What Tea Will Appeal To You? Black, White, Green Or Red(bush)?

There are several different teas, all with different tastes and different brewing times. Here is a little run down on each tea.

1.Black Tea

 Black tea is the most robust of all of the teas.You can brew it for anything up to six minutes, though I have seen 12 minutes on one particular tea! Of course, if you overbrew the tea, it can go rather bitter. I would suggest, when buying a teapot to use black tea, try to get one with a removable basket so that you can take the leaves or teabags out, therefore avoiding any bitterness.


Black tea can come from China, India, Sri Lanka or Africa. It can range from rather strong in taste, such as Indian in particular, to sweet, as you find with Kenyan black tea. Chinese tea has a element of nuttiness to it, whilst Sri Lankan tea is rather more gentle then it's Indian cousins!

Black tea is often used as a base for Earl Grey and Lady Grey in particular. But you can have wonderful blends too that are unflavoured. Keemun is favourite of mine, whilst I love Yunnan for it's slightly nutty flavour.

Twinings Prince of Wales blend is a wonderful black tea. But Assam is a little too strong for me as I don't take milk.

Of course though, the flavoured tea's are lovely too. They range from citrus tones to floral flavours. Chai is also wonderful for it's spicy flavours.

There is a lot of choice out there, and black tea is really good for a satisfying brew.

2. Green Tea

Green tea is an acquired taste for some people. You either love it or loathe it! I, personaly, love it!

Green tea has a herbal, slightly grassy smell and taste to it. That is why, I feel, it's important to get the highest quality tea you can afford.

Green tea is a delicate tea, and as I'm always saying, you have to be extremely careful how you brew it. It's vital to let the  water cool for four or five minutes before pouring on the tea. And it's to be brewed for a short time, only two minutes maximum.

What I love about this tea is that it can be paired up with most fruits and it works really well. So, you don't just have to have the usual citrus fruits, such as lemon or orange. Peach works really well with green tea, but exotic fruits such as pineapple, grapefruit and papaya really compliment  it's unique taste as well.

Jasmine works in this tea also.

As long as your careful how you prepare green tea, it can made for a light, refreshing cup of tea. Perfect for serving after a heavy meal.

3. White Tea

I consider green tea to be very delicate, but there is one tea that is even more so and that is white tea. You don't see white tea much in shops and supermarkets and I've had to either wait till I visit Twinings or order it online to restock.

You have to prepare this tea as you would green tea, but brew it no longer then a minute.

I really like white tea, and enjoy it most in it's pure form. It's delicate, freshly scented and light. But, I have tried it flavoured with peach, and I have to say, I prefer it pure. There are some teas that take well to having flavouring added and there are others, in my opinion, that are served best as a pure tea.

I have served this to friends on a particularly hot day and the general opinion of my group was that it's so light, so refreshing and cooling that it's a great tea to drink during summer.

I love the ever so slightly nutty flavour of this tea also. It's wonderful and a real treat!

4. Rooibos (sometimes sold as Redbush).

Rooibos tea is my least favourite of all the tea's. I have attempted, on several occasions, to get to like this tea, and it's just not happening.

But, in all fairness, rooibos is a interesting tea. It brews to a wonderful coppery red tone, and with rooibos you can brew it for up to twelve minutes, so if your caught up doing something else whilst brewing and forget it's there, it won't ruin the flavour too much!

Rooibos is a African tea and it has a natural sweetness to it, so it's great if you enjoy tea without milk. Due to it's sweetness, if it's sold as a flavoured tea, it tends to be blended with other sweet tastes, such as vanilla or peppermint rather then citrus tones that are often used in black and green tea.

Rooibos is also naturally caffeine free which is great if you can't drink too much caffeine.