What are the variety of teas?
The common varieties include black tea, oolong tea and green tea. The most popular, especially in the United States and Europe, is black tea, which accounts for about 80% of teas consumed worldwide. Asia consumes more oolong tea and green tea. But the popularity of green tea has tremendously increased even in the western world because of some studies that suggest the superior “medicinal powers” green tea over the others. Why is green tea superior? While black and green teas both come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, a shrubby tree native to Southeast Asia, the difference is in the processing technique. Tea leaves normally contain an enzyme which leads to oxidation of the leaves after they are harvested. Green tea leaves are gently heated and steamed to abort the oxidative process. Black tea leaves are permitted to undergo full oxidation and fermentation to achieve its distinctive taste and dark brown or even reddish color. But this process destroys polyphenol normally found in f
