"English" black teas

White teas, yellow teas, green teas, red teas, black teas... all come from the same and unique plant! Until the discoveries made by Robert Fortune in the second half of the 19th century, the different colours of teas were believed to correspond to different species of trees. But all teas indeed come from the same plant. It is the processing that makes the different and determine the "colour" of tea : white (the less processed teas), yellow, green, blue-green, red, black... The colour generally refers to the liquor resulting from the brewing of the leaves, rather than to the actual leaves. The Chinese call "red teas" the oxidized teas, refering to the more or less copper colour of their liquor. The English call them "black teas", because they often use broken teas that give a bitter and dark liquor, somewhat reminiscent of coffee. But there is a large production that offers a delicate liquor, with balanced flavours and little astringency, Darjeeling teas being a famous and prestigious example. The most important producers are China, India (Darjeeling, Assam), Sri Lanka (Ceylan) and Kenya.