“Tea” may refer to the common name of Camellia sinensis plant, the leaves, leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods and also to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves of Camellia sinensis by combination with hot or boiling water.

There are five types of tea most commonly found on the market, all of them made from the same plant - Camellia sinensis, processed or grown differently: black tea, oolong tea, green tea, white tea and Pu-erh tea - a double-fermented black tea.

“Red tea” refers to an infusion made from the South African rooibos plant.

“Herbal tea” usually refers to an infusion or tisane of leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs or other plant material that contains no Camellia sinensis. People had discovered that infusing the leaves, flowers and fruits of almost any edible plant in boiling water produced a refreshing, flavorsome drink which is easy, quick, free and in most cases beneficial top their health, and all this before the arrival of tea from China. For preparing herbal teas or tisanes you can use almost any herbs and herb flowers, using generally the same technique of steeping them into hot or boiling water for several minutes. Remove the leaves after that and serve hot or cold, sweeten with honey or sugar and with a bit of lemon if you like.

After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. The traditional method of making a cup of tea is to place loose tea leaves into a teapot or teacup and pour hot water over the leaves. After a couple of minutes the leaves are removed.

The best temperature for brewing tea depends on its type. For some more delicate teas than black tea, lower temperatures are recommended. The temperature will have as large an effect on the final flavor as the type of tea used. Teas that have little or no oxidation period, such as a green or white tea, are best brewed at lower temperatures between 60 to 85 Celsius degrees (140-185 F), while teas with longer oxidation periods should be brewed at higher temperatures around 100 Celsius degrees (212 F). The higher temperatures are required to extract the large, complex, flavorful phenolic molecules found in fermented tea, although boiling the water reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.

White tea
White tea contains buds and young tea leaves, with higher caffeine than older leaves. White teas should be prepared with no hotter than 80 Celsius degrees (180 F) water and steeped for 2 to 3 minutes. Some people choose to brew this tea for much longer, as long as 10 minutes on the first infusion, to allow the delicate aromas to develop. Finer teas expose more flavor and complexity with no bitterness. On successive brews extend the time by several minutes per brewing. Temperature is crucial: if it is too hot, the brew will be bitter and the finer flavors will be overpowered

Yellow tea
Yellow tea is a tea that is fermented or oxidized for longer than green tea, but not completely oxidized like black or oolong tea. The drying phase is slower and the damp tea leaves are left to take on a natural, light yellow color. Yellow tea is brewed in much the same way as white tea. The water should not be hotter than about 80 Celsius degrees (180 F). Steep for a minute or two. Yellow tea can easily take multiple infusions.

Green tea
Water for green tea, should be around 80 to 85 Celsius degrees (176 - 185 F). The higher the quality of the leaves, the lower the temperature. Hotter water will burn green-tea leaves producing a bitter taste. High-quality green and white teas can have new water added as many as five or more times, depending on variety, at increasingly high temperatures. Most green teas should be allowed to steep for about 3 minutes, although some types of tea require as much as 10 minutes. The strength of the tea should be varied by changing the amount of tea leaves used to prepare the tea not by changing the steeping time. The amount of tea leaves to be used per amount of water differs from tea to tea. Stronger teas, the ones that are going to be drunk with milk are often prepared with more leaves, and more delicate high grown teas are prepared with a little less.

Oolong tea
Oolong teas should be brewed around 90 to 100 Celsius degrees (194 - 212 F). For best results use spring water, as the minerals in spring water tend to bring out more flavor in the tea. High quality oolong can be brewed multiple times from the same leaves and unlike green tea it improves with reuse. It is common to brew the same leaves three to five times, the third steeping usually being the best.

Black tea
The water for black teas should be added near boiling point, at 99 Celsius degrees (210 F). Many of the active substances in black tea do not develop at temperatures lower than 90 Celsius degrees (194 F). The most common fault when making black tea is to use water at too low a temperature. Black teas are usually brewed for about 4 minutes and should not be allowed to steep for less than 30 seconds or more than about five. It is commonly said that a steeping time above five minutes make the tea bitter, but in reality the precise time depends on a number factors, such as the type of tea and the water quality, and bitterness can occur as early as three minutes, or not at all even after prolonged steeping. When the tea has brewed long enough to suit the tastes of the drinker, it should be strained while serving.

Pu-erh tea
Pu-erh teas require boiling water for infusion. Some prefer to quickly rinse Pu-erh for several seconds with boiling water to remove tea dust which accumulates from the aging process. Infuse Pu-erh at the boiling point at 100 Celsius degrees (212 F) and allow to steep for 30 seconds or up to five minutes.

Premium or delicate tea
Some teas, especially green teas and delicate Oolong teas are steeped for shorter periods, sometimes less than 30 seconds. Using a tea strainer separates the leaves from the water at the end of the brewing time if a tea bag is not being used.