Varieties

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 10th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2025

  • About
All the world’s varieties of tea are produced from one species of evergreen shrub. Most of the differences among varieties are the results of growing conditions and modifications in processing techniques.
As in the case of coffee, different regions produce teas of different quality and flavor characteristics. Most of the tea consumed in North America is imported from India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Variations in processing produce three categories of tea. Black tea is fermented by allowing the freshly harvested leaves to oxidize in a damp place. Green tea is dried without fermenting. Oolong tea is partially fermented to a greenish-brown color. Specialty teas and flavored teas are also available.