Black Tea
Wikipedia: Black_tea | Teaviews: black-teaLast Updated: Mar. 12, 2014
↑About Black Tea
Black tea is tea that has been fully oxidized (sometimes referred to as being "fermented" although it is not a true fermentation process). Both the leaves and brewed tea tend to have a dark color, although some black teas are golden or greenish in color. In Chinese, black tea is called hóngchá(紅茶), meaning red tea, although in English, red tea more often refers to rooibos, an herbal tea that is not made from the tea plant.Black tea also tends to contain more tannins, chemicals giving the tea its characteristic dark color. The tannins are actually a form of antioxidants, and are the chemicals that the catechins of green tea are transformed to when they undergo oxidation.
The most popular type of tea in the world
Black tea is the most popular and widespread type of tea in the world, and makes up the bulk of the world's tea production and consumption; outside of southeast Asia, an overwhelming majority of the tea produced and consumed is black tea. In many cultures, when people say tea, they are referring to black tea.Black tea is grown in many countries and comes in many styles and grades; it is hard to generalize about the flavor or aroma of black teas. Black tea is the only type of tea that is widely classified into grades of tea using a system of letters, like OP, FTGFOP, BOP, etc. It is a widespread assumption that black teas are stronger, more bitter, and more heavily caffeinated than green teas; this is not true: green teas can be quite bitter, and black teas can be mellow. The strength of tea depends both on how it is brewed and the style and grade of tea used.
Caffeine content of black teas, compared to other teas
The caffeine content also varies greatly from one tea to the next and depends on how the tea is brewed--and it is not safe to assume that black tea contains more caffeine than green or other types of tea. In general, black teas with more tips / leaf buds such as golden monkey are the most heavily-caffeinated of black teas, and souchongs, made out of larger leaves, are less caffeinated.Black teas used in English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast blends are usually deliberately chosen for their moderate-to-high caffeine content.
![Loose-leaf Tea with golden-orange and gray-black twisted, hairy leaves](/images/u/cf86ba5a0a23840261161f31031337cf-600.jpg)
Brewing black tea
Brewing tea is a complex art and is also a matter of peronal taste. In general, black teas tend to taste best when brewed with boiling water. A rare exception to this rule are a few of the lightest black teas, like some Darjeeling first flush, a few of which produce better results when brewed with water slightly below the boiling point.The optimal steeping times of black teas vary widely; strong, broken-leaf black teas infuse quickly and often taste best with brief steeping times, sometimes only about 1 minute, whereas other teas may taste best if steeped as long as 5-8 minutes.
Storing black tea
Black tea typically stays fresh and retains its flavor longer than green or white teas. A typical black tea, properly stored in a dark, airtight container, can be stored for 2 years or more with little difference in flavor. Some more delicate black teas, however, like Darjeeling first flush, do not always store as well. See our article on storing tea for more info.↑Recent Black Tea Reviews — RSS ![rss icon](/images/icons/32-rss.png)
![Picture of Organic Assam Black Tea](/images/t/f7362b7567b75a5d32e47ade09cb51c5.jpg)
Trader Joe's teas seem to fall into two bins:
1. Very good, which at their typically low prices for bagged tea, makes it quite a strong value, even if not nearly the best of its type, and
2. Mediocre to poor, as one expects from most store brands.
Fortunately their organic Assam offering lies squarely in the fir...
Thurbo Estate Second Flush FTGFOP1 Darjeeling from Upton Tea Imports
Style: Darjeeling Second Flush – Region: Darjeeling, IndiaJul. 18th, 2024
This is a very mild, bland tea. Lemon and sugar overwhelms it, but it is decent on its own or with a splash of milk - then it is pleasant and bready, with some mild tannins coming in to the mouthfeel. Priced too high given the quality, imo.
Read Full Review![Picture of Original (Black Tea)](/images/t/10dc853ba881e03683f4c91700601476.jpg)
Seldom have I sampled a tea with such a gap between aroma (or lack thereof) and taste. It's a vast chasm, really. The Grand Canyon might be a good analog with another several million years of erosion, widening and deepening.
This was a motel pickup somewhere out on the Great Plains. I don't recall where. I had a...
![Picture of Darjeeling Black Tea](/images/t/209981666da19d0161e265f4312753b9.jpg)
Darjeeling Black Tea from Rituals
Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, IndiaJun. 23rd, 2024
Here's another new Rituals tea for me (and this website), also first sampled at the Days Inn in Hays, KS. As usual, and even though Hays water isn't bad, I also hauled a bag home to try on my well water for fair comparison with other ratings.
Upon ripping open the foil-lined package, the smell that greeted my nos...
![Picture of Darjeeling (Loose)](/images/t/1ce251236b6fbab284cf82349e3703b7.jpg)
Darjeeling (Loose) from Ahmad Tea
Style: Darjeeling Black Tea – Region: Darjeeling, IndiaJun. 5th, 2024
This tea is really good! It has a nice bready aroma and a delicate but full bodied flavor with chocolatey hints. The only reason I'm not giving it an even higher score is that it is a bit basic, however I still love basic teas when they are really high quality and good like this one. This tea is not too astringent or b...
Read Full ReviewRead More Reviews of Black Tea (1803) ...
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Review 58 teas to get on this list!
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↑Most-Rated Black Tea
![No image of this tea](/images/t/453d12d4c8dcf21a249a236440891430.jpg)
PG Tips Pyramid bags
Brand: | PG Tips |
Style: | Black Tea |
Region: | Blend |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Teabag |
![No image of this tea](/images/t/f9c487036f69636057ef026eb59ce5ad.jpg)
Irish Breakfast
Brand: | Twinings |
Style: | Irish Breakfast |
Region: | ????? |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Teabag |
![No image of this tea](/images/t/c0c3f71f0815d3e5d74ca1a1f0a91a32.jpg)
English Breakfast
Brand: | Twinings |
Style: | English Breakfast |
Region: | ????? |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Teabag |
![No image of this tea](/images/t/4711f6d9f601f3fbc9855cea642f2ea3.jpg)
Assam
Brand: | Two Leaves and a Bud |
Style: | Assam |
Region: | Assam, India |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Sachet |
↑Top-Rated Black Tea
![No image of this tea](/images/t/e9877a922ed744c70b8eda838374bee0.jpg)
Honey Black Tea
Brand: | Health & Tea |
Style: | Black Tea |
Region: | Taiwan / Formosa |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |
![No image of this tea](/images/t/20c3c99dd48e60722b057172d8d2dea0.jpg)
Scottish Breakfast
Brand: | Murchie's Tea & Coffee Ltd |
Style: | Scottish Breakfast |
Region: | Blend |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |
![Picture of Hu-Kwa Tea](/images/tea/4467.jpg)
Hu-Kwa Tea
Brand: | Mark T. Wendell |
Style: | Lapsang Souchong |
Region: | Taiwan / Formosa |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |
![No image of this tea](/images/t/f22fa06cfa86e93ac9a8178e27a871ea.jpg)
Keemun Full Leaf Tea
Brand: | Foojoy |
Style: | Keemun |
Region: | Anhui, China |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |
![No image of this tea](/images/t/20a1452db5c1ae686c5b8d4ffa908965.jpg)
Assam TGFOP Black Tea
Brand: | Arbor Teas |
Style: | Assam |
Region: | Assam, India |
Caffeine: | Caffeinated |
Leaf: | Loose |