Everything About Tea

Water temperature, steep time and tea-to-water ratio for black, green, white, oolong and herbal teas — sourced guidelines and common mistakes.

Black, green, white and oolong tea all come from one evergreen shrub. Meet Camellia sinensis, its two main varieties, and how it grows.

White, green, yellow, oolong, black and dark teas all come from one plant. The difference is how far the leaf is allowed to oxidise.

Black tea is made in two main ways: orthodox rolling and CTC (crush, tear, curl). Here's how they differ and where each is used.

The tea bag is little more than a century old. Where it came from, what usually goes inside, and how it compares with loose-leaf tea.

Tea is a dried leaf, and moisture is its enemy. How long different teas keep, how to store them, and the history of the tea caddy.

Tea doesn't have to be hot. How iced tea and cold brew are made, where they come from, and how different countries enjoy cold tea.

OP, BOPF, flush, withering, tisane… Tea has its own vocabulary. A plain-English guide to the terms you'll meet most often.

What "single origin" means on a tea label, how it differs from a blend, and why origin matters for Ceylon tea.

The Sri Lanka Tea Board describes seven tea regions, from high-grown Nuwara Eliya to low-grown Ruhuna. An overview of all seven.

From James Taylor's first plantation in 1867 to the Colombo auctions, nationalisation and the Lion logo — the milestones of Ceylon tea.

How a young Scottish planter cleared 19 acres at Loolecondera in 1867 and planted the tea that started the Ceylon tea industry.

In 1860 Ceylon was one of the world's biggest coffee producers. Then a fungus arrived — and tea took coffee's place.

Since 1883, much of Sri Lanka's tea has been sold at public auction in Colombo. How the auction began and how it grew.

What "two leaves and a bud" means, how tea is plucked by hand in Sri Lanka, and every step from leaf to cup.

Ceylon tea's story is also the story of the Hill Country Tamil community whose labour built the plantations. Their history, from published sources.

High in Sri Lanka's central mountains, Nuwara Eliya is the island's coolest region and the source of its lightest, most refined teas.

In Uva, monsoon winds arrive after dropping their rain elsewhere. That dryness, says the Tea Board, gives Uva tea its special character.

Two contrasting seasons shape Dimbula's tea. The Sri Lanka Tea Board calls it "probably the most famous Ceylon Tea of all".

Kandy sits close to where Ceylon tea began. Its mid-country teas, grown at 2,000–4,000 ft, are described as robust and full-bodied.

The warm southern lowlands of Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa produce some of Sri Lanka's strongest, darkest teas.

What the Lion logo on Ceylon tea packs means, the four criteria for using it, and how it relates to Ceylon tea's Geographical Indication.

Despite its name, Orange Pekoe has nothing to do with oranges. It's a grading term based on leaf size — here's what it means and how Ceylon tea is graded.

Earl Grey's citrus note comes from bergamot — and its name comes with a tangle of competing stories. A sourced look at both.

Cardamom is one of the world's most aromatic spices and a classic partner for black tea, from India to the Middle East.

"Chai" simply means tea. How masala chai — spiced milk tea — became one of India's most loved drinks, the spices used and a traditional method.

From a British cuppa to Sri Lankan tea with warmed milk and Hong Kong milk tea — how the world takes tea with milk, plus the milk-first debate.

Sri Lanka has produced green tea since 1982, in gunpowder and sencha styles. How green tea differs from black, and how to brew it without bitterness.

Steamed sencha, pan-fired Longjing, rolled gunpowder, powdered matcha and Ceylon green — how the best-known green teas compare.

Gunpowder tea is green tea rolled into tiny pellets that unfurl in hot water. How it's made, where the name comes from and how to brew it.

Matcha is green tea you drink whole — shade-grown, ground to powder and whisked. What defines it, where it came from and how it's made.

Brewed from the dried calyces of the roselle flower, hibiscus tea is tart, crimson and caffeine-free. What it is, what research shows, and how to brew it.

Moringa is a fast-growing tree used widely in South Asian cooking. What reliable sources say about it, including its current status under Australian food law.

Hibiscus, chamomile, rooibos and peppermint are called "teas" — but none come from the tea plant. What herbal tea really is.

"Hibiscus tea" can come from two different plants: roselle calyces or Chinese hibiscus flowers. How they differ, and how to tell which you have.

Australians call Hibiscus sabdariffa "rosella". The plant behind the name, its fleshy red calyces and how they're used around the world.

Egyptian karkadé, West African bissap and zobo, Caribbean sorrel and Mexican agua de Jamaica — hibiscus drinks around the world.

Herbal infusions that are naturally caffeine-free — hibiscus, rooibos, cinnamon, peppermint — and a few "herbal" teas that aren't.

Most cinnamon in international trade is cassia. How true Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) differs in look, flavour and coumarin content.

Prized in ancient Egypt and Rome, shrouded in myth, then fought over by the Portuguese and Dutch in Sri Lanka — the story of cinnamon.

Every Ceylon cinnamon quill is peeled and rolled by hand. How the bark becomes the spice — harvesting, peeling, drying and grading.

Ceylon cinnamon is more subtle and aromatic than cassia. When to use sticks or powder, and classic ways cinnamon is used around the world.

What coumarin is, how much is in Ceylon cinnamon versus cassia, what food-safety authorities say about intake, and why adulteration matters.

Scones, sandwiches and a pot of tea. Where afternoon tea came from, how it differs from high tea, and how it lives on in Australia.

Across North Africa, mint tea is a symbol of hospitality — gunpowder green tea, fresh spearmint and sugar, poured from a height.

The samovar and zavarka concentrate, the Tea Road, and Turkish çay from Rize — how Russia and Turkey drink tea.

Shennong, Lu Yu's Classic of Tea and the gongfu method — a short introduction to Chinese tea culture and careful brewing.

In Japan, preparing and serving tea became an art form. A short introduction to chanoyu, "the way of tea", and its history.

"Boil the billy" is as Australian as it gets. The history of the bush billycan, the tea brewed in it, and tea in Australian life.

An honest summary of what reliable sources say about tea and health — the limits of the evidence, caffeine guidance and the cautions worth knowing.

How much caffeine is in black, green, white and oolong tea, which herbal teas are caffeine-free, and what Australian guidance says.

Theanine is an amino acid found in tea leaves. Where it comes from, how much tea contains, and what regulators have concluded about the evidence.