Tea: Difference between revisions

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==Processing and classification==

Teas can generally be divided into categories based on how they are processed. There are at least six different types of tea: [[white tea|white]], [[yellow tea|yellow]], [[green tea|green]], [[oolong]], [[black tea|black]] (called ''red tea'' in China), and [[post-fermented tea]] (or ''black tea'' for the Chinese) of which the most commonly found on the market are white, green, oolong, and black. Some varieties, such as traditional oolong tea and [[Pu-erh tea]], a post-fermented tea, can be used medicinally.

After picking, the tea leaves soon begin to wilt and [[Oxidation|oxidize]], unless they are immediately dried. The leaves turn progressively darker as their chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This enzymatic oxidation process is caused by the plant's intracellular enzymes and causes the tea to darken. In tea processing, the darkening is stopped at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. In the production of black teas, the halting of oxidization by heating is carried out simultaneously with drying.

~~[[Image:Group of workers harvesting tea Chakva Prokudin-Gorsky.jpg|thumb|Tea harvest on the eastern shores of the [[Black Sea]], ''circa'' 1905–15]]~~

Without careful moisture and temperature control during manufacture and packaging, the tea may become unfit for consumption, due to the growth of undesired molds and bacteria. At minimum, it may alter the taste and make it undesirable.

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 ==Processing and classification==
 Teas can generally be divided into categories based on how they are processed. There are at least six different types of tea: [[white tea|white]], [[yellow tea|yellow]], [[green tea|green]], [[oolong]], [[black tea|black]] (called ''red tea'' in China), and [[post-fermented tea]] (or ''black tea'' for the Chinese) of which the most commonly found on the market are white, green, oolong, and black. Some varieties, such as traditional oolong tea and [[Pu-erh tea]], a post-fermented tea, can be used medicinally.
 After picking, the tea leaves soon begin to wilt and [[Oxidation|oxidize]], unless they are immediately dried. The leaves turn progressively darker as their chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This enzymatic oxidation process is caused by the plant's intracellular enzymes and causes the tea to darken. In tea processing, the darkening is stopped at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. In the production of black teas, the halting of oxidization by heating is carried out simultaneously with drying.
-[[Image:Group of workers harvesting tea Chakva Prokudin-Gorsky.jpg|thumb|Tea harvest on the eastern shores of the [[Black Sea]], ''circa'' 1905–15]]
 Without careful moisture and temperature control during manufacture and packaging, the tea may become unfit for consumption, due to the growth of undesired molds and bacteria. At minimum, it may alter the taste and make it undesirable.