The most common ways to categorise types of black tea are by varietal, region, production
method or blend. There is much debate and no absolute way to categorise black tea. It is a
bit like asking what the main types of red wine are. Is it grape varietal or region or favour
profile?
Here are a few ways you might like to think about the different types of black tea:
By production method
· Handmade teas involve no machine intervention at all. Our Malawi Mountain Moto, Sri Lankan Hand Rolled, and Chinese Emperor’s Golden Eyebrow are made this way. (links)
· Orthodox teas are crafted in small batches on rollers with a great deal of care; most of our black teas fall into this category.
· CTC (Cut-Tear-Curl) is a larger-machine method, but can still involve real skill and quality leaf. Our Black Iced Tea is a good example. link
· And then there is industrially processed tea, made with minimal human input, usually to produce the cheapest possible product. That is not the tea we bring you.
Beyond these methodologies, the style and skill of the teamaker will play a huge part in the taste of the finished tea.
By region, terroir or origin
· Where a tea is grown is every bit as important as how it is made
· Differences from field to field, farm to farm, and country to country are as significant and as varied as those between wines
· Our black teas come from Malawi, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and New Zealand.
pics
By varietal
· Black teas from Camellia sinensis sinensis (the Chinese root) tend towards chocolate, caramel, burnt sugar, and silky textures.
· Teas from Camellia sinensis assamica (the Indian root) are commonly more malty, rich, and deeply tannic. These teas are usually robust enough to carry milk rather than be overpowered by it.
· Most of our black teas come from the sinensis sinensis root; for Assamica character, try our Malawi and Sri Lankan teas, or one of the blends.
Single estate or blend
· Single garden black teas express the specific character of one terroir during one season.
· Blends combine teas across harvests, farms, or countries
· Blending is how the quintessentially British styles came to be – such as our full range of English Breakfast Teas and Afternoon Teas
· Another level of flavour can be added by blending black teas with other herbs and spices, like our Earl Grey, Masala Chai, and Vanilla Tea.
· Our blended and flavoured teas use only high-quality tea and natural additions. No lab-made flavourings, no industrial chemicals masking of cheap leaf.
