Black tea

All teas essentially start out the same way as they come from the same plants, but the difference lies in how they are processed. Black tea is a tea that has been exposed to quite a bit of oxygen during the processing phase and so is a darker color than the green or white teas.

For most of the gourmet black teas the leaves are still picked by hand first. Then the leaves go through a four step process to turn them into black tea. First the tea leaves are spread out for drying, then they are rolled to enhance color and flavor, then spread out again and exposed to oxygen that gives it a red color. Finally, the leaves are then subjected to a heat treatment to stop the fermentation process, where they begin to take on their very dark or black color.

When it comes to preparing black tea for drinking make sure that you bring the water to a full boil, which is about 212 degrees. For most black teas use one teaspoon per cup. Then steep the tea for about five minutes.

It's best to use 100% spring water for making black teas, as most tap waters tend to be very poor and will often result in making a high quality and flavorful tea taste very ordinary and even bitter at times.

There are some great resources on the internet for black tea, and we have provided links to each website for your convenience below.

Recommended Black Tea Resources

Adagio Teas - Very large selection of gourmets teas. The most visited tea website on the web. They even have a tea community with a tea newsletter and chat rooms. Free shipping available.
Spice Of Life Teas - They have several of the world's top brands of teas that come from the most exclusive tea growing areas in the world. A wide selection of flavors too. They also carry a great line of Chai.
Peet's Coffee & Tea - Peet's is well-known for their coffees but their teas are also very unique and there are more than 45 hand selected and blended teas available, all with very distinctive flavors. They have a great online Tea Selector too.