Greetings! I'm new to this forum, looking into a source for a blog article on plant breeding that's slow to get going, but I'm also into tea, the drink, and I thought I'd check on if anyone else here is.
To start, loose tea is nothing like Lipton tea bags. That is tea, sort of, but it's bad, low quality, poorly preserved tea dust, and black tea is only one of several types. The green tea in tea bag versions is just as bad, a nightmare compared to decent green tea, and I like oolongs much better anyway. Since this is intended as an intro I'll go on for a bit and see what anyone else has to add, by category.
black tea: there are two main kinds; Chinese black tea is from a variety Sinensis plant (Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis), and it's sweeter and more floral. Assamica tea is earthier, typically a bit more astringent, commonly produced in Assam (India) and Sri Lanka (Ceylon is the old British colony name for there). Darjeeling (also India) is in the middle, different, and from hybrid types. Blended (mixed type) black tea was more common in the past (English Breakfast, etc.) but now people into tea tend to like one plain type best. Mixes of different things applying more as gateways to tea (nothing against flowers in tea or whatever; to each their own, and I do drink tisanes, the way to say herb tea without using the word tea).
green tea: any tea made from tea dust (tea bags) will be astringent (bitter, more or less, but really bitterness is a taste and astringency is a feeling, but close enough), and green tea should be prepared with cooler water (175 F maybe), so green tea from tea bags never stood a chance. My favorite is Longjing, or Dragonwell, a smooth, nutty, toasted-rice tasting flattened leaf Chinese tea, with Japanese green teas tasting more like seaweed because they're steamed instead of fried.
oolong: the way to go. There are two main types (roughly speaking), lighter oolongs, close to green teas but milder, typically prepared as rolled balls, types like Tie Kuan Yin. Dark oolongs are slightly more oxidized (same process as paper turning brown, I think, or burning for that matter), often prepared as twisted leaves, types like Da Hong Pao. All of that is a bit simplified; Tie Kuan Yin could be oxidized more (that's a plant type), and it is roasted more in one version, and there is a mid-range out there. China makes lots of interesting oolong types but Taiwan is also into it, and countries like Thailand (where I live now) and Vietnam.
white tea: different, more subtle, this type covers two main variations, buds only silver needle style and buds and leaves Bai Mu Dan / Peony style. These teas cover a lot of range but they're probably not an obvious starting point since their more subtle nature makes them harder to appreciate at first.
pu'er: compressed tea (typically--not all is, just most), either coming in a "green" sheng version or a pre-fermented "cooked" shou version. Also not a normal beginner tea because pu'er is funky, strange, either a bit bitter on the new and green side or earthy and weird on the cooked side. One twist with pu'er is that it's supposed to age, or ages well, however one looks at that or takes it, so a sheng (green, roughly) pu'er mellows and changes over a decade or two. One drawback: not all pu'er ages really well, and it can be costly, and waiting a decade takes some commitment, and pre-aged tea can cost a lot. There is a learning curve to pu'er, in a few senses, getting used to the flavors, figuring out regions, sourcing tea that doesn't suck or isn't "fake" (long story; I mean sold as something it's not).
If I can help with any more discussion let me know; I'm into tea and also talking about tea, and even write a blog about it (but it seems spammy to include that here; if this moves on to discussion I'll mention which).
To start, loose tea is nothing like Lipton tea bags. That is tea, sort of, but it's bad, low quality, poorly preserved tea dust, and black tea is only one of several types. The green tea in tea bag versions is just as bad, a nightmare compared to decent green tea, and I like oolongs much better anyway. Since this is intended as an intro I'll go on for a bit and see what anyone else has to add, by category.
black tea: there are two main kinds; Chinese black tea is from a variety Sinensis plant (Camellia Sinensis var. Sinensis), and it's sweeter and more floral. Assamica tea is earthier, typically a bit more astringent, commonly produced in Assam (India) and Sri Lanka (Ceylon is the old British colony name for there). Darjeeling (also India) is in the middle, different, and from hybrid types. Blended (mixed type) black tea was more common in the past (English Breakfast, etc.) but now people into tea tend to like one plain type best. Mixes of different things applying more as gateways to tea (nothing against flowers in tea or whatever; to each their own, and I do drink tisanes, the way to say herb tea without using the word tea).
green tea: any tea made from tea dust (tea bags) will be astringent (bitter, more or less, but really bitterness is a taste and astringency is a feeling, but close enough), and green tea should be prepared with cooler water (175 F maybe), so green tea from tea bags never stood a chance. My favorite is Longjing, or Dragonwell, a smooth, nutty, toasted-rice tasting flattened leaf Chinese tea, with Japanese green teas tasting more like seaweed because they're steamed instead of fried.
oolong: the way to go. There are two main types (roughly speaking), lighter oolongs, close to green teas but milder, typically prepared as rolled balls, types like Tie Kuan Yin. Dark oolongs are slightly more oxidized (same process as paper turning brown, I think, or burning for that matter), often prepared as twisted leaves, types like Da Hong Pao. All of that is a bit simplified; Tie Kuan Yin could be oxidized more (that's a plant type), and it is roasted more in one version, and there is a mid-range out there. China makes lots of interesting oolong types but Taiwan is also into it, and countries like Thailand (where I live now) and Vietnam.
white tea: different, more subtle, this type covers two main variations, buds only silver needle style and buds and leaves Bai Mu Dan / Peony style. These teas cover a lot of range but they're probably not an obvious starting point since their more subtle nature makes them harder to appreciate at first.
pu'er: compressed tea (typically--not all is, just most), either coming in a "green" sheng version or a pre-fermented "cooked" shou version. Also not a normal beginner tea because pu'er is funky, strange, either a bit bitter on the new and green side or earthy and weird on the cooked side. One twist with pu'er is that it's supposed to age, or ages well, however one looks at that or takes it, so a sheng (green, roughly) pu'er mellows and changes over a decade or two. One drawback: not all pu'er ages really well, and it can be costly, and waiting a decade takes some commitment, and pre-aged tea can cost a lot. There is a learning curve to pu'er, in a few senses, getting used to the flavors, figuring out regions, sourcing tea that doesn't suck or isn't "fake" (long story; I mean sold as something it's not).
If I can help with any more discussion let me know; I'm into tea and also talking about tea, and even write a blog about it (but it seems spammy to include that here; if this moves on to discussion I'll mention which).
