teas:
Green tea is derived from the same plant as black tea and differs in that it is not wilted and undergoes a minimal oxidation process. This leads to both a difference in appearance and flavour profile compared to black tea. Green tea is known for its health benefits being loaded with antioxidants and being lower in caffeine. Green Tea comes as a leaf, such as Japanese Sencha or is rolled into small pellets, known as ‘Gun Powder’ tea. Different herbs, etc. are then added to green tea to create different blends such as China Green Jasmine (with jasmine flowers), or our Sunshine Green Tea (Gun Powder tea with added pineapple pieces).

Herbal Teas:
An herbal tea on the other hand is made with the flowers, leaves, seeds, roots or fruits of plants other than the leaves of the Camellia sinensis tea bush. A herbal tea is generally just one part of a herbal plant, such as peppermint, chamomile or rooibos. These teas are often noted for their medicinal qualities.

Infusion:
An infusion is generally classified as a mixture of different herbal teas or fruit pieces, that may also include a small portion of green tea. These teas include fruit melange tissanes, which are composed entirely of fruit pieces and herbs, such as our Granny’s Garden blend (with apple bits, elderberries, beetroot bits, hibiscus, blackberries, raspberries & strawberries). Herbal infusions include combinations of different herbal teas, such as Lemon Grass and Ginger or our Nightime blend (with rooibos, caraway, aniseed, fennel, balm mint & sunflower petals). These teas are either caffeine free or low in caffeine and are pleasant hot or cold.